“Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.
Parallel translations
- KJV Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
- BSB Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.
- NKJV “Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed.
- NASB ¶“Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been peaceful, like wine on its dregs, And he has not been poured from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed.
- NLT “From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace, never going into exile. He is like wine that has been allowed to settle. He has not been poured from flask to flask, and he is now fragrant and smooth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moab has been undisturbed from youth, settled on her dregs like undecanted wine, complacent and unchanged.
Overview
Using a winemaking image, Moab is likened to wine left on its sediment, never poured out, so its character remains fixed and self-satisfied. Long ease and security bred complacency rather than refinement. The verse warns that untested comfort can harden the heart, whereas God often works through disturbance and discipline to purify His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Zeph 1:12It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.”
- Jer 48:29“We have heard of the pride of Moab. He is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.
- Zech 1:15I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity.”
- Nah 2:2For Yahweh restores the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the destroyers have destroyed them, and ruined their vine branches.
- Ezek 16:49–50“‘“Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
- Isa 24:3The earth will be utterly emptied and utterly laid waste; for Yahweh has spoken this word.
- Ps 73:4–8For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.
- Ps 55:19God, who is enthroned forever, will hear, and answer them. Selah. They never change, who don’t fear God.
- Ps 123:4Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.
- Isa 16:6We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing.
- Prov 1:32For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
- Jer 51:34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me. He has crushed me. He has made me an empty vessel. He has, like a monster, swallowed me up. He has filled his mouth with my delicacies. He has cast me out.
- Isa 25:6In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.
- Nah 2:10She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 48:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.