Jeremiah 48:28
26 “Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
27 Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
30 I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
- KJV
- O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.
- WEB
- You inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock. Be like the dove that makes her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
- ASV
- O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
- DARBY
- Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth.
- BLB
- Leave behind the cities and dwell in the rock, O dwellers of Moab, and become like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a cave.
- ÅB
- Forlat byene og bo på fjellet, dere Moabs innbyggere, og bli lik duen som bygger rede på den andre siden av kløftens gap!
- OTB
- Forlat byene og bo blant klippene, dere som bor i Moab. Vær som en due som bygger rede ved inngangen til en hule.
- B1930
- Forlat byene og bo på fjellet, I Moabs innbyggere, og bli lik duen som bygger rede på den andre siden av kløftens gap!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Judges 6:2
and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
Read in contextPsalms 55:6–7
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
Read in contextSong of Solomon 2:14
O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
Read in contextIsaiah 2:19
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
Read in contextJeremiah 48:9
Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
Read in contextJeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
Read in contextObadiah 1:3–4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
Read in context1 Samuel 13:6
Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
Read in context