On 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB On all the housetops of Moab, and in its streets, there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which no one delights,” says Yahweh.
- KJV There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
- NKJV A general lamentation On all the housetops of Moab, And in its streets; For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the Lord.
- NASB On all the housetops of Moab and in its public squares there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord.
- NLT There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted 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
Lamentation fills every rooftop and street, for the LORD has shattered Moab like an unwanted jar.
Overview
Mourning is everywhere because God has broken Moab as one smashes a vessel no one values. The image of the discarded, shattered pot conveys complete ruin and rejection. As the Potter, God has authority over the nations, a sovereignty that also shapes vessels of mercy prepared for glory in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 22:28Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
- 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.
- Isa 22:1This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
- Isa 15:3In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.
- 2 Tim 2:20–21A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
- Ps 2:9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”
- Rom 9:21–22Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
- Hos 8:8Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel.
- Rev 2:27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.
- 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.”
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 48:38 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.