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.
To Moab, Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, “Woe to Nebo, for it has been devastated. Kiriathaim has been humiliated and captured. Her fortress has been disgraced and crushed.
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.
The honor of Moab is no more. Their enemies in Heshbon plotted disaster against her. They said, 'Come and let us destroy her as a nation. Madmen will also perish—a sword will go after you.'
3 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction;
Listen! A sound of screaming is coming from Horonaim, where there is ruin and great destruction.
4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar.
Moab has been destroyed. Her children have made their cries heard.
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.
They go up the hill of Luhith weeping, for on the way down to Horonaim, screams are heard because of the destruction.
6 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah.
Flee! Save your lives and become like a juniper bush 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 of your trust in your practices and your wealth, you also will be captured. Then Chemosh will go away into captivity, together with his priests and leaders.
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.
For the destroyer will come to every city; no city will escape. So the valley will perish and the plain will be devastated, as Yahweh 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.
Give wings to Moab, for she must certainly fly away. Her cities will become a wasteland, where there is no one to live 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.
May anyone who is lazy in doing Yahweh's work be cursed! May anyone who keeps his sword back from shedding blood be cursed!
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 felt secure since he was young. He is like his wine that has never been poured from pot to pot. He has never gone into captivity. Therefore he tastes as good as ever; his flavor remains 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.
So see, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will send him those who will tip him over and pour out all his pots 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 of Bethel, their object of trust.
14 How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters?
How can you say, 'We are soldiers, powerful fighting men'?
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 will be devastated and its cities attacked. For its finest young men have gone down to the place of slaughter. This is the king's declaration! Yahweh of hosts is his name.
16 The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly.
Moab's disaster is soon to happen; calamity is hurrying quickly.
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 you who are around Moab, wail; and all you who know its fame, shout this, 'Woe, the strong staff, the honored rod, has been broken.'
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 honored place and sit on the dry ground, you daughter living in Dibon. For the one who will destroy Moab is attacking you, the one who will destroy your strongholds.
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 on the road and watch, you people who live in Aroer. Ask the ones who are fleeing and escaping. Say, '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 has been shamed, for it has been shattered. Howl and lament; shout for help. Tell it to people by the Arnon River that Moab has been devastated.
21 And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
Now punishment has come to the hill country, to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim,
to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim,
23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon,
to 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.
To Kerioth and Bozrah, and to all the cities in the land of Moab— the farthest and the closest cities.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
The horn of Moab has been hacked off; its arm has been broken—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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 acted proudly against Yahweh. Let Moab wallow in his vomit, and let him be an object of ridicule.
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 did not Israel become an object for laughter to you? Was he found among thieves, so that you shook your head at him as often as you spoke about him?
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 cities and camp on the cliffs, inhabitants of Moab. Become like a dove that is nesting over the mouth of a hole in the rocks.
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 pride—his arrogance, his haughtiness, his pride, his self-glory and the conceit in his heart.
30 I have knowledge of his wrath, says the Lord, that it is nothing; his high-sounding words have done nothing.
This is Yahweh's declaration—I myself know his defiant speech, which amounts to nothing, like 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.
So I will howl a lament for Moab, and I will shout in sorrow for all of Moab. I will lament for the people of Kir Hareseth.
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 more than I did for Jazer, vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed across the Salt Sea and reached as far as Jazer. The destroyers have attacked your summer fruit and your wine.
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.
So celebration and rejoicing have been taken away from the fruit trees and the land of Moab. I have put an end to the wine from their winepresses. They will not tread with joyful shouts. Any shouts will not be shouts of 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.
From the shouts at Heshbon as far as Elealeh, their sound is heard at Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, since 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.
For I will put an end to anyone in Moab who makes sacrifices on the high places and burns incense to his gods—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
So my heart is lamenting for Moab like a flute. My heart is lamenting like flutes for the people of Kir Hareseth. The riches they gained are gone.
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 shaved. Incisions are on every hand, and sackcloth is around their waists.
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.
There is mourning everywhere, on every flat roof of Moab and in Moab's plazas. For I have destroyed Moab like pots that no one wants—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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 it has been shattered! How they howl in their lamenting! Moab turns its back in shame! So Moab will become an object of derision and a terror to all those who are around him.”
40 For the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Moab.
For Yahweh says this, “See, the enemy will come flying like an eagle, spreading 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.
Kerioth has been captured, and its strongholds have been seized. For in that day the hearts of Moab's soldiers will be like the hearts of women in birth labor.
42 And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord.
So Moab will be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he made himself to be great against Yahweh.
43 Fear and death and the net have come on you, O people of Moab, says the Lord.
Terror and the pit, and a trap are coming on you, inhabitant of Moab—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
Anyone who flees because of terror will fall into the pit, and anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap, for I will bring this on them in the year of my vengeance against them—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
The ones who flee will stand in the shadow of Heshbon without any strength, for fire will go out from Heshbon, flame from the middle of Sihon. It will devour the forehead of Moab and the top of the heads of the boastful people.
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, Moab! Chemosh's people are destroyed, For your sons are taken as captives and your daughters into captivity.
47 But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in later days—this is Yahweh's declaration.” The judgment on Moab ends here.
