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.
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 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 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 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction;
There is a voice of crying from Choronayim, destruction and a great breach.
4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar.
Broken down is Moab: her little ones send forth a cry of distress.
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 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 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah.
Flee, save your life, and be ye like the solitary tree in the wilderness.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; since her cities shall become desolate, without any to dwell therein.
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 be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
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 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 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, 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 And Moab will be shamed on account of Chemosh, as the children of Israel were shamed on account of Beth-el their hope.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Kemosh, as the house of Israel were made ashamed because of Beth-el their confidence.
14 How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters?
How can ye say, We are mighty and men of bravery for the war?
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 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 The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly.
Near is the calamity of Moab to come, and his misfortune hasteneth fast.
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!
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, 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 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 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 way, and look out, O inhabitress of 'Aro'er: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, say, What hath been done?
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 hath been made ashamed; for it is broken down; wail, and cry aloud: tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is wasted,
21 And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
And punishment is come over the land of the plain, over Cholon, and over Yahzah, and over Mepha'ath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim,
And over Dibon, and over Nebo, and over Beth-diblathayim,
23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon,
And over Kiryathayim, and over Beth-gamul, and over Beth-me'on,
24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, 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 is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
Hewn away is the horn of Moab, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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 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 have knowledge of his wrath, says the Lord, that it is nothing; his high-sounding words have done nothing.
I will know, saith the Lord, his wrath, and how causeless it is: his liars have done what is not right.
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 will I wail for Moab, and for all Moab will I cry out; for the men of Kir-cheres shall people moan.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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 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 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 bald, and every beard is shorn: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins 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.
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 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.
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 the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out 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 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.
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 And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord.
And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people; because it hath magnified himself against the Lord.
43 Fear and death and the net have come on you, O people of Moab, says the Lord.
Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
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.
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 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.
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 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 unto thee, O Moab! lost is the people of Kemosh; for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters into captivity.
47 But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
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.
