Jeremiah 48:5

"For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. 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. Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein. Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood."

"Ascent of Luhith... descent of Horonaim ..." (Jeremiah 48:5). Whether fleeing to a high mountain or descending into the caves at Horonaim, the people would hear the cry of destruction. "`Luhith' is unknown";[10] but the mention of "ascent" suggests that it was some kind of summit, or high place.

"Flee, save your lives, be like the heath in the wilderness ..." (Jeremiah 48:6). Textual uncertainties in Jeremiah 48:6 have led to several different translations here. "The word here rendered `heath' is also rendered as `tamarisk,' `sand-grouse,' or `wild ass' (See KJV, ASV, the English Revised Version (1884), the New English Bible, the Jerusalem Bible, and LXX).[11]

"Chemosh shall go forth into captivity ..." (Jeremiah 48:7). "Chemosh is referred to on the Moabite Stone as Ashtar-Kemosh. Ashtar in Canaan was the god of the morning star."[12] Thus we have another example of the Israelites and their kinsmen "worshipping the host of heaven" (Acts 7:42ff). In fact, many of the ancient gods and goddesses of paganism were identified with the sun, the moon, various stars and planets

Chemosh, the national god of the Moabites, is here prophetically doomed to captivity, and that meant also that the whole nation of Moab would suffer in a similar way. Like all other manmade gods, Chemosh was of no help whatever to Moab in the day of their calamity.

Jeremiah 48:10 here is a mystery, especially the last clause, of which Robinson said,,'Here the prophet incites to the slaughter with a curse."[13] However, we reject that interpretation. The only true application of such a command would be to those instruments whom God commissioned to punish rebellious nations for their wickedness. Certainly, Pope Gregory VII's making this his favorite verse has no possible justification.[14]