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. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriathaim is confounded, is taken. Misgab is confounded 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.
Moab shall no more glory in Heshbon; They have devised evil against her; “Come, [[say they, ]] and let us cut her off from being a nation!” Thou also shalt be cut down, O Madmena, The sword shall pursue thee!
3 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction;
A cry is heard from Horonaim, Desolation and great destruction.
4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar.
Moab is destroyed; Her little ones raise a cry.
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.
At the ascent of Luhith Weeping goeth up after weeping; At the descent of Horonaim is heard a bitter cry of despair.
6 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah.
Flee ye! save your lives! Be ye like one that has been stripped 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 substance and thy treasures, Thou also shalt be taken And Chemosh shall go into captivity, 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.
The spoiler shall come upon every city, And no city shall escape. The valley shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As Jehovah hath spoken.
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 to Moab, That she may flee away; For her cities shall be a desolation, With none 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 doeth the work of Jehovah deceitfully, And cursed be he that keepeth back 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 hath been at ease from his youth, And he hath settled on his lees, And hath not been drawn off from vessel to vessel, Neither hath he gone into captivity; Therefore his taste hath remained in him, And his flavor hath 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, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will send to him tilters, who shall tilt him up, And shall empty his vessels, and break his pitchers in pieces.
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 Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14 How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters?
How will ye say, “We are mighty, And strong men for 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 destroyed; His cities have gone up in smoke, And his chosen young men have gone down to slaughter, Saith the King whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
16 The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly.
The destruction of Moab is near at hand; His destruction hasteth 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 him, say, “How is the strong sceptre broken, The splendid 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 thy glory and sit in thirst, O inhabitant of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab shall come against thee! He shall destroy thy strongholds. Stand by the wayside, and look out,
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?
O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask of him that fleeth, and of her that escapeth, And 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 is confounded; for it is broken down; Howl ye, and cry! Tell ye it in Arnon, That Moab is destroyed!
21 And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
And punishment hath come upon the plain country; Upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim,
And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim.
23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon,
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, And upon all the cities of the land of Moab far and near.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
The horn of Moab is cut off, And his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
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 ye him drunken, for he hath exalted himself against Jehovah; That he also may wallow in his vomit, And be himself also in 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.
Was not Israel a derision to thee? Was he found among thieves, That, as often as thou spakest of him, thou shouldst 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 in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of the pit!
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 the pride of Moab; He hath been exceeding proud; His loftiness and his arrogance, His pride and the haughtiness 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, too, know his insolence, saith Jehovah, And his vain boastings. They shall effect nothing.
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, Even for all Moab will I cry out; For the men of Kir-heres shall there be mourning.
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.
More than Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah! Thy branches have passed beyond the sea; They reach even to the sea of Jazer; Upon thy summer-fruits and thy vintage the spoiler falleth.
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 joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; And from the land of Moab, And from the presses, have I caused the wine to fail: No more shall they tread with shouting; The shouting shall be no shouting.
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 wailing Heshbon to Elealeh, Even to Jahaz, is their voice heard, From Zoar even to Horonaim, To Eglath-shelishijah; For even the waters of Nimrim are 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.
And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, Him that offereth in 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 doth my heart sound like a flute for Moab, And for the men of Ker-heres doth my heart sound like a flute; For the remnant of their substance is 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.
Every head is bald, And every beard shorn; Upon all hands are cutting, And upon the loins 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 house-tops of Moab, and in her streets, All is lamentation. For I have broken Moab, like a useless vessel, saith Jehovah.
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.
Howl ye! How is he broken down! How hath Moab turned the back with shame! A derision and a consternation is Moab To all that are round him.
40 For the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Moab.
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, like an eagle flieth an enemy, And spreadeth 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.
Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are seized; The hearts of the heroes of Moab in that day Shall be like 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 so as to be no more a people, Because he exalted himself against Jehovah.
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 are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
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 taken in the snare; For I will bring upon it, upon Moab, The year of their punishment, saith Jehovah.
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.
In the valley of Heshbon the fugitives halted for want of strength; But a fire is gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from the midst of Sihon, Which devoureth the region of Moab, And the heads 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 thee, O Moab! Undone is the people of Chemosh! For thy sons are taken captives, And thy daughters are captives.
47 But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab In future times, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.
