Jeremias 31
1 Thus has the Lord said concerning MOAB, Woe to Nabau! for it has perished: Cariathaim is taken: Amath and Agath are put to shame.
At that time, I will be the God of all Israel's families, and they will be my people, declares the Lord.
2 There is no longer any healing for Moab, [nor] glorying in Esebon: he has devised evils against her: we have cut her off from [being] a nation, and she shall be completely still: after you shall go a sword;
This is what the Lord says: The Israelites who survive death by the sword were blessed by the Lord in the desert as they looked for peace and quiet.
3 for [there is] a voice of [men] crying out of Oronaim, destruction and great ruin.
Long ago the Lord came and told us, My love for you will last forever. I hold you close to me with my trustworthy love.
4 Moab is ruined, proclaim [it] to Zogora:
I'm going to rebuild you, and it will happen. You will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will pick up your tambourines again and run outside to dance with joy.
5 for Aloth is filled with weeping: one shall go up weeping by the way of Oronaim; you have heard a cry of destruction.
You will replant vineyards on Samaria's hills; those who plant and will enjoy the grapes.
6 Flee you, and save your lives, and you shall be as a wild ass in the desert.
A day is coming when watchmen will call out from the hills of Ephraim, “Come on, let's go up to Zion, to worship the Lord our God!”
7 Since you have trusted in your strong-hold, therefore you shall be taken: and Chamos shall go forth into captivity, and his priests, and his princes together.
This is what the Lord says: Sing happily for the descendants of Jacob; shout for the greatest of all nations! Let everybody know! Praise and call out, “Lord, save your people, those who are left of Israel!”
8 And destruction shall come upon every city, it shall by no means escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain country shall be completely destroyed, as the Lord has said.
Watch, because I will bring them back from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Everyone will return, even the blind and the lame, pregnant women, even mothers giving birth—a great gathering coming home,
9 Set marks upon Moab, for she shall be touched with a plague-spot, and all her cities shall become desolate; whence [shall there be] an inhabitant for her?
They will come back with tears in their eyes, and they will be praying as I take them home. I will lead them beside streams of waters, on level paths where they won't stumble. For I am Israel's Father; Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Cursed is the man that does the works of the Lord carelessly, keeping back his sword from blood.
Listen, nations, to what the Lord has to say, and let others know about in faraway countries: The Lord who scattered Israel will gather them together and keep them safe, just like a shepherd looks after his flock.
11 Moab has been at ease from a child, and trusted in his glory; he has not poured out [his liquor] from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into banishment, therefore his taste remained in him, and his smell departed not.
The Lord has redeemed the descendants of Jacob and rescued them from their enemies who had defeated them.
12 Therefore, behold, his days come, says the Lord, when I shall send upon him bad leaders, and they shall lead him astray, and they shall utterly break in pieces his possessions, and shall cut his horns asunder.
They will return and celebrate with happy shouts on Mount Zion; their faces will beam over the Lord's wonderful gifts—the grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the young of their flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden; and they won't ever be depressed again.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Baethel their hope, having trusted in them.
The girls will dance in celebration; young men and old people will join in too. I will turn their sorrow into joy, and I will comfort them and change their sadness into happiness.
14 How will you say, We are strong, and men strong for war?
I will give my priests everything they need and more, and my people will be more than satisfied with my goodness towards them, declares the Lord.
15 Moab is ruined, [even] his city, and his choice young men have gone down to slaughter.
This is what the Lord says: The sound of terrible weeping and mourning is heard in Ramah. It's Rachel crying for her children. They are dead, and she can't be comforted
16 The day of Moab is near at hand, and his iniquity moves swiftly [to vengeance].
This is what the Lord says: Don't cry anymore, don't weep anymore, because you're going to be rewarded for what you've done, declares the Lord. Your children will return from the country of your enemies.
17 Shake [the head] at him, all you that are round about him; all [of you] utter his name; say you, How is the glorious staff broken to pieces, the rod of magnificence!
So you can have hope for the future, declares the Lord. Your children will return to their own country.
18 Come down from [your] glory, and sit down in a damp place: Daebon shall be broken, because Moab is destroyed: there has gone up against you one to ravage your strong-hold.
Don't worry, I've heard Ephraim's groans, saying, “You disciplined me really hard as if I was a calf that hadn't been trained. Please bring me back, let me return, for you are the Lord my God.
19 Stand by the way, and look, you that dwell in Arer; and ask him that is fleeing, and him that escapes, and say, What has happened?
When I came back to you I was sorry, and once I understood, I held my head in sadness. I was ashamed and I blushed, embarrassed at what I'd done when I was young.”
20 Moab is put to shame, because he is broken: howl and cry; proclaim in Arnon, that Moab has perished.
But isn't Ephraim still my precious son, my lovely child? Even though I often have to scold him, I can't forget him. So I'm torn inside with longing, wanting to show how much I care about him! declares the Lord.
21 And judgement is coming against the land of Misor, upon Chelon, and Rephas, and Mophas,
Put up markers on the road; make signposts for yourselves. You need to be sure you can find the highway, the road you traveled on. Come back, Virgin Israel, come back to your towns.
22 and upon Daebon, and upon Nabau, and upon the house of Daethlathaim,
How long are you going to waver in your decision, you unfaithful daughter? For the Lord has made something new happen here: a woman is going to protect a man.
23 and upon Cariathaim, and upon the house of Gaemol, and upon the house of Maon,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: When I bring them back home from exile, they will say again in the land of Judah and in its towns: “May the Lord bless you, holy mountain of Jerusalem, home of what is good and right.
24 and upon Carioth, and upon Bosor, and upon all the cities of Moab, far and near.
The people of Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, the farmers and those who move around with their flocks,
25 The horn of Moab is broken, and his arm is crushed.
because I'm going to give rest to those who are tired and give strength to all those who are weak.”
26 Make you him drunk; for he has magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall clap with his hand, and shall be also himself a laughing stock.
At this I woke up and looked around. I'd had a very pleasant sleep.
27 For surely Israel was to you a laughing stock, and was found amongst your thefts, because you did fight against him.
Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make the numbers of people and livestock grow in Israel and Judah.
28 The inhabitants of Moab have left the cities, and lived in rocks; they have become as doves nestling in rocks, at the mouth of a cave.
I took care of them by uprooting them and tearing them down, by wiping them out and destroying them and bringing them disaster. Now I will take care of them by building them up and helping them grow, declares the Lord.
29 And I have heard of the pride of Moab, he has greatly heightened his pride and his haughtiness, and his heart has been lifted up.
At that time people won't repeat this proverb, “The fathers ate the unripe grapes, but their children got the sour taste.”
30 But I know his works: is it not enough for him? has he not done thus?
No. Each person will die because of their own sins. If anyone eats unripe grapes, they will get the sour taste themselves.
31 Therefore howl you for Moab on all sides; cry out against the shorn men [in] a gloomy place. I will weep for you,
Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah.
32 O vine of Aserema, as with the weeping of Jazer: your branches are gone over the sea, they reached the cities of Jazer: destruction has come upon your fruits, [and] upon your grape gatherers.
It won't be like the agreement that I made with their forefathers when I held their hands and led them out of Egypt. They broke that agreement, even though I was faithful like a husband to them, declares the Lord.
33 Joy and gladness have been utterly swept off the land of Moab: and [though] there was wine in your presses, in the morning they trod it not, neither in the evening did they raise the cry of joy.
But this is the agreement I'm going to make with the people of Israel at that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws inside them and write them in their minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 From the cry of Esebon even to Aetam their cities uttered their voice, from Zogor to Oronaim, and their tidings [as] a heifer of three years old, for the water also of Nebrin shall be dried up.
No one will need to teach a neighbor or their brother, telling them, “You ought to know the Lord.” For everyone will know me, from the smallest to the greatest. I will forgive them when they do wrong, and I will forget about their sins.
35 And I will destroy Moab, says the Lord, as he comes up to the altar, and burns incense to his gods.
This is what the Lord says, who provides the sun to give light during the day, who places in order the moon and stars to give light at night, who makes the sea rough so that its waves roar; his name is the Lord Almighty:
36 Therefore the heart of Moab shall sound as pipes, my heart shall sound as a pipe for the shorn men; forasmuch as what [every] man has gained has perished from him.
Only if I allowed this order to fell apart, declares the Lord, would Israel's descendants stop being my people.
37 They shall all have their heads shaved in every place, and every beard shall be shaved; and all hands shall beat [the breasts], and on all loins shall be sackcloth.
This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be investigated, would I reject all of Israel's descendants because of everything they've done, declares the Lord.
38 And on all the housetops of Moab, and in his streets [shall be mourning]: for I have broken [him], says the Lord, as a vessel, which is useless.
The time is coming, declares the Lord, when this city will be rebuilt for the Lord, all the way from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.
39 How has he changed! how has Moab turned [his] back! Moab is put to shame, and become a laughing stock, and an object of anger to all that are round about him.
The builder's measuring line will again stretch out directly to Gareb Hill and then turn toward Goah.
40 For thus said the Lord;
The entire valley, where the dead are buried and the trash is dumped, and all the fields from the Kidron Valley as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.
41 Carioth is taken, and the strongholds have been taken together.
42 And Moab shall perish from being a multitude, because he has magnified himself against the Lord.
43 A snare, and fear, and the pit, are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab.
44 He that flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he that comes up out of the pit shall even be taken in the snare: for I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their visitation.
