Jeremiah 48:17
in Jeremiah 48Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All ye that are round about him, bemoan him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
KJV
All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!
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This verse in Jeremiah 48
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The lamentation over Moab uttered by those “round about him,” i. e., the neighboring nations, and those “that know his name,” nations more remote, who know little more than that, there is such a people, takes the form of an elegy. The metaphorical expressions, “staff of strength,” and “rod” or “scepter of beauty,” indicate the union of power and splendor in the Moabite kingdom.
This site's exposition
settled like wine on its dregs
on Jeremiah 48:11-17
Moab “has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs,” never “poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile.” Now the pourers will “shatter his jars,” and Moab will feel shame over Chemosh as Israel did “when they trusted in Bethel.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let the nations take notice of this and receive instruction. Let none be puffed up with or put confidence in their strength or beauty, for neither will be a security against the judgments of God. It is a shameful destruction and such as shall expose them to contempt: Moab is made drunk (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
All ye that are about him, bemoan him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
How is the strong staff broken - The scepter. The sovereignty of Moab is destroyed.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֻ֤דוּ | nudu | show sympathy | H5110 → | 24 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> it | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | O all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| סְבִיבָ֔יו | sevivav | around it | H5439 → | 336 times |
| וְכֹ֖ל | vekhol | and O all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹדְעֵ֣י | yodeei | [those who] know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| שְׁמ֑וֹ | shemo | <of> name its | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אִמְר֗וּ | ʾimru | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵיכָ֤ה | ʾeikhah | how! | H349 → | 82 times |
| נִשְׁבַּר֙ | nishbar | it is broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| מַטֵּה־ | mateh- | a staff of | H4294 → | |
| עֹ֔ז | ʾoz | strength | H5797 → | 92 times |
| מַקֵּ֖ל | makel | a staff of | H4731 → | |
| תִּפְאָרָֽה׃ | tifarah | splendor | H8597 → | 51 times |
נֻ֤דוּshow sympathy
nuduH5110 →24 times
לוֹ֙to <the> it
lo
כָּל־O all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
סְבִיבָ֔יוaround it
sevivavH5439 →336 times
וְכֹ֖לand O all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹדְעֵ֣י[those who] know
yodeeiH3045 →945 times
שְׁמ֑וֹ<of> name its
shemoH8034 →864 times
אִמְר֗וּsay
ʾimruH559 →5305 times
אֵיכָ֤הhow!
ʾeikhahH349 →82 times
נִשְׁבַּר֙it is broken
nishbarH7665 →147 times
מַטֵּה־a staff of
mateh-H4294 →
עֹ֔זstrength
ʾozH5797 →92 times
מַקֵּ֖לa staff of
makelH4731 →
תִּפְאָרָֽה׃splendor
tifarahH8597 →51 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 9:4For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:25
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 30:8
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
- Isaiah 10:26–27
And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.
- Nahum 1:13
For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
- Isaiah 54:14
In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you.
- Isaiah 14:25
Through
Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Isaiah 10:15
Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or…
- Isaiah 30:30
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.