49 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
O inhabitant of Aroer,.... Another city that belonged to Moab, situated on the border of it towards Ammon, near the river Arnon; [See comments on Isaiah 17:2]; stand by the way, and espy; get to the road side where travellers pass, and look out for them: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; whether man or woman you see fleeing, having...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Moab is confounded, for it is broken down,.... This is the answer returned, by those that had escaped and were fleeing, to those who inquired of them; who report that the whole country of Moab was in the utmost confusion and consternation; not being able to stand before the enemy, who broke down and destroyed all that was in his way: and therefore...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And judgment is come upon the plain country,.... Of Moab, which was for the most part such, especially that which lay near Arnon; the judgment of God's vengeance, punishment for sin, by the hand of the Chaldeans. The Targum is, "they that execute vengeance are come:'' upon Holon; a city of Moab; of which see Joshua 15:51; it had its name perhaps...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And upon Dibon,.... Whose destruction by this time was come upon it, as suggested, Jeremiah 48:18; and upon Nebo: of which see Jeremiah 48:1; and upon Bethdiblathaim: the same with Almondiblathaim in Numbers 33:46 and Diblath in Ezekiel 6:14.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And upon Kirjathaim,.... Of which see Jeremiah 48:1; and upon Bethgamul; this is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture; supposed by Grotius to be the Maccala of Ptolemy, put for Camala: and upon Bethmeon: of which see Isaiah 15:2.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And upon Kerioth,.... Which once belonged to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:25; from this place Judas Iscariot is by some thought to have his name; as if it was "Ish Kerioth", "a man of Kerioth". Grotius takes it to be the Goiratha of Ptolemy: and upon Bozrah; not in Idumea, but in Moab; the same with Bezer, Joshua 21:36; and upon all the cities of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The horn of Moab is cut off,.... The kingdom of Moab, high and strong, his power and strength, by which he defended himself, and offended others, as a beast with his horns; his powerful kingdom, and the glory of it: and his arm is broken, saith the Lord; so that he cannot hold a sword, or manage any weapon of war against the enemy, or do anything...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Make ye him drunken,.... Not with wine, but with the cup of divine wrath; with the vengeance of God; with sore judgments, afflictions, and calamities; give him his fill of them, till he is quite intoxicated with them, and has lost his senses, and is brought to madness and distraction, and reels, and staggers, and falls to the ground, like a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For was not Israel a derision unto thee?.... In the time of his calamity, when the ten tribes were carried captive by the Assyrians some years ago; and of late the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin by the Chaldeans; the Moabites rejoiced at this, which they ought not to have done, upon the common principles of humanity; and especially since they...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,.... Signifying hereby that they would not be in safety in their strongest and most fortified cities, which would be besieged by the enemy, and taken; and therefore are advised to leave them, and flee to the rocks and mountains, that if possible they might be safe there: and be like...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
We have heard the pride of Moab,.... Israel, and all the nations round about, had heard of this, and seen or heard of many instances of it; the thing was notorious; according to Kimchi, it is the prophet that here speaks in the name of the nations; but it seems best to understand it of the Lord himself, as appears from the Jeremiah 48:30; and who...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I know his wrath, saith the Lord,.... Against the Jews, and other nations; what he has threatened to do unto them, and would do if not restrained: but [it shall] not [be] so; as he has devised in his mind, and threatened in his wrath; all his swelling thoughts and big words shall come to nothing: his lies shall not so effect [it]; it shall not be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore will I howl for Moab,.... The prophet, being as a man affected with the miseries of a people very wicked, and so deserving of them; though indeed by this he does not so much design to express the affections of his own heart, as to show what reason the Moabites would have to howl for the calamities of their country; for, as Kimchi...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer,.... Sibmah was a city in the land of Moab abounding with vines, but now should be destroyed; and Jazer another city in the same country, which was destroyed before the other; and therefore its destruction should be lamented and wept over, as that had been: or "from", or "after the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field,.... Or, from Carmel (k); not Mount Carmel in the land of Israel; for the prophecy is of Moab; though that reached to Sibmah; but here it signifies any fruitful place, like Carmel, where were good pasturage, corn, and fruit bearing trees, which produced great plenty of good things, and caused...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
From the cry of Heshbon [even] unto Elealeh,.... Two cities in the land of Moab; of which see Isaiah 15:4. Heshbon being destroyed, a cry was made by the inhabitants of it, which either reached from thence to Elealeh; or the destruction being carried on to that city, the cry was continued there: [and even] unto Jahaz, have they uttered their...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places,.... A burnt offering there; that is, the priest, who shall be taken and carried captive, Jeremiah 48:7; even everyone of them; so that there will not be one left to otter sacrifice: and him that burneth incense to his gods: Chemosh, and others, the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes,.... That are sounded on mournful occasions, as at funerals, and the like; see Matthew 9:23. This the prophet said, as Kimchi observes, in the person of the people, the inhabitants of Moab; whose hearts would yearn and sound for the calamities of their country like the doleful sound of minstrels....
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For every head [shall be] bald, and every beard clipped,.... Men, in times of mourning, used to pluck off the hairs of their head till they made them bald, and shaved their beards; which, as Kimchi says, were the glory of their faces; see Isaiah 15:2; upon all the hands shall be cuttings: it was usual with the Heathens to make incisions in the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
[There shall be] lamentation generally,.... Or, "all of it [is] mourning" (n); the whole country of Moab is in mourning; or all is full of mourning; all persons, places, and things, express nothing but mourning; go where you will, it is to be seen: upon all the house tops of Moab, and in the streets thereof; the mourning, as it was general, it was...