Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:31
Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God declares through Jeremiah that He will mourn over Moab and the inhabitants of Kir-heres. This pronouncement follows the assessment that Moab’s pride and boasting are futile and precedes the description of destroyed vineyards and harvests.
The words — The Hebrew אֲיֵלִ֔יל ('a.ye.Lil) translates to "I will wail," while אֶזְעָ֑ק ('ez.'Ak) means "I will cry out." The conjunction כֵּן (ken) functions as "therefore," grounding the lament in the preceding judgment.
The thread — This mourning motif runs into Jeremiah 48:36, where the speaker’s heart laments for Moab and Kir-heres as wealth disappears. It parallels Isaiah 15:5, where the prophet’s heart cries out over Moab, and aligns with the siege imagery in 2 Kings 3:25.
Why it lands — The text states that divine judgment triggers a formal, public lament rather than a casual reaction. It asks the reader to recognize that the speaker’s wailing is a direct consequence of Moab’s empty pride and the certainty of its 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
Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir–heres.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 3:25 They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.
- Isaiah 15:5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.
- Jeremiah 48:36 Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.
- 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.