Jeremiah 48
1 Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.
Against Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe upon Nebo! For it has been devastated and confounded. Kiriathaim has been seized; the strong one has been confounded and has trembled.
2 There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you.
There is no longer any rejoicing in Moab over Heshbon. They have devised evil. ‘Come and let us destroy it as a nation.’ Then you will be utterly silenced, and the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
A voice of clamor from Horonaim: devastation and great destruction!
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Moab has been crushed. Announce an outcry for her little ones.
5 For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction:
For, along the ascent of Luhith, the mourner will ascend with weeping. For, on the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard the wailing of devastation.
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee, save your lives! And you shall be like a saltcedar tree in the desert.
7 Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
For because you have had faith in your fortifications and in your storehouses, you too will be seized. And Chemosh will go into captivity: his priests and his leaders together.
8 The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.
And the despoiler will overwhelm every city, and not a single city will be saved. And the valleys will perish, and the fields will be destroyed. For the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
Give a blossom to Moab. For it will depart when it is blossoming. And its cities will become desolate and uninhabited.
10 Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully. And cursed is he who prohibits his sword from blood.
11 Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.
Moab has been fertile from his youth, and he has rested amid his brood. And he has not been transferred from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into the transmigration. Therefore, his taste has remained with him, and his scent has not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will send to him those who will line up and knock down his bottles, and they will knock him down and empty his vessels, and they will break their bottles against one another.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
And Moab will be confounded by Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was shamed by Bethel, in which they had faith.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How can you say: ‘We are strong and robust men of battle?’
15 Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
Moab has been devastated, and they have cut down her cities. And her elect young men have descended to slaughter. So says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
The passing away of Moab draws near and arrives. Its evil will rush forward with great speed.
17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
Console him, all you who surround him and all you who know his name. Say: ‘How has the strong staff become broken, the glorious staff?’
18 Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst, O habitation of the daughter of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has ascended to you; he has dissipated your fortifications.
19 Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
Stand in the way, and gaze out, O habitation of Aroer! Question him who is fleeing, and say to him who has escaped: ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Moab has been confounded, because he has been conquered. Wail and cry out! Announce it in Arnon: Moab has been devastated,
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
and judgment has arrived upon the land of the plains: upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon the house of Gamul, and upon the house of Meon,
24 upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those far away and those nearby.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
The horn of Moab has been cut away, and his arm has been crushed, says the Lord.
26 “Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
Inebriate him, for he has lifted himself up against the Lord. And Moab will thrust his hand into his own vomit, and also now he himself will become a derision.
27 Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
For Israel had been a derision to them. It was as if you had discovered him among thieves. Because of your own words, then, which you have spoken against him, you will be led away captive.
28 Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
Relinquish the cities, and live upon a rock, O inhabitants of Moab, and be like a dove nesting at the mouth of an opening at the summit.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
We have listened to the arrogance of Moab; he is very proud: his exaltation, and arrogance, and pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
I myself know, says the Lord, his boasting, and that his ability is not in accord with it, nor is it in accord with what he has been striving to do.
31 Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
For this reason, I will wail over Moab, and I will cry out to all of Moab, to the men on the brick wall who are lamenting.
32 I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
O vineyard of Sibmah, I will weep for you, with the mourning of Jazer. Your offshoots have crossed over the sea. They have reached even to the sea of Jazer. The despoiler has rushed over your harvest and your vintage.
33 Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts are not for joy.
Rejoicing and exultation has been taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. And I have taken the wine from the winepresses. The treader of grapes will no longer sing the usual rhythmic chant.
34 There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
From the outcry of Heshbon, even to Elealeh and Jahzah, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar, even to Horonaim, like a three year old calf. So too, the waters of Nimrim will be very bad.
35 In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.
And I will take away from Moab, says the Lord, the one who makes offerings in exalted places, and the one who sacrifices to his gods.
36 Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.
Because of this, my heart will resound for Moab, like the pipes, and my heart will make a sound like the pipes for the men on the brick wall. For he has done more than he was able, yet still they have perished.
37 For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
For every head will be bald, and every beard will be shaved. All the hands will be bound together, and there will be haircloth on every back.
38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,”
Over all the rooftops of Moab, and in its streets, everyone will mourn. For I have crushed Moab like a useless vessel, says the Lord.
39 “How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
How was it conquered, so that they would wail? How is it that Moab has cast down his neck and been confounded? And Moab will be a derision and an example to everyone around him.”
40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Thus says the Lord: “Behold, he will fly like the eagle, and he will extend his wings to Moab.
41 Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Kerioth has been captured, and the fortifications have been taken. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Moab will be like the heart of a woman giving birth.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
And Moab will cease to be a people. For he has been glorified against the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Terror and the pit and the snare will overwhelm you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,”
Whoever flees from the terror will fall into the pit. And whoever climbs out of the pit will be seized by the snare. For I will lead over Moab the year of their visitation, says the Lord.
45 “Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.
Those fleeing from the snare stood in the shadow of Heshbon. For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it will devour the portion of Moab, and the top of the head of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
Woe to you, O Moab! You have been ruined, O people of Chemosh! For your sons and your daughters have been taken into captivity.
47 Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
But I will convert the captivity of Moab in the last days, says the Lord.” Such are the judgments of Moab thus far.
