Jeremiah 48:9
in Jeremiah 48Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
KJV
Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
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This verse in Jeremiah 48
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Give wings, &c.-- (Ps 55:6). Unless it get wings, it cannot escape the foe. "Wings," the Hebrew root meaning is a "flower" (Job 14:2); so the flower-like plumage of a bird.
This site's exposition
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says
on Jeremiah 48:1-10
The oracle names Moab’s towns, and verse 7 gives the cause: “Because you trust in your works and treasures.” Moab’s god goes too: “Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.” Verse 10 curses the one who “withholds his sword from bloodshed,” a charge not to spare Moab.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); that would be the greatest kindness you could do them; that is what they will call for, O that we had wings like a dove! for unless they have wings, and can fly, there will be no escaping." IV. The sins for which God will now reckon with Moab, and which justify God in these severe proceedings against them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Give wings unto Moab that it may flee and get away,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Give wings unto Moab - There is no hope in resistance, and to escape requires the speediest flight. I cannot conceive how Dahler came to translate thus: Tirez Moab par les chevaux, “Drag Moab away by the hair of the head.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
the Lord’s work The work of the destruction of Moab, which is the mission of the Omnipresent.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תְּנוּ־ | tenu- | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| צִ֣יץ | tzitz | salt | H6731 → | |
| לְמוֹאָ֔ב | lemoav | to Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָצֹ֖א | natzo' | [surely] flying | H5323 → | |
| תֵּצֵ֑א | tetze' | it will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ | veareiha | and cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְשַׁמָּ֣ה | leshamah | <into> a waste | H8047 → | 39 times |
| תִֽהְיֶ֔ינָה | tihyeinah | they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ין | meein | from not | H369 → | 789 times |
| יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | yoshev | inhabitant | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּהֵֽן׃ | bahen | in <the> them |
תְּנוּ־give
tenu-H5414 →2011 times
צִ֣יץsalt
tzitzH6731 →
לְמוֹאָ֔בto Moab
lemoavH4124 →181 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נָצֹ֖א[surely] flying
natzo'H5323 →
תֵּצֵ֑אit will go out
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙and cities its
veareihaH5892 →1090 times
לְשַׁמָּ֣ה<into> a waste
leshamahH8047 →39 times
תִֽהְיֶ֔ינָהthey will become
tihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
מֵאֵ֥יןfrom not
meeinH369 →789 times
יוֹשֵׁ֖בinhabitant
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בָּהֵֽן׃in <the> them
bahen
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
Revelation 12:14But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:4
‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Revelation 12:6
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.
- Exodus 19:4
Through
Psalms 11:1In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
it leads to
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- 1 Samuel 23:14
And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.
- Psalms 56:11
Through
Psalms 55:6I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
it leads to
- Psalms 11:1
In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
- Revelation 12:14
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…
- Psalms 11:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.