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.
Of Moab. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken: Misgab is put to shame and broken down.
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.
The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her, Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue thee.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
The sound of a cry from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction!
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
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 Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for in the going down of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee, save your lives, and be like the 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 works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth 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; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as 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 wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, 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 doeth the work of the LORD negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back 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 at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth 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, that I will send unto him them that pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
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 Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men 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 laid waste, and they are gone up into her cities; and his chosen 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 calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth 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 round about him, bemoan him, and all ye 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.
O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed 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?’
O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy: 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 is put to shame; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath;
22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim;
23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-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, 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 ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against the LORD: and Moab shall wallow in his 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 was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the 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.
O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the holes mouth.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
We have heard of the pride of Moab, [that] he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness 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 his wrath, saith the LORD, that it is nought; his boastings have wrought nothing.
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 howl for Moab; yea, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall they 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.
With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah: thy branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the spoiler 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 gladness and joy is taken away, from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
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 Heshbon even unto Elealeh, even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also 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 I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high place, 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 mine heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and mine heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: therefore the abundance that he hath gotten is 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 is bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins 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,”
On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof there is lamentation every where: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, 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 broken down! [how] do they howl! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a dismaying to all that are round about him.
40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
For thus saith the LORD: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against 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 is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be 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 he hath magnified himself against the LORD.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are 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 fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon her, 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.
They that fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon: for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
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! the people of Chemosh is undone: for thy sons are taken away captive, 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 again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
