Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
Parallel translations
- WEB Give wings to Moab, that she may fly and get herself away: and her cities will become a desolation, without anyone to dwell in them.
- BSB Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
- NKJV “Givewings to Moab, That she may flee and get away; For her cities shall be desolate, Without any to dwell in them.
- NASB “Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them.
- NLT Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them.
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
Give Moab wings to flee, for her cities will become uninhabited ruins.
Overview
The bitter image of giving Moab wings to escape only emphasizes that her cities will be left desolate and empty. Flight cannot reverse the appointed devastation. The picture of abandoned ruins is a sobering testimony that what people build apart from God will not endure, while His kingdom in Christ stands forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 16:2For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
- Jer 48:28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.
- Ps 11:1In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
- Ps 55:6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
- Zeph 2:9Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
- Rev 12:14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
- Jer 46:19O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
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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 48:9 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.