Yeremia 48:12

48:12 But the time is coming when I will send

men against Moab who will empty it out.

They will empty the towns of their people,

then will lay those towns in ruins. ¹ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ² 

Yeremia 49:2

49:2 Because you did that,

I, the Lord, affirm that ³  a time is coming

when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon,

hear the sound of the battle cry.

It will become a mound covered with ruins. ⁴ 

Its villages will be burned to the ground. ⁵ 

Then Israel will take back its land

from those who took their land from them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁶ 

Yeremia 51:52

51:52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,” ⁷  says the Lord, ⁸ 

“when I will punish her idols.

Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

[48:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Therefore, behold the days are coming, oracle of Yahweh, when I will send against him decanters [those who pour from one vessel to another] and they will decant him [pour him out] and they will empty his vessels and break their jars in pieces.” The verse continues the metaphor from the preceding verse where Moab/the people of Moab are like wine left undisturbed in a jar, i.e., in their native land. In this verse the picture is that of the decanter emptying the wine from the vessels and then breaking the jars. The wine represents the people and the vessels the cities and towns where the people lived. The verse speaks of the exile of the people and the devastation of the land. The metaphor has been interpreted so it conveys meaning to the average reader.

[48:12]  ² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:2]  ³ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[49:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a desolate tel.” For the explanation of what a “tel” is see the study note on 30:18.

[49:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Its daughters will be burned with fire.” For the use of the word “daughters” to refer to the villages surrounding a larger city see BDB 123 s.v. I בַּת 4 and compare the usage in Judg 1:27.

[49:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “says the Lord.” The first person is used to maintain the first person address throughout.

[51:52]  ⁷ tn Heb “that being so, look, days are approaching.” Here לָכֵן (lakhen) introduces the Lord’s response to the people’s lament (v. 51). It has the force of “yes, but” or “that may be true.” See Judg 11:8 and BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.

[51:52]  ⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”