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 hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Woe unto Nebo! for it is wasted; made ashamed, captured is Kiryathayim; made ashamed is Misgab and dismayed.
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 praise of Moab: in Cheshbon have they devised evil against it, “Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation.” Also thou Madmen shalt be ruined; after thee shall pursue the sword.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
There is a voice of crying from Choronayim, destruction and a great breach.
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Broken down is Moab: her little ones send forth a cry of distress.
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 the ascent of Luchith is ascended with weeping and tears; for on the descent of Choronayim the enemies have heard the cry of destruction.
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee, save your life, and be ye like the solitary tree 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 works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be conquered: and Kemosh shall go forth into exile, [with] 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 water shall come over every city, and no city shall escape: and lost shall be the valley, and destroyed shall be the plain, as the Lord hath said.
9 Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; since her cities shall become desolate, without any to dwell therein.
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 negligently, 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 was ever at ease from his youth, and he was resting on his lees, and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, and had not gone into exile: therefore had his taste remained in him, and his scent was 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, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will send unto him tappers, that shall tap him, and they shall empty his vessels, and dash in pieces their bottles.
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 Kemosh, as the house of Israel were made ashamed because of Beth-el their confidence.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How can ye say, We are mighty and men of bravery for the war?
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 wasted, and into his cities hath [the enemy] ascended, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
Near is the calamity of Moab to come, and his misfortune hasteneth fast.
17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
All ye that are about him bemoan him; and all ye that know his name: say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful stick!
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, thou inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; for the waster of Moab cometh up against thee, he destroyeth thy strong-holds.
19 Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
Stand by the way, and look out, O inhabitress of 'Aro'er: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, say, What hath been 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 hath been made ashamed; for it is broken down; wail, and cry aloud: tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is wasted,
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And punishment is come over the land of the plain, over Cholon, and over Yahzah, and over Mepha'ath,
22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
And over Dibon, and over Nebo, and over Beth-diblathayim,
23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
And over Kiryathayim, and over Beth-gamul, and over Beth-me'on,
24 upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
And over Keriyoth, and over Bozrah, and over all the cities of the land of Moab, that are far and that are near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
Hewn away is the horn of Moab, 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 drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall become [an object] of 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 was not Israel a derision unto thee? or was he found among thieves? that whenever thou spokest of him, thou hadst to shake [thy head]?
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 on rocks, O ye that dwell in Moab; and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of rocky clefts.
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, who is so exceedingly proud, his haughtiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the overbearingness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
I will know, saith the Lord, his wrath, and how causeless it is: his liars have done what is not right.
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 wail for Moab, and for all Moab will I cry out; for the men of Kir-cheres shall people moan.
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.
With the weeping of Ya'zer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy tendrils [once] passed over the sea, they reached as far as to the sea of Ya'zer: over thy summer-fruits and over thy vintage the waster is fallen.
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.
And banished are joy and gladness from Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread the press with the vintner's call; battle cry—nor vintner's call.
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 loud cry of Cheshbon as far as El'aleh, even unto Yahaz, have they sent forth their voice, from Zo'ar even unto Choronayim, to the third 'Eglath; for the waters also of Nimrim shall become desolate.
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.
Moreover will I cause to cease unto Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth on the high-places, and him that burneth incense 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 shall my heart groan for Moab like flutes, and my heart shall groan like flutes for the men of Kir-cheres; for the cause that the remnant of the riches he had gotten are lost.
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 is bald, and every beard is shorn: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins is sackcloth.
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 roofs of Moab, and in her streets, there is everywhere lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel which hath no value, 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.”
Oh, how is it broken down! wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! and Moab shall be a derision and a dismay to all those around him.
40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, as the eagle shall he fly, and he shall spread out his wings over 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.
Captured are the fortresses, and the strong-holds are conquered: and the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be on that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people; because it hath magnified himself against the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be 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 fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for I will bring upon it, even 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.
Under the shadow of Cheshbon stand still, deprived of strength, those that flee; but a fire cometh forth out of Cheshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sichon, and it devoureth the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of vaunting.
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 unto thee, O Moab! lost is the people of Kemosh; for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters into captivity.
47 Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Yet will I bring back again the captivity of Moab in the end of days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the punishment of Moab.
