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 saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste, and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath 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 more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry 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 by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.
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 thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes 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 spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: and the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed, for the Lord hath 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 flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be 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 be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth 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 hath been fruitful from his youth, and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is 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.
Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles, and they shall cast him down, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How do you say: We are valiant, and stout men in 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 is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities: and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.
17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
Comfort him, all you that are round about him, and all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
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.
Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
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 look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth: and say to him that hath escaped: What Is done?
20 Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown: howl ye, and cry, tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted.
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon, and upon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.
22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,
24 upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra: and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith 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.
Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in 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 hath been a derision unto thee: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt 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.
Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness, and his arrogancy, and his 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 know, saith the Lord, his boasting, and that the strength thereof is not according to it, neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.
31 Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
Therefore will I lament for Moab, and I will cry out to all Moab, for the men of the brick wall that mourn.
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 Sabama, I will weep for thee, with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy 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.
Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.
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 cry of Hesebon even to Eleale, and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old: the waters also of Nemrim shall 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, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and that sacrificeth 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.
Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes: and my heart a sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall: because he hath done more than he could, therefore 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 shall be bald, and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together, and upon every back there shall be haircloth.
38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,”
Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith 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 is it overthrown, and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck, and is confounded! And Moab shall be a derision, and an example to all round about him.
40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Thus saith the Lord: Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall stretch forth 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.
Carioth is taken, and the strong holds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
And Moab shall cease to be a people: because he hath gloried against the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Fear, and the pit, and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith 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,”
He that shall flee from the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith 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.
They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Kesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seen, and it shall devour part of Moab. and the crown of the head of the children 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 thee, Moab, thou hast perished, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.
47 Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.
