Jeremiah 49:2 - Exposition

The punishment of Ammon. Its capital, Rabbah (see 2 Samuel 12:26 , 2 Samuel 12:27 ), and the "daughter" cities, shall be laid waste. The alarm of war ("alarm" equivalent to "shout"), as in Jeremiah 4:19 . A desolate heap. Fortified towns were built on "heaps, or slight elevations (comp. on Jeremiah 30:18 ), the Hebrew name for which (in the singular) is tel. The "heap" and the ruins of the town together are aptly called a "heap of desolation." Then shall Israel be heir , etc.; rather, then shall Israel dispossess those who dispossessed him (comp. Jeremiah 4:1 ). The form of the phrase reminds us of Isaiah 14:2 .