Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:15
Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records YHWH pronouncing judgment against Moab immediately after dismantling the nation's claim to military prowess. The declaration occurs within a prophetic oracle marking the imminent collapse of Moab's cities and fighting force.
The words — שֻׁדַּד (shu.Dad) translates literally to "it will be devastated," and מִבְחַר (miv.Char) means "the choicest" or "best." These terms specify that the coming destruction will target both the land and Moab's elite warriors.
The thread — The pattern of elite combatants being led to slaughter appears in Jeremiah 50:27 and Jeremiah 51:57, while the title "King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts" mirrors Jeremiah 46:18. This phrasing ties Moab's defeat to a broader prophetic framework of YHWH executing judgment through military overthrow.
Why it lands — The verse states that Moab's destruction and the slaughter of its young men are already declared by YHWH. It requires the reader to acknowledge that human military readiness cannot override a settled divine pronouncement of ruin.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 46:18 As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.
- Jeremiah 50:27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Jeremiah 51:57 I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
- Isaiah 40:30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
- Malachi 1:14 “But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- Psalms 24:8 Who is this King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
- Psalms 47:2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
- Isaiah 34:2 The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.
- Jeremiah 48:4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
- Jeremiah 48:8 The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.