The Meaning of Jeremiah 48:9 Explained

Jeremiah 48:9

KJV: Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

YLT: Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.

Darby: Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant.

ASV: Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Give  wings  unto Moab,  that it may flee  and get away:  for the cities  thereof shall be desolate,  without any to dwell  therein. 

What does Jeremiah 48:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Moab needed wings, since her people were bound to fly away into captivity, and her cities would remain desolate. Another translation sees Moab sown with salt, a symbol of destruction in the ancient Near East (cf. Judges 9:45), either to destroy Moab or to prepare it for the conqueror"s occupation. Salt was an abundant material in Moab, which lay just east of the Salt (Dead) Sea.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 48

1  The judgment of Moab
7  for their pride
11  for their security
14  for their carnal confidence
26  and for their contempt of God and his people
47  The restoration of Moab

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 48:9 mean?

Give wings to Moab that she may flee and get away for her cities desolate shall be [there are] none to dwell in them
תְּנוּ־ צִ֣יץ לְמוֹאָ֔ב כִּ֥י נָצֹ֖א תֵּצֵ֑א וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ לְשַׁמָּ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ינָה מֵאֵ֥ין יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בָּהֵֽן

תְּנוּ־  Give 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
צִ֣יץ  wings 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִיץ 
Sense: flower, bloom.
לְמוֹאָ֔ב  to  Moab 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מֹואָב 
Sense: a son of Lot by his eldest daughter.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
נָצֹ֖א  she  may  flee 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: נָצָא  
Sense: (Qal) to fly.
תֵּצֵ֑א  and  get  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙  for  her  cities 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
לְשַׁמָּ֣ה  desolate 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שַׁמָּה  
Sense: waste, horror, appalment.
תִֽהְיֶ֔ינָה  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מֵאֵ֥ין  [there  are]  none 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב  to  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בָּהֵֽן  in  them 
Parse: Preposition-b, Pronoun, third person feminine plural
Root: ־הֶן 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.