Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:39
“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Jeremiah pronounces this oracle against Moab, addressing the surrounding nations and Moab’s own people immediately after describing the nation’s destruction as a shattered jar in Jeremiah 48:38.
The words — The Hebrew חַתָּה (cha.tah) means it has been violently shattered, while אֵיךְ ('eikh) serves as an exclamatory marker of devastation. The phrase הִפְנָה עֹרֶף (hif.nah- 'oref) literally translates to turning the neck, describing a shameful retreat.
The thread — The pattern of national collapse and public shame runs through Jeremiah 48:17, which commands mourning over the shattered scepter, and Isaiah 20:4, which depicts captives led away naked. The motif of divine humiliation through exposure and loss of control continues in Jeremiah 48:26.
Why it lands — The text states that Moab’s pride and rebellion result in irreversible disgrace and public ridicule, leaving the nation as an object of horror to its neighbors. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment permanently strips away human glory without offering consolation to the arrogant.
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
They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
- Jeremiah 48:17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!
- Jeremiah 48:26 “Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
- Lamentations 1:1 How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
- Lamentations 2:1 How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of His anger! He has cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. He has abandoned His footstool in the day of His anger.
- Lamentations 4:1 How the gold has become tarnished, the pure gold has become dull! The gems of the temple lie scattered on every street corner.
- Ezekiel 26:16 All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you.
- Revelation 18:9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
- Revelation 18:15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,