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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
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Give wings unto Moab, for she must fly and get away; and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 48:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 11:1 In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
- Isaiah 16:2 For it will be that as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so will the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.
- Jeremiah 48:28 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.
- Psalms 55:6 I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.
- Jeremiah 46:19 You daughter who dwells in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis will become a desolation, and will be burned up, without inhabitant.
- Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
- Revelation 12:14 Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here is a bitter derision; for it was necessary…
Here is a bitter derision; for it was necessary not only to goad the Moabites, but also to pierce them through, because they were inflated with so much pride, and also because they cruelly raged against God’s people, as we shall more fully see hereafter. When the Israelites were conquered, these ungodly men cast forth their taunts, and also betrayed them to their enemies. Hence the Prophet now says, Give wings to Moab Though the word ציף, tsits, properly means a flower, yet it means here a wing, put for wings; as though he had said, that the Moabites could not escape destruction except by flying. In short, as they had not only so proudly despised, but had also persecuted their miserable brethren, the Prophet says, “Come shall the time when feet for running or for flight shall not be sufficient for you, your enemies being so eager in pursuit; but you will desire to have wings.” But, as we shall see, he will presently tell us, that Moab had been quiet and settling on its dregs.
He then adds, that its cities would be a waste, so as to have no inhabitant He mentions the reason why Moab would need wings, even because there would be no refuge for them, for wherever it would betake itself, it would be thence driven away; for the enemy would take all the cities, so that the whole people would be under the necessity of removing elsewhere; he intimates, in short, that there would be no hope for life to the Moabites, except by flight, and that the swiftest. At length he adds, —
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 48:9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may…
Jer 48:9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
Ver. 9. Give wings unto Moab.] Let him flea his utmost - addat timor alas: but the Chaldean eagle will easily overcatch him.
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 That is, the Moabites had need of wings like…
That is, the Moabites had need of wings like a bird to escape that ruin which is coming upon them. Yea, if they had wings, they should not escape, for the Lord is resolved that the cities of Moab shall be all brought to desolation, so as no inhabitants shall be left in them.
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 Give wings unto Moab that it may flee and…
Give wings unto Moab that it may flee and get away,.... That is, give wings to the inhabitants of Moab; signifying that they were in great danger, and there was no probability of escaping it, unless they had the wings of a swift bird, or were as swift as such, and even that would not do; though perhaps their fleeing, and passing away with wings, may signify not their fleeing from danger, and their attempt to escape; but their swift and sudden destruction, compared to the swift flight of a bird; for the last clause may be rendered, "for in flying it shall fly away" (o). Some render the first clause, "give a flower to Moab", as the Vulgate Latin version; and so the word sometimes signifies, Isa 40:7; and the sense may be, hold up a flower to Moab, or a feather, such as is light, as the down of a thistle, as an emblem of its destruction; which shall pass away as easily and swiftly as so light a thing before the wind; but Jarchi and Kimchi interpret the word as we do, a wing. The Targum is,
"take away the crown from Moab, for going it shall go away into captivity.''
Read full note →
The word is used of the plate of gold on the high priest's mitre, Exo 28:36;
for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein; which expresses the utter destruction of them.
(o) "quia volando volabit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "quia avolando avolabit", Schmidt; "nam avolabit", Piscator.
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 Give wings - The Moabites have need of wings…
Give wings - The Moabites have need of wings like a bird to escape that ruin which is coming upon them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. Give wings unto Moab] There is no…
Verse 9. Give wings unto Moab] There is no hope in resistance, and to escape requires the speediest flight. I cannot conceive how Dahler came to translate thus: Tirez Moab par les chevaux, "Drag Moab away by the hair of the head."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Flower: an usual ceremony at funerals. (Cornelius a Lapide)…
Flower: an usual ceremony at funerals. (Cornelius a Lapide) (Menochius) --- Manibus date lilia plenis. (Virgil, Æneid vi.) --- Hebrew, "wings." Protestants, "signs." Septuagint, (Haydock) "that they may know how to return." Let Moab flee. (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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Give wings, &c.-- (Psa 55:6). Unless it get wings,…
Give wings, &c.-- (Psa 55:6). Unless it get wings, it cannot escape the foe. "Wings," the Hebrew root meaning is a "flower" (Job 14:2); so the flower-like plumage of a bird.
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 DEVASTATION OF MOAB, Jer_48:9-15.
DEVASTATION OF MOAB, Jer_48:9-15.
9. Give wings unto Moab, etc. — The expression suggests the suddenness of the devastation. The word for “wings” elsewhere means a flower, as in Job_14:2.
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 9. wings] The sense is that nothing short of…
9. wings] The sense is that nothing short of wings would enable the Moabites to escape before their enemies.
that she may fly and get her away] or as mg. for she must fly; but better (so Dr.) for she would fain fly away.
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 (9) Give wings unto Moab . . .—“No other…
(9) Give wings unto Moab . . .—“No other prayer,” the prophet seems to say, in grave, stern irony, “is left but this. Resistance is hopeless. There is nothing left but to wish for the wings of a bird that safety may be found in flight.” (Comp. Ps. Iv. 6.)
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 Vers. 9-16. So sudden is the blow that Moab…
Vers. 9-16. So sudden is the blow that Moab stands in need of wings to make good his escape. Were the human instrument to delay, the curse meant for Moab would come upon himself. Is a reason demanded? It is that Moab has long been in a state of morally perilous security, and requires to be thoroughly shaken and aroused, in order that he may discover the inability of Chemosh to help his worshippers.
Give wings, etc. Comp. ver. 28; also Isa_16:2, where the fugitive Moabites are likened to "wandering birds."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.