Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will send to him those who pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
- KJV Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.
- NKJV “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I shall send him wine-workers Who will tip him over And empty his vessels And break the bottles.
- NASB Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will pour out his vessels and smash his jars.
- NLT But the time is coming soon,” says the Lord, “when I will send men to pour him from his jar. They will pour him out, then shatter the jar!
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
The LORD will send those who will pour Moab off her dregs, empty her vessels, and smash her jars.
Overview
Continuing the wine image, God promises to disturb Moab's false security by pouring her out and shattering her containers. The settled complacency of the previous verse will be violently upended. This reversal shows that no one remains untouched by God's purposes forever, and that pride left unrefined is finally broken.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Nah 2:2For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine.
- Jer 48:38On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.
- Ezek 25:9–10therefore I will indeed expose the flank of Moab beginning with its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the glory of the land.
- Isa 30:14It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
- Isa 16:2Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
- Jer 14:3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Ps 2:9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”
- Jer 25:9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Jer 48:8The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.
- Jer 19:10Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you,
- Jer 48:11Moab 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.
- Jer 25:34Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
- Jer 48:15Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
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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 48:12 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
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