The Meaning of Jeremiah 48:8 Explained

Jeremiah 48:8

KJV: And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.

YLT: And come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah said.

Darby: And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.

ASV: And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the spoiler  shall come  upon every city,  and no city  shall escape:  the valley  also shall perish,  and the plain  shall be destroyed,  as the LORD  hath spoken. 

What does Jeremiah 48:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

All the cities, the valley, and the plateau-in short, the whole nation-would fall before the coming enemy, as Yahweh predicted. "The valley" was the Jordan Valley in which Moab had holdings, and "the plateau" refers to the tableland from Aroer northward to Heshbon (cf. Joshua 13:15-17). Most of Moab stood on this fertile plateau.
"For defense, Moab had towering cliffs, and for wealth, her enormous flocks of sheep [1]; riches that were self-renewing. But the shelter of these things had bred more complacency than character." [2]

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 48:8 mean?

And shall come the plunderer against every city and No one shall escape and shall perish the valley and shall be destroyed the plain as has spoken Yahweh
וְיָבֹ֨א שֹׁדֵ֜ד אֶל־ כָּל־ עִ֗יר וְעִיר֙ לֹ֣א תִמָּלֵ֔ט וְאָבַ֥ד הָעֵ֖מֶק וְנִשְׁמַ֣ד הַמִּישֹׁ֑ר אֲשֶׁ֖ר אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה

וְיָבֹ֨א  And  shall  come 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שֹׁדֵ֜ד  the  plunderer 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
אֶל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
כָּל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עִ֗יר  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
לֹ֣א  No  one 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִמָּלֵ֔ט  shall  escape 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
וְאָבַ֥ד  and  shall  perish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
הָעֵ֖מֶק  the  valley 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
וְנִשְׁמַ֣ד  and  shall  be  destroyed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
הַמִּישֹׁ֑ר  the  plain 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִישֹׁור  
Sense: level place, uprightness.
אָמַ֥ר  has  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.