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 Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, —Alas for Nebo, for it is laid waste, put to shame—captured, is Kiriathaim, put to shame 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.
No more, is the praise of Moab, In Heshbon, have they devised against her, calamity, Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation, —Even thou, Madmen also, shalt be silenced, After thee, shall march the sword.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
A voice of outcry, from Horonaim, —Wasting and great destruction!
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Moab is broken: Her little ones, have caused to be heard an outcry.
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 Luhith, with weeping, one ascendeth—with weeping, —For in the descent of Horonaim, the distress of the outcry of destruction, have they heard:
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee deliver your own lives, —Then shall the women be as a shrub 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 seeing thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, Thou too, shalt be captured, —Then shall Chemosh 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 enter into every city, And not, a city, shall escape, Then shall perish the vale Then be destroyed the table-land, —As Yahweh 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 wing to Moab, For she must, fly away; And her cities To desolation, shall be turned, With no inhabitant 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.
Accursed be he that doeth the business of Yahweh carelessly; And, accursed 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 at ease from his youth, And settled is he upon his lees, And hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, Nor into captivity, hath gone, —For this cause, hath his flavour stood still within him, And his scent is unchanged.
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, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will send to him tilters and they shall tilt him, —And his vessels, shall they empty, And their jars, shall they dash in pieces.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
Then shall Moab, be ashamed, of, Chemosh, —Just as, the sons of Israel, were ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How can ye say, Heroes, are we? and Men of might 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.
Spoiled is Moab And her cities, hath he ascended, And the choice of his young men, have gone down to the slaughter, —Declareth The King, Yahweh of hosts, is his Name.
16 Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
Near is the doom of Moab, to come, —And, his calamity, hasteth greatly.
17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
Lament ye for him—All that are round about him, and All that know his name, —Say, How is broken—The staff of strength! The rod of beauty!
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 glory, and sit in thirst, O inhabitress daughter of Dibon; For the spoiler of Moab, hath come up against thee, He hath laid in ruins thy strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
Near the way, take thy stand and keep outlook, O inhabitress of Aroer: Ask—him that fleeth, and Her that hath escaped, Say, What hath happened?
20 Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Confounded is Moab! For it is broken down! Howl and make outcry, —Tell ye in Arnon, That Moab is spoiled;
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And, judgment, hath come Upon the country of the table-land, —Upon Holon, and Upon Jazer 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, —Yea, upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
Cut off is the horn of Moab, Yea, his arm, is broken, —Declareth Yahweh.
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, Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself; So shall, Moab, stagger, into his own vomit, And shall become a derision, even he!
27 Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
And was it not, a derision, that Israel became to thee? And was it not among thieves, he was found? For, as often as thou didst speak of him, thou didst wag 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.
Leave ye the cities and dwell in the cliff, Ye inhabitants of Moab; And become ye as a dove, that maketh her nest in the further-side of the fissure’s mouth.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
We have heard the arrogance of Moab—proud exceedingly: His loftiness and his arrogance and his majesty, and his elevation of heart!
30 I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
I know—Declareth Yahweh His passion—that’tis Unjust! His boastings, that Untrue have they made [them]!
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 cause over Moab, will I howl, And for all Moab, will I make outcry, —For the men of Kir-heres, must one 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.
Beyond the weeping of Jazer, will I weep for thee O vine of Sibmah, Thy tendrils, have gone over the sea, Unto the sea of Jazer, have they reached, Upon thy summer fruits And upon thy vintage, the spoiler, hath 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.
So shall be withdrawn gladness and exultation—From the fruitful field and From the land of Moab, —And wine from the vats, have I caused to fail, They shall not 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 outcry of Heshbon, Even unto Elealeh Even unto Jahaz, have they given forth their voice, From Zoar even unto Horonaim, the third Eglath, —For, even the waters of Nimrim, to utter desolation, have been turned:
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.
Then will I cause to cease, from Moab, Declareth Yahweh, —him that offereth at a 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.
For this cause, my heart, for Moab, like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Yea my heart for the men of Kir-heres! like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Because, the abundance he hath gotten is 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 baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, 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,”
Upon all the housetops of Moab And in her broadways, it is all lamentation, —For I have broken Moab—Like a vessel wherein is no pleasure Declareth Yahweh.
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 it is broken down! They have howled, How hath Moab turned the back, for shame, —So shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all 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 Yahweh, Lo! as an eagle, shall one dart along, —And shall spread out his wings towards 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 is Kerioth, And the fortresses, are seized, —Then shall the heart of the heroes of Moab become in that day, As the heart of a woman in her pains.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
Then shall, Moab, be destroyed from being a people, —Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Terror and pit and snare are upon thee O inhabitant of Moab Declareth Yahweh:
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 face of the terror, Shall fall into the pit, And, he that getteth up out of the pit, Shall be captured by the snare, —For I will bring against her—against Moab, The year of their visitation, Declareth Yahweh.
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.
In the shadow of Heshbon, stand strengthless, the fugitives, —For, a fire, hath gone forth out of Heshbon And shall flame out of the midst of Sihon, And shall devour the beard of Moab, And the crown of the head of the proudly tumultuous.
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! Lost are the people of Chemosh, —For thy sons have been taken, into captivity, 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 the captivity of Moab, In the afterpart of the days, Declareth Yahweh, Thus far, is the sentence of Moab.
