Jeremiah 48:21-24 · Bible study
Jeremiah 48:21-24 Commentary: Judgment on Moab's Cities
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the significance of the detailed list of Moabite cities in Jeremiah 48:21-24, emphasizing the totality of divine judgment on Moab.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God’s judgment against Moab is executed fully; the list of cities proves that no city is overlooked or spared.
- Key words: Mishpat (judgment, execution of justice), ba’ (has come, prophetic perfect), mishor (plain/tableland), rachok (far) and qarov (near).
- Main debate: Whether the list is a literal historical itinerary or a rhetorical device emphasizing totality; some see it as a later prose addition (Cambridge).
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty extends to every place; hidden sins and small towns are all known. Judgment is both specific and comprehensive.
- Best use: Illustrate that God observes all human activity and that no stronghold can resist His decree; preach on the theme of God’s detailed awareness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
21Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
WEB World English Bible 2000
21Judgment has come on the plain country— on Holon, on Jahzah, on Mephaath,
22on Dibon, on Nebo, on Beth Diblathaim,
23on Kiriathaim, on Beth Gamul, on Beth Meon,
24on Kerioth, on Bozrah, and on all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
KJV King James Version 1769
21And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth–diblathaim,
23And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth–gamul, and upon Beth–meon,
24And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
21And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
23and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
21And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain--unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
22And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,
23And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
24And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
21And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath;
22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim;
23and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon;
24and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
21And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon, and upon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.
22And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,
24And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra: and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 48:21
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this catalogue of twelve specific cities, plus the general “all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near,” serves to specify and dramatize the general judgment already announced. Keil and Delitzsch note that “the general idea of Moab’s being laid waste is specialized by the enumeration of a long list of towns on which judgment has come.” The cities all lie in the tableland north of the Arnon, a region that had once belonged to the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 13:18, 21:36-37). Many of these towns, Holon, Beth-diblathaim, Beth-gamul, appear only here in Scripture, which both underscores God’s detailed knowledge and makes the passage’s historical reach seem wider than the surviving records. Gill describes the judgment as “punishment for sin, by the hand of the Chaldeans,” and observes that the Targum renders it “they that execute vengeance are come.” The verb “has come” (בָּ֖א, bā’) is a perfect of prophetic certainty: the event is as good as done. There is no escape for any city, “far or near,” because the enumeration leaves no gaps.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Historical itinerary: The list corresponds to known Moabite geography and records an actual Babylonian campaign, as supported by Keil, Delitzsch, and Gill.
- Theological catalogue: The names themselves carry meanings (e.g., ‘house of recompense’) that reinforce the judgment theme, and the inclusion of unknown towns emphasizes God's total knowledge (Barnes).
What is clear: Whether read as history or rhetoric, the list declares that divine judgment on Moab is comprehensive, reaching every city, near and far.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of certain cities | The cities are located in the Moabite tableland north of the Arnon, an area once assigned to Reuben. | Scholars disagree on the exact location of several towns (e.g., Holon, Beth-gamul, Beth-diblathaim) since they appear only here; some connect Kerioth to the capital Ar, while others see it as a separate town. |
| Historical basis of the list | The oracle reflects a real campaign (likely Nebuchadnezzar's) against Moab and fits the pattern of judgment oracles against the nations. | Keil and Delitzsch treat the list as an original part of Jeremiah's prophecy, while the Cambridge Bible suggests verses 21-24 may be a later prose expansion appended to the poetic section. |
| Significance of obscure names | The inclusion of little-known places shows that God's judgment covers every part of Moab, not just famous cities. | Some interpreters (Barnes) emphasize that the meanings of the names (e.g., Beth-diblathaim 'house of fig-cakes', Beth-gamul 'house of recompense') symbolically reinforce the message; others focus on the historical geography. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Moab was born from Lot’s elder daughter (Genesis 19:30-38), making the nation a distant relative of Israel. Despite the divine command not to oppress Moab (Deuteronomy 2:9), the Moabites repeatedly antagonized Israel, hiring Balaam to curse them and luring them into idolatry (Numbers 31:16). After David subdued Moab, it alternated between vassalage and rebellion. By Jeremiah’s time, Moab had reoccupied the territory north of the Arnon that Israel had lost when the northern ten tribes were deported (2 Kings 15:29, 24:2). The cities listed here lie in that very region, the tableland (מִישֹׁר, mîšōr) that stretches from the Arnon northward toward Heshbon. It was prime grazing land, dotted with towns that controlled trade routes and cultic sites. Dibon was a major administrative center (Jeremiah 48:18), and Nebo likely housed a temple to the Babylonian god or the Moabite deity. Kiriathaim (meaning “two cities”) and Kerioth (perhaps a synonym for the capital Ar) were fortified strongholds. Barnes points out that the name “Beth-diblathaim” means “house of the two fig-cakes,” possibly referencing two hills, while “Beth-meon” is a shortened form of Beth-baal-meon, “house of the habitation of Baal,” indicating a center of Baal worship. The list reads like an itinerary of conquest: the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar pressed south through these cities, leaving none untouched. The historical reality of Moab’s destruction around 582 B.C., as recorded by Josephus, fulfills this oracle.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note that the metrical pattern observed in Jeremiah 48:17-20 breaks off after verse 20, and verses 21-24 read as prose rather than poetry. This has led some commentators (e.g., Cambridge Bible) to suggest the list was added later as a specific expansion. However, no significant textual variants are attested among Hebrew manuscripts. The same dozen city names appear across all major translations with only minor spelling differences (e.g., Jahzah vs. Jahazah). The passage is textually stable.
Reception History
In the Christian tradition, Jeremiah 48:21-24 has been read primarily within the larger oracles against the nations, understood as demonstrating God’s universal sovereignty and moral governance. Early church fathers like Jerome, who lived near Bethlehem and knew the geography firsthand, used this passage in his commentaries to illustrate that God judges pagan nations for their idolatry and pride. During the Reformation, Protestant commentators (Gill, Matthew Henry) saw the specificity of the list as a warning that no sin escapes God’s notice. The enumeration has also been used in liturgy (e.g., in the Office of Readings during Lent) to call communities to repentance, showing that God requires accountability from every people. More recently, the passage has been studied as a model of prophetic announcements that combine historical concreteness with theological breadth, reminding readers that God’s justice is not abstract but touches actual cities and lives.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Judgment is precise. God names names. He knows every city, every stronghold, every obscure town. The list is not a random collection but a deliberate roll call of places that trusted in their own strength or their gods.
- Judgment is total. “Far or near” closes the net. No corner of Moab’s territory is exempt. The enumeration leaves no gap for hope in geography or distance.
- Judgment is certain. The perfect tense “has come” treats the future as already accomplished. What God says will happen is as good as done.
Five-point outline
- The geography of sin: Each named city represents a center of human pride, idolatry, or hostility toward God’s people.
- The God of details: Several of these towns are mentioned nowhere else in Scripture. God’s knowledge is not limited to major cities.
- The inclusive scope: “All the cities of the land of Moab” widens the lens from the specific to the universal within the nation.
- The means of judgment: The Babylonians are the historical agent, but the text attributes the action directly to God (“judgment has come”).
- The end of false security: Moab’s pride (Jeremiah 48:29-30) was its downfall; the list proves that no fortress or city could withstand God’s decree.
Illustration hooks
- A map with pins: Imagine a military map where every settlement has a pin, including villages with no name on the tourist brochure. The pins show a complete sweep. God’s judgment leaves no blank space.
- An eviction notice: When a landlord posts a list of all lockers in a storage unit that must be cleared, each owner knows the notice applies to them. The list of Moabite cities is a public eviction from the land.
- A roll call: In school, when the teacher reads the full attendance list, every student is accounted for. God reads the roll of Moab’s cities, and every one answers “present” to the execution of judgment.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why would God destroy whole nations? Isn’t He a God of mercy? (The judgment balances justice; the destruction of Moab is also a judgment on the pride that oppressed Israel.)
- Does God still judge nations today, or was that only for Old Testament times? (Christians differ on whether national judgment is still a pattern or if the Church crosses national boundaries.)
- If God knows every obscure city, does He also see my small, unnoticed struggles? (The list encourages trust in God’s intimate awareness.)
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 48:21-24 is a litany of judgment. Twelve cities are named by name, and then the list expands to cover every town in Moab, near and far. The passage invites us to consider how God sees every corner of human activity, nothing is hidden from His sight or beyond His reach.
Discussion questions
- Look at the list of cities in verses 21-24. Read them aloud slowly. What do you notice about their names and their repetition? (Consider the compound names like Beth-diblathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon.)
- Several of these cities are mentioned only in this passage. What does that tell you about God’s knowledge of places that history has almost forgotten?
- The text says “judgment has come.” Why does the prophet use the past tense when the event was still future? What does that reveal about God’s promises of judgment or salvation?
- In what ways did Moab’s pride and hostility toward Israel set them up for this judgment? (Scan Jeremiah 48:26-30 for clues.)
- How does the phrase “far or near” strengthen the message of total judgment? Are there any exceptions implied?
- Compare this oracle with similar judgments in Isaiah 15-16 and Amos 2:1-3. What themes do these prophecies share?
- If God cares enough to name obscure Moabite towns, what might that mean for how He sees your life, your community, and your nation?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 21:23 | Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel. |
| Joshua 13:18 | Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, |
| Joshua 21:36 | Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, |
| Joshua 21:37 | Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands: four cities. |
| Isaiah 15:4 | Heshbon cries out with Elealeh. Their voice is heard even to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud. Their souls tremble within them. |
| Jeremiah 48:8 | The destroyer will come on every city, and no city will escape; the valley also will perish, and the plain will be destroyed, as Yahweh has spoken. |
| Ezekiel 25:9 | therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim, |
| 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. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke observes that the cities listed here are Moabite territory, yet several appear nowhere else in Scripture. Their names survive only in this single biblical record.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes reads the place names as windows into Moab's geography and religion. Holon comes from nearby caves, Beth-diblathaim from twin hills shaped like fig cakes, and Beth-meon marks a site of Baal worship. Kerioth he identifies with the old capital, and Bozrah, meaning sheepfolds, reflects the region's use as pastureland.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary identifies a break in the poetic structure of the passage, noting that the metrical arrangement ends mid-verse at verse 20. The section from that point onward through verse 24 is likely a later addition, and several of the place names mentioned remain unknown or uncertain in location.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that judgment fell on every city of Moab, both near and far, without exception. No town was too small or too remote to escape. This listing emphasizes the total and thorough nature of God’s judgment.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill catalogs the specific Moabite cities struck by God's judgment through the Chaldeans, noting each location's biblical history and sometimes its identity in Greek geography. He emphasizes that the destruction fell not only on these named towns but on every city throughout Moab, near and far.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the coming judgment against Moab will spare no terrain, sweeping across both the mountainous regions and the plain. He then identifies each specific town destined for ruin, linking them to earlier biblical mentions to show the thorough fulfillment of prophecy.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argues that Kerioth is not a separate town but another name for Ar, Moab's capital. They support this by noting that when Ar appears in lists, Kerioth is missing, and vice versa. Kerioth is also described as a capital-level stronghold, matching Ar's role.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange shows that Jeremiah builds his prophecy against Moab by consciously weaving together older oracles from Isaiah, Amos, Zephaniah and Numbers. Rather than offering a new revelation, the prophet reuses and adapts these earlier words to create a powerful composite judgment, emphasizing that God's judgment on Moab reaffirms what He has already declared.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that Moab's mocking of Israel's suffering becomes the measure of their own judgment. The same pride that made them skip for joy over Israel's troubles now leaves them wallowing in shame, and God's justice ensures that those who deride others will themselves become a derision.