From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

JEREMIAH 48:34KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 48:34 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 48:34 mean?

Jeremiah 48:34 pictures the distress of Moab, a land east of Israel, as cries rise from town to town. The verse also describes the waters of Nimrim becoming desolate, adding a ruined water source to the picture of the land’s suffering.

The names trace the sound across several places, rather than leaving the disaster confined to one town. The comparison to a three-year-old heifer evokes the cry of a young cow, giving the lament a vivid, animal sound.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 48:34

  • “cry” — זְעָקָה (zeʿaqah): This word can mean a loud cry of distress or a call for help. In Jeremiah 48:34, the sound is presented as an urgent outcry, not simply people speaking loudly.
  • “desolate” — מְשַׁמָּה (meshammah): This word carries the sense of a waste or devastation. Applied to the waters of Nimrim, it suggests a once-useful place left ruined.

Why Jeremiah 48:34 matters

  • The cries are linked with named places across Moab. “From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz” gives the reader a sense of distress spreading through the land.
  • The verse includes damage to a water source as well as human cries. “The waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate” makes the land itself part of the picture of loss.

Where else these words appear

“Nimrim” Hebrew H5249 · used in 2 verses

  • Isaiah 15:6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

“Horonaim” Hebrew H2773 · used in 4 verses

  • Isaiah 15:5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
  • Jeremiah 48:3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
  • Jeremiah 48:5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

“Elealeh” Hebrew H500 · used in 5 verses

  • Numbers 32:3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
  • Numbers 32:37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,
  • Isaiah 15:4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

“desolate” Hebrew H4923 · used in 7 verses

  • Isaiah 15:6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
  • Ezekiel 6:14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
  • Ezekiel 33:29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.