Jeremiah 48
1 Against Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe upon Nebo! For it has been devastated and confounded. Kiriathaim has been seized; the strong one has been confounded and has trembled.
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 There is no longer any rejoicing in Moab over Heshbon. They have devised evil. ‘Come and let us destroy it as a nation.’ Then you will be utterly silenced, and the sword will pursue 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 A voice of clamor from Horonaim: devastation and great destruction!
A cry is heard from Horonaim, Desolation and great destruction.
4 Moab has been crushed. Announce an outcry for her little ones.
Moab is destroyed; Her little ones raise a cry.
5 For, along the ascent of Luhith, the mourner will ascend with weeping. For, on the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard the wailing of devastation.
At the ascent of Luhith Weeping goeth up after weeping; At the descent of Horonaim is heard a bitter cry of despair.
6 Flee, save your lives! And you shall be like a saltcedar tree in the desert.
Flee ye! save your lives! Be ye like one that has been stripped in the wilderness!
7 For because you have had faith in your fortifications and in your storehouses, you too will be seized. And Chemosh will go into captivity: his priests and his leaders 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 despoiler will overwhelm every city, and not a single city will be saved. And the valleys will perish, and the fields will be destroyed. For the Lord has spoken.
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 Give a blossom to Moab. For it will depart when it is blossoming. And its cities will become desolate and uninhabited.
Give wings to Moab, That she may flee away; For her cities shall be a desolation, With none to dwell therein.
10 Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully. And cursed is he who prohibits 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 Moab has been fertile from his youth, and he has rested amid his brood. And he has not been transferred from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into the transmigration. Therefore, his taste has remained with him, and his scent has not changed.
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 Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will send to him those who will line up and knock down his bottles, and they will knock him down and empty his vessels, and they will break their bottles against one another.
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 confounded by Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was shamed by Bethel, in which they had faith.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14 How can you say: ‘We are strong and robust men of battle?’
How will ye say, “We are mighty, And strong men for war”?
15 Moab has been devastated, and they have cut down her cities. And her elect young men have descended to slaughter. So says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
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 passing away of Moab draws near and arrives. Its evil will rush forward with great speed.
The destruction of Moab is near at hand; His destruction hasteth fast.
17 Console him, all you who surround him and all you who know his name. Say: ‘How has the strong staff become broken, the glorious staff?’
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 Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst, O habitation of the daughter of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has ascended to you; he has dissipated your fortifications.
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 Stand in the way, and gaze out, O habitation of Aroer! Question him who is fleeing, and say to him who has escaped: ‘What has happened?’
O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask of him that fleeth, and of her that escapeth, And say, “What hath been done?”
20 Moab has been confounded, because he has been conquered. Wail and cry out! Announce it in Arnon: Moab has been devastated,
Moab is confounded; for it is broken down; Howl ye, and cry! Tell ye it in Arnon, That Moab is destroyed!
21 and judgment has arrived upon the land of the plains: upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
And punishment hath come upon the plain country; Upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22 and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim.
23 and upon Kiriathaim, and upon the house of Gamul, and upon the house of Meon,
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24 and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those far away and those nearby.
And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, And upon all the cities of the land of Moab far and near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut away, and his arm has been crushed, says the Lord.
The horn of Moab is cut off, And his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
26 Inebriate him, for he has lifted himself up against the Lord. And Moab will thrust his hand into his own vomit, and also now he himself will become a derision.
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 Israel had been a derision to them. It was as if you had discovered him among thieves. Because of your own words, then, which you have spoken against him, you will be led away captive.
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 Relinquish the cities, and live upon a rock, O inhabitants of Moab, and be like a dove nesting at the mouth of an opening at the summit.
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 listened to the arrogance of Moab; he is very proud: his exaltation, and arrogance, and pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
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 myself know, says the Lord, his boasting, and that his ability is not in accord with it, nor is it in accord with what he has been striving to do.
I, too, know his insolence, saith Jehovah, And his vain boastings. They shall effect nothing.
31 For this reason, I will wail over Moab, and I will cry out to all of Moab, to the men on the brick wall who are lamenting.
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 O vineyard of Sibmah, I will weep for you, with the mourning of Jazer. Your offshoots have crossed over the sea. They have reached even to the sea of Jazer. The despoiler has rushed over your harvest and your vintage.
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 Rejoicing and exultation has been taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. And I have taken the wine from the winepresses. The treader of grapes will no longer sing the usual rhythmic chant.
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 From the outcry of Heshbon, even to Elealeh and Jahzah, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar, even to Horonaim, like a three year old calf. So too, the waters of Nimrim will be very bad.
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 take away from Moab, says the Lord, the one who makes offerings in exalted places, and the one who sacrifices 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 Because of this, my heart will resound for Moab, like the pipes, and my heart will make a sound like the pipes for the men on the brick wall. For he has done more than he was able, yet still they have perished.
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 every head will be bald, and every beard will be shaved. All the hands will be bound together, and there will be haircloth on every back.
Every head is bald, And every beard shorn; Upon all hands are cutting, And upon the loins sackcloth.
38 Over all the rooftops of Moab, and in its streets, everyone will mourn. For I have crushed Moab like a useless vessel, 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 was it conquered, so that they would wail? How is it that Moab has cast down his neck and been confounded? And Moab will be a derision and an example to everyone around 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 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, he will fly like the eagle, and he will extend his wings to Moab.
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, like an eagle flieth an enemy, And spreadeth his wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth has been captured, and the fortifications have been taken. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Moab will be like the heart of a woman giving birth.
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 cease to be a people. For he has been glorified against the Lord.
And Moab shall be destroyed so as to be no more a people, Because he exalted himself against Jehovah.
43 Terror and the pit and the snare will overwhelm you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord.
Terror and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
44 Whoever flees from the terror will fall into the pit. And whoever climbs out of the pit will be seized by the snare. For I will lead over Moab the year of their visitation, 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 fleeing from the snare stood in the shadow of Heshbon. For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it will devour the portion of Moab, and the top of the head of the sons of tumult.
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 Woe to you, O Moab! You have been ruined, O people of Chemosh! For your sons and your daughters have been taken into captivity.
Woe to thee, O Moab! Undone is the people of Chemosh! For thy sons are taken captives, And thy daughters are captives.
47 But I will convert the captivity of Moab in the last days, says the Lord.” Such are the judgments of Moab thus far.
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab In future times, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.
