Jeremiah 48:8

Jer 48:8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.

Ver. 8. And the spoiler shall come,] i.e., Nebuchadnezzar.

As the Lord hath spoken.] Who hath given him a commission, and made him his executioner.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48:8-10 The Lord sentenced all the towns of Moab to destruction, and he warned the agents of his judgment to faithfully carry out his decree.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

the valley . . . shall perish--that is, those dwelling in the valley.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He confirms the previous verse; nor ought he to be deemed too wordy, for this prophecy was not announced, that it might cherish the hope and patience of the faithful only for a few days; but it was necessary for them to rest dependent for a long time on this promise, which God had given them many years before. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet confirms at large a truth in itself sufficiently clear. Come, he says, shall a waster to all the cities It now appears more clearly why he mentioned some of the cities, though, as we shall see, they were many, even that the Israelites might know that all the land of Moab was to be given up to desolation: Nor shall a city escape, for destroyed shall be the valley and the plain, as Jehovah has spoken It follows, —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(8) The valley also shall perish . . .—The cities of “the plain” are enumerated in Jer_48:21-24. They belonged to the Arabah, the sunken valley of the Jordan, the “plains of Moab” of Num_22:1; Deu_3:10; Deu_4:43. The “valley” here is not connected with anything that helps us to identify it, but it may have been that of the Arnon, or the words may be used generically for “every valley” and “every plain.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. the valley] the valley of the Jordan towards the Dead Sea.

the plain] the tableland of Moab.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the spoiler shall come upon every city,.... That is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and his army. The Targum is, the spoilers, who came against and took every city of Moab, and wasted them. Josephus (n) makes particular mention of Nebuchadnezzar subduing the Ammonites and Moabites:

and no city shall escape; the spoiler, and destruction by him:

the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken; not only the cities, and the inhabitants of them; but the inhabitants of the valleys and plains, as the Targum paraphrases it, should be destroyed; and also the corn that grew upon them, and the flocks and herds that grazed there, exactly as the Lord had foretold.

(n) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The valley - The lowlands on the east bank of the Jordan, and at the top of the Dead Sea.

The plain - An upland pasture; it answers very much to downs: so in Jer 48:21.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Spoiler, or "thief," (prædo) a title which Nabuchodonosor deserved, on account of his unjust conquests. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

That is, all the parts of the country of Moab, and all the cities, as well those that stood upon hills and mountainous places, as those that stood in valleys; because or for the Lord had said it (for so the particle we translate as is bettea translated).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. The valley of the Jordan in Moab, and the plain or level upland stretching between the Arnon and Heshbon, shall be overrun with this destruction. The last is called repeatedly “the fields of Moab” in Ruth and elsewhere.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The valley... the plain. The latter (Hebrew, mishor) is the upland region which extends from the Jordan eastward of Jericho into the Arabian desert; in Num_21:20 it is called the "field" (i.e. "open country") of Moab. The former means that part of the Jordan valley which borders on this upland "plain" towards the west.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the destroyer will come to every city

Here "the destroyer" represents the enemy army. AT: "For the enemy army will come to every city and destroy it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

no city will escape

Here "city" represents the people. AT: "no people from any city will escape" (See: Metonymy)

So the valley will perish and the plain will be devastated

Here "valley" and "plain" represent the cities and the people in those places AT: "So the enemy army will destroy everything in the valleys and on the plains" (See: Metonymy)

Give wings to Moab, for she must certainly fly away

Helping the people is spoken of as if they would put wings on the people so that could fly away. AT: "Help the people of Moab to escape as if you were giving them wings to fly away" (See: Metaphor)

Give wings to Moab, for she must certainly fly away

The translation of the original language is uncertain. Some Bibles translate this as "Set up a tombstone for Moab, for the enemy will certainly destroy it." Other Bibles translate it as "Put salt on the cities of Moab, for the enemy will completely destroy it." Enemies through salt on ruins to keep thing from ever growing there again.

from shedding blood

Here "blood" represents a person's life. And "shedding blood" is an idiom that means to kill. AT: "from killing people" (See: Metonymy and Idiom)

translationWords

destroy

perish

devastate

Yahweh

Moab

waste

life

works

curse

sword

blood

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.