God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 48:37
37“Every head is shaved, and every beard is cut off. There are gashes on every hand and sackcloth on every waist.
Jeremiah 48:37 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
- New International Version (NIV)Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped; On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth—
Context of Jeremiah 48:37
35I will stop those in Moab who come to worship sites, those who bring offerings to their gods,” declares the Lord. 36“That is why I moan for Moab like a flute. I sound like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they gained has disappeared. “Every head is shaved, and every beard is cut off. There are gashes on every hand and sackcloth on every waist. 38People in Moab will mourn on every rooftop and in every street. There will be mourning everywhere, because I will break Moab like a jar that no one wants,” declares the Lord. 39“They will cry, ‘Look how Moab is defeated! Moab turns away in shame!’ Moab has become something ridiculed and something held in contempt by everyone around it.
Read all of Jeremiah 48Jeremiah 48:37 word by word
כִּ֤י כָל־רֹאשׁ֙ קָרְחָ֔ה וְכָל־זָקָ֖ן גְּרֻעָ֑ה עַ֤ל כָּל־יָדַ֙יִם֙ גְּדֻדֹ֔ת וְעַל־מָתְנַ֖יִם שָֽׂק׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For every headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- baldקׇרְחָהqorchâh qorchâ' · bald spotH7144
- and every beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
- clippedגָּרַעgâra‛ · diminishH1639
- upon all the handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- cuttingsגְּדוּדgedûd gedûdâh · furrowH1417
- and upon the loinsמׇתְנַ֫יִםmôthen · loinH4975
- sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
Cross-references for Jeremiah 48:37
- Jeremiah 16:6“Old and young alike will die in this land. No one will mourn for them or bury them. No one will cut his own body or shave his own head for them.
- Jeremiah 41:580 men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. Their beards were shaved off, their clothes were torn, and cuts were on their bodies. They brought grain offerings and incense to the Lord’s temple.
- Jeremiah 47:5Gaza will shave its head in mourning. Ashkelon will be destroyed. How long will you cut yourselves, you people left on the plains?
- Isaiah 3:24Instead of the smell of perfume, there will be the smell of decay. They will wear ropes instead of belts. They will have bald heads instead of beautiful hair. They will wear sackcloth instead of expensive clothes. Their beauty will be scarred.
- Isaiah 15:2The people of Dibon go to the temple, to the worship sites, to cry. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved bald, and every beard is cut off.
- Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and horror will cover them. All their faces will be covered with shame, and every head will be shaved.
- Ezekiel 27:31They shaved their heads because of you and put on sackcloth. They cried over you with bitterness and with bitter mourning.
- Amos 8:10I will turn your festivals into funerals and all your songs into funeral songs. I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist and shave everyone’s head. I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child, and its end will be bitter.
- Micah 1:16Shave your head in mourning for the children you love. Make yourselves as bald as vultures because your children will be taken from you into exile.
- Leviticus 19:28Never slash your body to mourn the dead, and never get a tattoo. I am the Lord.
- 1 Kings 18:28So they shouted louder. They also cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. (This is what their ritual called for.)
- Mark 5:5Night and day he was among the tombs and on the mountainsides screaming and cutting himself with stones.
- Genesis 37:29When Reuben came back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was no longer there, he tore his clothes in grief.
- 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard these things, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟ and dressed in sackcloth. He fasted, lay in sackcloth, and walked around depressed.
- 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman say this, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟. As he was walking on the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.
- Isaiah 20:2At that time the Lord told Isaiah, son of Amoz, “Take off the sackcloth that you are wearing, and take off your sandals!” Isaiah did this and walked around barefoot and naked.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 48:37
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37For every head shall be bald - These, as we have seen before, were signs of the deepest distress and desolation.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37Cuttings - Compare Jeremiah 16:6, and marginal references.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-47Verses 14-47 . The destruction of Moab is further prophesied, to awaken them by national repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal repentance and reformation to prepare for it. In reading this long roll of threatenings, and mediating on the terror, it will be of more use to us to keep in view the power of God's anger and the terror of his judgments, and to have our hearts possessed with a holy awe of God and of his wrath, than to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35-37The Moabites showed their sorrow and grief through traditional actions. They shaved their heads and beards, cut their hands, and wore burlap clothing (Jeremiah 41:5; Job 1:20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3737. (See on Jr 47:5; Is 15:2, 3). upon all ... hands--that is, arms, in which such cuttings used to be made in token of grief (compare Zec 13:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 48:37
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 48
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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