Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:20
Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah delivers this oracle against Moab, commanding a public proclamation to be made along the Arnon River boundary. The declaration follows the preceding verse's instruction to observe refugees fleeing from Aroer.
The words — The Hebrew verb הֹבִישׁ (ho.Vish) means "it has been put to shame," paired with חַ֖תָּה (Cha.tah), "it has been shattered." The imperative הַגִּ֣ידוּ (ha.Gi.du) commands a public announcement of this ruin at the Arnon.
The thread — The Arnon River marks Moab's northern boundary in Numbers 21:13 and 21:26, while Isaiah 16:2 references the same region's vulnerability. Jeremiah 48:20 uses this territorial marker to broadcast the nation's collapse.
Why it lands — The text commands a clear announcement of Moab's shame and destruction at a known geographic landmark. It requires the reader to acknowledge the declared certainty of the judgment without minimizing the stated outcome.
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 confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
Cross-references
- Isaiah 16:2 Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
- Numbers 21:13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.
- Numbers 21:26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.
- Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
- Joshua 13:9 The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
- Judges 11:18 Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.
- Isaiah 15:1 This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!
- Isaiah 15:8 For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; it is heard in Beer-elim.
- Isaiah 16:7 Therefore let Moab wail; let them wail together for Moab. Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth, you who are utterly stricken.
- Jeremiah 48:1 Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.