31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns
as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks. 1
48:15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded.
Its finest young men will be slaughtered. 2
I, the King, the Lord who rules over all, 3 affirm it! 4
48:28 Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab.
Go and live in the cliffs.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
high on the sides of a ravine. 5
48:41 Her towns 6 will be captured.
Her fortresses will be taken.
At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened
like a woman in labor. 7
1 tn The translation “those who move about with their flocks” is based on an emendation of the Hebrew text which reads a third plural Qal perfect (נָסְעוּ, nos’u) to a masculine plural Qal participle in the construct (נֹסְעֵי, nosÿ’e) as suggested in the BHS fn. For the use of the construct participle before a noun with a preposition see GKC 421 §130.a. It is generally agreed that three classes of people are referred to here, townspeople, farmers, and shepherds. But the syntax of the Hebrew sentence is a little awkward: “And they [i.e., “people” (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will live in it, Judah and all its cities [an apposition of nearer definition (GKC 425-26 §131.n)], [along with] farmers and those who move about with their flocks.” The first line refers awkwardly to the townspeople and the other two classes are added asyndetically (i.e., without the conjunction “and”).
2 tn Heb “will go down to the slaughter.”
3 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of the translation and meaning of this title see the study note on 2:19.
4 tn Heb “Oracle of the King whose name is Yahweh of armies.” The first person form has again been adopted because the
5 tn Heb “in the sides of the mouth of a pit/chasm.” The translation follows the suggestion of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 321. The point of the simile is inaccessibility.
6 tn Parallelism argues that the word קְרִיּוֹת (qÿriyyot) be understood as the otherwise unattested feminine plural of the noun קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) rather than the place name Kerioth mentioned in v. 24 (cf. HALOT 1065 s.v. קִרְיָה). Both this noun and the parallel term “fortresses” are plural but are found with feminine singular verbs, being treated either as collectives or distributive plurals (cf. GKC 462-63 §145.c or 464 §145.l).
7 tn Heb “The heart of the soldiers of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor.”