Jeremiah 48
1 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.
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.
2 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.”
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.
3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction;
4 Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar.
5 People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
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.
6 Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah.
7 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.
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.
8 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.
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.
9 Put up gravestones in Moab, because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives.
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.
10 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.
Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps back his sword from blood.
11 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.
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.
12 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.
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.
13 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.
And Moab will be shamed on account of Chemosh, as the children of Israel were shamed on account of Beth-el their hope.
14 How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters?
15 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.
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.
16 Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly.
17 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!
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!
18 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.
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.
19 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?”
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?
20 Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed!
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.
21 Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim,
23 on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon,
24 on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord.
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
26 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.
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.
27 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.
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.
28 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.
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.
29 We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
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.
30 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.
I have knowledge of his wrath, says the Lord, that it is nothing; his high-sounding words have done nothing.
31 So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
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.
32 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.
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.
33 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!
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.
34 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.
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.
35 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.
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.
36 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.
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.
37 As signs of their mourning, every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth.
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.
38 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.
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.
39 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.
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.
40 This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
For the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Moab.
41 Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
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.
42 Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord.
43 You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
Fear and death and the net have come on you, O people of Moab, says the Lord.
44 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.
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.
45 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.
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.
46 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.
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.
47 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.
But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
