You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’
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?
- BSB Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
- 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?’
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, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God delivered up all before us.
- 1 Sam 4:16The man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.” He said, “How did the matter go, my son?”
- 1 Sam 4:13–14When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out.
- 2 Sam 1:3–4David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.”
- Num 32:34The children of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- 1 Chr 5:8and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, even to Nebo and Baal Meon;
- 2 Sam 18:24–32Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.
- 2 Sam 24:5They passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to 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
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.