“Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them.
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.
- KJV Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
- 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.
- 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 will be that as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so will the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.
- Jer 48:28You inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that makes her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
- Ps 11:1For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
- Ps 55:6I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.
- Zeph 2:9Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
- Rev 12:14Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
- Jer 46:19You daughter who dwells in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burned up, without 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.