Moab was famous for its wine (Isaiah 16:8–10) and the image here is of a wine that has been left to settle and mature.1 Moab had never experienced exile and this had made them complacent as a nation and given them a false sense of security. The phrase settled on his dregs
speaks of a wine that has been left for too long and has not gone through the refining process where it is poured from one vessel to another, leaving the wine with an unpleasant taste. This is a nation that has become arrogant about its prosperity. There is a discipline in hardship and defeat which Moab has not experienced.2
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.