Jeremiah 48

Of Moab. The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo! For it is laid waste. Kiriathaim is disappointed. It is taken. Misgab is put to shame and broken down.

The praise of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they have devised evil against her: ‘Come! Let’s cut her off from being a nation.’ You also, Madmen, will be brought to silence. The sword will pursue you.

The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!

Moab is destroyed. Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

For they will go up by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping. For at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.

Flee! Save your lives! Be like the juniper bush in the wilderness.

For, because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you also will be taken. Chemosh will go out into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

The destroyer will come on every city, and no city will escape; the valley also will perish, and the plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has spoken.

Give wings to Moab, that she may fly and get herself away: and her cities will become a desolation, without anyone to dwell in them.

“Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD negligently; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.

“Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.

Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will send to him those who pour off, and they will pour him off; and they will empty his vessels, and break their containers in pieces.

Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

“How do you say, ‘We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war’?

Moab is laid waste, and they have gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” says the King, whose name is the LORD of Armies.

“The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hurries fast.

All you who are around him, bemoan him; and all you who know his name, say, ‘How the strong staff is broken, the beautiful rod!’

“You daughter who dwells in Dibon, come down from your glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab has come up against you. He has destroyed your strongholds.

Inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way and watch. Ask him who flees, and her who escapes; say, ‘What has been done?’

Moab is disappointed; for it is broken down. Wail and cry! Tell it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

Judgment has come on the plain country— on Holon, on Jahzah, on Mephaath,

on Dibon, on Nebo, on Beth Diblathaim,

on Kiriathaim, on Beth Gamul, on Beth Meon,

on Kerioth, on Bozrah, and on all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken,” says the LORD.

“Make him drunk, for he magnified himself against the LORD. Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will be in derision.

For wasn’t Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For as often as you speak of him, you shake your head.

You inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock. Be like the dove that makes her nest over the mouth of the abyss.

“We have heard of the pride of Moab. He is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of his heart.

I know his wrath,” says the LORD, “that it is nothing; his boastings have done nothing.

Therefore I will wail for Moab. Yes, I will cry out for all Moab. They will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.

With more than the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah. Your branches passed over the sea. They reached even to the sea of Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruits and on your vintage.

Gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab. I have caused wine to cease from the wine presses. No one will tread with shouting. The shouting will be no shouting.

From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, to Eglath Shelishiyah; for the waters of Nimrim will also become desolate.

Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab,” says the LORD, “him who offers in the high place, and him who burns incense to his gods.

Therefore my heart sounds for Moab like flutes, and my heart sounds like flutes for the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the abundance that he has gotten has perished.

For every head is bald, and every beard clipped. There are cuttings on all the hands, and sackcloth on the waist.

On all the housetops of Moab, and in its streets, there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which no one delights,” says the LORD.

“How it is broken down! How they wail! How Moab has turned the back with shame! So will Moab become a derision and a terror to all who are around him.”

For the LORD says: “Behold, he will fly as an eagle, and will spread out his wings against Moab.

Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized. The heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day will be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Moab will be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the LORD.

Terror, the pit, and the snare are on you, inhabitant of Moab,” says the LORD.

“He who flees from the terror will fall into the pit; and he who gets up out of the pit will be taken in the snare, for I will bring on him, even on Moab, the year of their visitation,” says the LORD.

“Those who fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the middle of Sihon, and has devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are undone; for your sons are taken away captive, and your daughters into captivity.

“Yet I will reverse the captivity of Moab in the latter days,” says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter pronounces the divine judgment of Moab, a nation facing total desolation for its pride, idolatry, and opposition to the LORD. Though Moab had long enjoyed ease and stability, its reliance on false gods and self-confidence incites God’s decisive overthrow. The prophecy outlines the widespread destruction of its cities, the collapse of its leadership, the shame of its people, and the silencing of its religious practices, yet concludes with a note of future restoration, underscoring the LORD’s sovereign justice and mercy.

Flow.

The oracle begins with the announcement of Moab’s ruin, naming key cities soon to be overtaken and shamed.
It shifts to explain the cause: Moab’s complacency, pride, and trust in its works and idols rather than the LORD.
A vivid depiction of national mourning follows, marking the completeness of judgment—military defeat, spiritual futility, and social collapse.
The chapter closes with a surprising promise: the reversal of Moab’s captivity in the latter days, pointing beyond judgment to eventual restoration.

Connections.
Following chapter 47, which details the fall of the Philistines, chapter 48 continues Jeremiah’s oracles against the nations, showing that God’s judgments extend beyond Israel. Moab’s pride and false confidence mirror the attitudes previously condemned in Judah, serving as a sobering reflection of what awaits any people who defy the LORD. The tone of lament and the promise of latter-day restoration anticipate chapter 49, which similarly pronounces judgment on Ammon, Edom, and others, while preserving glimmers of hope in God’s redemptive purpose.

What it teaches.
God’s judgment is both just and comprehensive, falling even on nations that appear secure. Moab’s ease and religious idolatry (WCF 5.7) lead not to safety but to destruction, for He will not allow arrogance to stand (HC LD 4, Q&A 10). The imagery of being “poured out” and “broken like a vessel” (v. 12, 38) reflects the inescapability of divine visitation when a people have hardened themselves (WCF 5.6). Yet the promise to “reverse the captivity of Moab in the latter days” (v. 47) aligns with the covenant pattern in which judgment is not the final word (BC Art. 27). This echoes the biblical hope of restoration, consistent with God’s sovereign control over all nations (; WCF 3.7).

Apply.
When complacency and pride mask the fragility of human security, God sees and will act according to His holy purposes.

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