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.
Concerning Moab: 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been 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.
There is no more praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised against it evil: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, thou art cut off, After thee goeth a sword.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.
4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have 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 the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard.
6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a 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 of thy trusting in thy works, And in thy treasures, even thou art captured, And gone out hath Chemosh in a removal, His priests and his heads 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 come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah 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 to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.
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 is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding 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.
Secure is Moab from his youth, And at rest [is] he for his preserved things, And he hath not been emptied out from vessel unto vessel, And into captivity he hath not gone, Therefore hath his taste remained in him, And his fragrance hath not been 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, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sent to him wanderers, And they have caused him to wander, And his vessels they empty out, And his bottles 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.
And ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have been ashamed Because of Beth-El their confidence.
14 How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
How do ye say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for 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.
Spoiled is Moab, and her cities hath one gone up, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, Jehovah 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 affliction hath hasted exceedingly.
17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
Bemoan for him, all ye round about him, And all knowing his name, say ye: How hath it been 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 honour, sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, For a spoiler of Moab hath come up to thee, He hath destroyed thy fenced places.
19 Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and 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.
Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,
21 Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain — unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,
23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
24 upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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.
Declare ye him drunk, For against Jehovah he made himself great And Moab hath stricken in his vomit, And he hath been for 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 not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.
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.
Forsake cities, and dwell in a rock, Ye inhabitants of Moab, And be as a dove making a nest in the passages of a pit'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 of the arrogance of Moab, Exceeding proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,
30 I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
I — I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices — not right they have done.
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 for Moab I howl, even for Moab — all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it doth 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 the weeping of Jazer, I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah, Thy branches have passed over a sea, Unto the sea of Jazer they have come, On thy summer fruits, and on thy harvest, A 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.
And removed hath been joy and gladness From the fruitful field, Even from the land of Moab, And wine from wine-presses I have caused to cease, Shouting doth not proceed, The shouting [is] 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.
Because of the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh, Unto Jahaz they have given their voice, From Zoar unto Horonaim, A heifer of the third [year], For even waters of Nimrim become desolations.
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 have caused to cease to Moab, An affirmation of Jehovah, Him who is offering in a high place, And him who is making perfume to his god.
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 for Moab as pipes doth sound, And my heart for men of Kir-Heres As pipes doth sound, Therefore the abundance he made did perish.
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 diminished, On all hands cuttings, and on 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 roofs of Moab, and in her broad-places, All of it — [is] lamentation, For I have broken Moab as a vessel in which there is no pleasure, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 hath it been broken down! they have howled, How hath Moab turned the neck ashamed, And Moab hath been for a derision. And for a terror to all round about her.
40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
For thus said Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto 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 have been the cities, And the strongholds are caught, And the heart of the mighty of Moab Hath been in that day as the heart of a distressed woman.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
And Moab hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab — an affirmation of Jehovah,
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,”
Whoso is fleeing because of the fear falleth into the snare, And whoso is coming up from the snare is captured by the gin, For I bring in unto her — unto Moab — The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 stood powerless have fugitives, For fire hath gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from within Sihon, And it consumeth the corner of Moab, And the crown of the sons of Shaon.
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, O Moab, Perished hath the people of Chemosh, For thy sons were taken with the captives, And thy daughters with the captivity.
47 Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Moab, In the latter end of the days, An affirmation of Jehovah! Hitherto [is] the judgment of Moab.
