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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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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.
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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 pit's mouth.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 48:28 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 6:2 The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made themselves the dens which are in the mountains, the caves, and the strongholds.
- Psalms 55:6-7 I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest. Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.”
- Song of Solomon 2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
- Isaiah 2:19 Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
- Jeremiah 48:9 Give wings to Moab, that she may fly and get herself away: and her cities will become a desolation, without anyone to dwell in them.
- Jeremiah 49:16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in tombs, and in pits.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here Jeremiah denounces exile on the Moabites; as though…
Here Jeremiah denounces exile on the Moabites; as though he had said, that such would be the desolation of their land, that they would be forced as wanderers to flee here and there. That he bids them to leave their cities, this is not done in the same way as when God commands his people what is right; but he only shews that he was armed with the sword of God, not only to speak with the mouth, but also to perform what he foretells; for the execution ought not to be separated from the prophecies, for the hand of God is joined with his mouth. When, therefore, he announces anything by his servants, the fulfillment also, as it has been stated, is included.
This is the import of the words, Leave the cities, and dwell among the rocks; that is, Hide yourselves in lurking-places, for no habitable land will afford you rest, or be a convenient place to flee to. And they shall be, he says, like a dove which makes a nest in remote places beyond the clefts of the rocks, or stones. He means the most deserted places. It is the same as though he had said, that it would not be simply an exile that God would allot to the Moabites, but that they would be taken away to regions unknown, and deserted by men. 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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 48:28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave…
Jer 48:28 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.
Ver. 28. And be like the dove.] That is glad to creep in at any cranny of the craggy rock, to be hid from the hawk.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Still the prophet speaks of the Moabites as a…
Still the prophet speaks of the Moabites as a people whose armies were routed, and calls to them to leave their houses in cities, not promising themselves any security, either to or from their houses, or from the walls of their cities, but to get them to rocks, which are naturally fortified, and from whence (if from any place) security might be promised. And he commends to them the natural sagacity of a dove, which being a feeble creature, and not able to encounter a hawk or eagle, makes herself a nest in the sides of some rock where she may be at safety.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain We have heard the pride of Moab,.... Israel, and…
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 Jer 48:30; and who here speaks in the plural number, because of the plurality of persons in the Godhead; as he afterwards does in the singular number, to denote the unity of the divine essence:
(he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart; a heap of words to express the same thing; suggesting that the instances of his pride were many, and that it was exceeding great indeed: these many words were little enough; and indeed words were wanting fully to declare it. The same was observed in Isaiah's time, and in much the same language; only more words are here used, to show that his pride was increased since that time; see Isa 16:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain O ye - Still the prophet speaks of the…
O ye - Still the prophet speaks of the Moabites, as a people whose armies were routed, and calls to them to leave their houses in cities, not promising themselves any security, either to or from their houses, or from the walls of the cities, but to get them to rocks, which are naturally fortified, and from whence (if from any place) security may be promised.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 28. Dwell in the rock] Go to the…
Verse 28. Dwell in the rock] Go to the most inaccessible places in the mountains.
The hole's mouth.] And into the most secret eaves and holes of the earth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jer 48:28. Ye that dwell in Moab, leave the…
Jer 48:28. Ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities — The walls of which will not be sufficient to defend you from the sword of the enemy. And dwell in the rock — Hide yourselves in the rocks and caverns of your country. And be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth — That is, on the edge of the precipice, as Blaney interprets the expression, or the brink of destruction. The Moabites are here, therefore, “exhorted to retire for safety to those places where the apprehensions of danger would secure them from the enemy’s pursuit. That doves build in the clefts, or natural hollows of rocks, see Son 2:14. Dr. Shaw, in his Travle, p. 162, fol., mentions a city on the African coast, called Hamanet, from the number of wild pigeons that are bred in the cliffs of the adjacent mountains.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Dwell in the rock - See Jer 4:29. The…
Dwell in the rock - See Jer 4:29. The sole chance of escape is refuge in inaccessible fastnesses.
In the sides ... - On the further side “of the mouth of the pit.” The wild rock pigeon invariably selects deep ravines for its nesting and roosting.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Place. Seek for shelter in the caverns and highest…
Place. Seek for shelter in the caverns and highest mountains. (Haydock)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Doves often have their nests in the "sides" of…
Doves often have their nests in the "sides" of caverns. No longer shalt thou have cities to shelter thee: thou shalt have to flee for shelter to caves and deserts (Psa 55:6, Psa 55:8; Sol 2:14).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 28. Leave the cities, etc. — Leave the cities…
28. Leave the cities, etc. — Leave the cities and take refuge in the inaccessible rocks.
The sides — Literally, the farther sides. “The wild rock pigeon invariably selects deep ravines for its nesting and roosting places.”
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— Tristram.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 28. dwell in the rock] See on Jer_4:29.
28. dwell in the rock] See on Jer_4:29.
in the sides of the hole’s mouth] The expression is peculiar and probably corrupt, but the figure is plain. See Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 215, for mention of the many fissures in the rocky sides of the defiles in Palestine. Cp. Ca. Jer_2:14.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (28) O ye that dwell in Moab . .…
(28) O ye that dwell in Moab . . .—The general thought is the same as in Jer_48:6; Jer_48:9, but is more vivid as being more specific. The Moabites are to leave their cities and take refuge in the caves, always in Palestine the asylum of fugitives (1Sa_13:6; 2Sa_17:9), as the wild dove flies to “the clefts of the rock” (Song Son_2:14).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Dwell in the rook. Jeremiah probably thinks of the…
Dwell in the rook. Jeremiah probably thinks of the rocky defiles of the Amen, so splendidly adapted for fugitives (see Consul Wetzstein"s excursus to the third edition of Delitzsch"s "Jesaja;" he speaks of perpendicular walls of rock). Like the dove (i.e. the wild dove); comp. "Iliad," 21:493; "AEneid," 5:213.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Dwell in the rock, and be like the dove.
Jer_48:28
Dwell in the rock, and be like the dove.
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Dove and rock
I. God shows much compassion not only to friends but to foes.
1. It is for Moab--guilty, apostate, persecuting Moab--that God expresses all this compassionate concern.
2. The New Testament is filled with warnings, invitations, and promises, addressed to those who are farthest off from God, intermingled with signal instances of the conversion of hardened transgressors.
II. God would have us forsake false refuges and avail ourselves of the true. The wild doves and pigeons of the East delight in cool and inaccessible places. They build their nests in cliffs and caverns, overhanging fearful precipices, where man cannot tread. Learn the importance of shunning false confidences, and of resting our hope of salvation where alone it can be safe. God would have human weakness rely on almighty strength; human ignorance on almighty wisdom; human sinfulness on almighty mercy. The finite needs the Infinite; the sinner, the Saviour.
III. Contemptuous neglect of warnings and mercies aggravates final consequences. This was the case with Moab.
1. We may not presume on Gods mercy and forbearance. The longer the judgment delays, the heavier its weight of woe.
2. Despair is to be banished. The atonement is all-sufficient.
3. Delay must be avoided. Gods voice is always To-day; Satans. To-morrow. 4, We must not be satisfied with our own safety, but aim at leading others to flee as doves to the Rock. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 A cliff is a steep side of a mountain.
cliffs
A cliff is a steep side of a mountain.
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Become like a dove ... in the rocks
This simile emphasizes the people should leave their cities and live in the rocky cliffs to hide from their enemies. (See: Simile)
the mouth of a hole in the rocks
Here "mouth of a hole" is an idiom that means the entrance to a cave. AT: "the entrance to caves" or "an opening in the rocks" (See: Idiom)
We have heard
Here "We" refers generally to all the people in the surrounding area.
arrogance ... haughtiness ... pride ... self-glory ... conceit in his heart
All of these words have similar meanings. They are used together to emphasize the extreme pride of the people of Moab.
the conceit in his heart
Here "heart" represents a person's inner being. AT: "his conceit" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Moab
dove
arrogant
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.