Jeremiah 48
1 Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed.
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.
2 Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from [being] a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee.
There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction!
A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
5 For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction.
For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction:
6 Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness.
‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
7 For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
8 And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.
The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.
9 Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant.
Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.
12 Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons.
Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
14 How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?
How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
15 Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up [in smoke], and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
18 Come down from [thy] glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed.
Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
19 Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done?
Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21 And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath;
Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim;
upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon;
upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
26 Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
“Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head?
Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
28 Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth.
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, — [he is] very proud; — his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
30 I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as [they say].
I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning.
Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33 And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts are not for joy.
34 Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, [unto] Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations.
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
35 And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.
36 Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.
37 For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
38 It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah.
On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,”
39 They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.
“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
40 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab.
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
41 Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.
Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
44 He that fleeth from the fear 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 her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
“Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,”
45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult.
“Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives.
Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
47 But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.
Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
