Jeremiah 48
1 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste, and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath trembled.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Moab: Disaster is coming to the town of Nebo, because it will be destroyed. The town of Kiriathaim will be captured and humiliated; the fortress will be torn down and its people shamed.
2 There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.
No one praises Moab anymore. People in Heshbon are plotting, “We will destroy Moab as a nation. People of the town of Madmen, we will silence you too—you will be attacked by swords and chased down.”
3 A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.
Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
4 Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry for her little ones.
Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
5 For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.
People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
6 Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.
Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
7 For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.
It's because you put your confidence in what you do and what you own that you too will be captured. Your god Chemosh will be taken into exile along with his priests and leaders.
8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: and the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed, for the Lord hath spoken:
The invaders will attack every town; not a single one will escape destruction. The valley will be ruined, and the plain will be destroyed, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be desolate, and uninhabited.
Put up gravestones in Moab, because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives.
10 Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
A curse on those who don't do the Lord's work properly. A curse on those who don't use their swords to kill.
11 Moab hath been fruitful from his youth, and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
The people of Moab have been living comfortably since the country was founded. They're like wine that hasn't been disturbed, not poured from one container to another. So the taste and fragrance remains the same. They haven't experienced exile.
12 Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles, and they shall cast him down, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.
But watch out, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will send them “winemakers” who will pour them out like wine. They will empty out the Moabites, and smash them like jars.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
Then the Moabites will feel let down by Chemosh, just as the people of Israel felt let down when they trusted in the golden calf idol at Bethel.
14 How do you say: We are valiant, and stout men in battle?
How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
15 Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities: and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Moab is going to be destroyed and its towns conquered. Its finest young men will be killed, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16 The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.
Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
17 Comfort him, all you that are round about him, and all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
Mourn for them, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows them! Let others know how the great scepter has been smashed, the rod that once proudly ruled!
18 Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
Come down from your glory and sit on the dusty ground, you who live in Dibon, for Moab's destroyer will come and attack you, destroying your fortresses.
19 Stand in the way, and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth: and say to him that hath escaped: What Is done?
Stand at the roadside and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the men and women who are running away to escape, “What's happened?”
20 Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown: howl ye, and cry, tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted.
Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed!
21 And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon, and upon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.
Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,
on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra: and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord.
26 Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
Make the people of Moab drunk, because they defied the Lord. Then they will roll around in their own vomit, as people laugh at them.
27 For Israel hath been a derision unto thee: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.
Didn't you Moabites used to ridicule the Israelites? But they weren't ever found to be thieves, were they? Yet whenever you talk about them, you shake your heads in contempt.
28 Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.
You people living in Moab, run from your towns, go and live among the rocks. Be like a dove nesting on the cliffs at the entrance to a ravine.
29 We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
30 I know, saith the Lord, his boasting, and that the strength thereof is not according to it, neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.
I'm well aware of how disrespectful they are, declares the Lord, but it doesn't matter. They make empty boasts, and what they do is just as empty.
31 Therefore will I lament for Moab, and I will cry out to all Moab, for the men of the brick wall that mourn.
So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
32 O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee, with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy vintage.
will weep for you, people of the town of Sibmah with its vineyards, more than I weep for the town of Jazer. Your vines have spread to the sea, and all the way to Jazer. But the destroyer has stolen your harvest of summer fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.
There's no more celebration and happiness in Moab's orchards and fields. I have stopped the grape juice flowing from the winepresses. No one shouts for joy as they tread out the grapes. No, their shouts now are not because of joy!
34 From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale, and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old: the waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.
Cries for help reach from Heshbon to Elealeh and all the way to Jahaz. They're shouting out from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the water in the Nimrim Brook has dried up.
35 And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and that sacrificeth to his gods.
I'm going to finish off those in Moab who sacrifice on the pagan high places and burn incense to their gods, declares the Lord.
36 Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes: and my heart a sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall: because he hath done more than he could, therefore they have perished.
So I mourn inside like a flute playing a sad song for Moab; like a flute playing a funeral tune for the people of Kir-heres, because they've lost everything of value that they worked for.
37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together, and upon every back there shall be haircloth.
As signs of their mourning, every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth.
38 Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.
Everyone is mourning on all the flat roofs and streets of Moab, because I have smashed the country like a jar nobody wants, declares the Lord.
39 How is it overthrown, and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck, and is confounded! And Moab shall be a derision, and an example to all round about him.
Moab is completely shattered! Listen to them cry! See how the Moabites turn away in shame! All the surrounding nations are horrified at what's happened to the country, and ridicule its people.
40 Thus saith the Lord: Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall stretch forth his wings to Moab.
This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
41 Carioth is taken, and the strong holds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
42 And Moab shall cease to be a people: because he hath gloried against the Lord.
Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
44 He that shall flee from the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
You will run away in terror and fall into a trap, and when you climb out of the trap, you'll be caught in a snare. I will do this to the Moabites at the time when they're punished, declares the Lord.
45 They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Kesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seen, and it shall devour part of Moab. and the crown of the head of the children of tumult.
Those who run away will be left defenseless in Heshbon where they went for protection, because fire blazes out from Heshbon, a fire from where Sihon once reigned. It burns up the whole country of Moab and its defiant people.
46 Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast perished, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.
What a disaster has come to you Moabites! The people of Chemosh have been wiped out. Your sons and daughters have been taken prisoner and have gone into exile.
47 And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.
But even so, later on, I will bring the people of Moab back from exile, declares the Lord. This is the end of the description of the judgment on Moab.
