Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
Parallel translations
- WEB Inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him who flees, and her who escapes; say, ‘What has been done?’
- KJV O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?
- NKJV O inhabitant of Aroer, Stand by the way and watch; Ask him who flees And her who escapes; Say, ‘What has happened?’
- NASB “Stand by the road and keep watch, You inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?’
- NLT You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’
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 people of Aroer are told to stand by the road and ask the fleeing refugees what has happened.
Overview
Onlookers are pictured questioning the survivors streaming past, seeking news of the disaster. The scene heightens the sense of widespread catastrophe witnessed by neighbors. The image of refugees fleeing ruin underscores the reality of judgment and the longing for a safety that only the LORD can give.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 2:36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
- 1 Sam 4:16“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
- 1 Sam 4:13–14When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
- 2 Sam 1:3–4“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.
- Num 32:34And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- 1 Chr 5:8and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
- 2 Sam 18:24–32Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
- 2 Sam 24:5They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
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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 48:19 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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