Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab
One Moabite shall mourn for another; the living for the dead; or one part of the country for another; or to Moab, they shall howl in turns, answering to one another: everyone shall howl:
every Moabite, or the whole country of Moab shall howl, being everywhere desolate: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn: surely [they
are] stricken;
this was a very principal city in the land of Moab, and a very strong one, see ( 2 Kings 3:25 ) . It signifies, according to some, "the city of the sun", so called, it may be, because the sun was worshipped here; or, according to others, "the earthen city", or "city of brick", because its houses and walls were made of brick; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the walls of burnt brick". Now this strong city was to be razed even to the foundations, so that these would be discovered, which would occasion mourning to its inhabitants, and those of other places. Kimchi interprets "the foundations", of the great men and princes of Moab, see ( Jeremiah 48:31 ) so the Targum,
``and they shall howl over the men of the city of their strength;''R. Jonah, of the men of the army, the foundation of the kingdom; so Ben Melech. The word translated "foundations" signifies also flagons or bottles, and so Aben Ezra and Abendana understand it here; and accordingly the words may be thus rendered, "for the bottles of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, verily they are broken" F4; this agrees with the signification of the word in ( Hosea 3:1 ) ( Song of Solomon 2:5 ) and with what follows, concerning the vine of Sibmah; the reason of the mourning seems to be, that there would be no wine, and the bottles would lie useless, and be broken.