Jeremiah 48
1 Of Moab. The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Sorrow on Nebo, for it has been made waste; Kiriathaim has been put to shame and is taken: the strong place is put to shame and broken down.
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.
2 The praise of Moab has come to an end; as for Heshbon, evil has been designed against her; come, let us put an end to her as a nation. But your mouth will be shut, O Madmen; the sword will go after you.
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.
3 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction;
A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar.
Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
5 For by the slope of Luhith they will go up, weeping all the way; for on the way down to Horonaim the cry of destruction has come to their ears.
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:
6 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah.
‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
7 For because you have put your faith in your strong places, you, even you, will be taken: and Chemosh will go out as a prisoner, his priests and his rulers together.
Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
8 And the attacker will come against every town, not one will be safe; and the valley will be made waste, and destruction will come to the lowland, as the Lord has said.
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.
9 Put up a pillar for Moab, for she will come to a complete end: and her towns will become a waste, without anyone living in them.
Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
10 Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps back his sword from blood.
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
11 From his earliest days, Moab has been living in comfort; like wine long stored he has not been drained from vessel to vessel, he has never gone away as a prisoner: so his taste is still in him, his smell is unchanged.
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.
12 So truly, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send to him men who will have him turned over till there is no more wine in his vessels, and his wine-skins will be completely broken.
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.
13 And Moab will be shamed on account of Chemosh, as the children of Israel were shamed on account of Beth-el their hope.
Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
14 How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters?
How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
15 He who makes Moab waste has gone up against her; and the best of her young men have gone down to their death, says the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.
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.
16 The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly.
Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
17 All you who are round about him, give signs of grief for him, and all you who have knowledge of his name, say, How is the strong rod broken, even the beautiful branch!
Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
18 Come down from your glory, O people of Dibon, and take your seat in the place of the waste; for the attacker of Moab has gone up against you, sending destruction on your strong places.
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.
19 O daughter of Aroer, take your station by the way, on the watch: questioning him who is in flight, and her who has got away safe, say, What has been done?
Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab has been put to shame, she is broken: make loud sounds of grief, crying out for help; give the news in Arnon, that Moab has been made waste.
Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21 And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim,
upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon,
upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
26 Make him full of wine, for his heart has been lifted up against the Lord: and Moab will be rolling in the food he was not able to keep down, and everyone will be making sport of him.
“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.
27 For did you not make sport of Israel? was he taken among thieves? for whenever you were talking about him, you were shaking your head over him.
Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
28 O people of Moab, go away from the towns and take cover in the rock; be like the dove of the Arabah, which makes her living-place in holes.
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
29 We have had word of the pride of Moab, how great it is; how he is lifted up in pride; and his great opinion of himself, and that his heart is lifted up.
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
30 I have knowledge of his wrath, says the Lord, that it is nothing; his high-sounding words have done nothing.
I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
31 For this cause I will give cries of grief for Moab, crying out for Moab, even for all of it; I will be sorrowing for the men of Kir-heres.
Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 My weeping for you, O vine of Sibmah, will be more than the weeping of Jazer: your branches have gone over the sea, stretching even to Jazer: destruction has come down on your summer fruits and your cut grapes.
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.
33 All joy is gone; no longer are they glad for the fertile field and for the land of Moab; I have made the wine come to an end from the crushing vessels: no longer will the grapes be crushed with the sound of glad voices.
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.
34 The cry of Heshbon comes even to Elealeh; to Jahaz their voice is sounding; from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim will become dry.
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.
35 And I will put an end in Moab, says the Lord, to him who is making offerings in the high place and burning perfumes to his gods.
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.
36 So my heart is sounding for Moab like the sound of pipes, and my heart is sounding like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: for the wealth he has got for himself has come to an end.
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.
37 For everywhere the hair of the head and the hair of the face is cut off: on every hand there are wounds, and haircloth on every body.
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
38 On all the house-tops of Moab and in its streets there is weeping everywhere; for Moab has been broken like a vessel in which there is no pleasure, says the Lord.
On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,”
39 How is it broken down! how is Moab's back turned in shame! so Moab will be a cause of sport and of fear to everyone round about him.
“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.”
40 For the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Moab.
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong places have been forced, and the hearts of Moab's men of war in that day will be like the heart of a woman in birth-pains.
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.
42 And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord.
Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
43 Fear and death and the net have come on you, O people of Moab, says the Lord.
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
44 He who goes in flight from the fear will be overtaken by death; and he who gets free from death will be taken in the net: for I will make this come on Moab, even the year of their punishment, says the Lord.
“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,”
45 Those who went in flight from the fear are waiting under the shade of Heshbon: for a fire has gone out from Heshbon and a flame from the house of Sihon, burning up the pride of Moab and the crown of the head of the violent ones.
“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.
46 Sorrow is yours, O Moab! the people of Chemosh are overcome: for your sons have been taken away as prisoners, and your daughters made servants.
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.
47 But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
