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.
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 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.”
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 Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
A cry is heard from Horonaim, Desolation and great destruction.
4 Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
Moab is destroyed; Her little ones raise a cry.
5 People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
At the ascent of Luhith Weeping goeth up after weeping; At the descent of Horonaim is heard a bitter cry of despair.
6 Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
Flee ye! save your lives! Be ye like one that has been stripped in the wilderness!
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 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 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.
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 Put up gravestones in Moab, because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives.
Give wings to Moab, That she may flee away; For her cities shall be a desolation, With none to dwell therein.
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.
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah deceitfully, And cursed be he that keepeth 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.
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 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.
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 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 shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14 How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
How will ye say, “We are mighty, And strong men for war”?
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.
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 Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
The destruction of Moab is near at hand; His destruction hasteth fast.
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 ye that are about him, bemoan him! And all ye that know him, say, “How is the strong sceptre broken, The splendid staff!”
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 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 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 inhabitant of Aroer! Ask of him that fleeth, and of her that escapeth, And say, “What hath 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 is confounded; for it is broken down; Howl ye, and cry! Tell ye it in Arnon, That Moab is destroyed!
21 Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And punishment hath come upon the plain country; Upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim.
23 on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24 on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, And upon all the cities 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, saith Jehovah.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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 know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
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'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, too, know his insolence, saith Jehovah, And his vain boastings. They shall effect 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.
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 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.
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 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!
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 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.
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 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 cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, Him that offereth in the high places, And him that burneth incense 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.
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 As signs of their mourning, every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth.
Every head is bald, And every beard shorn; Upon all hands are cutting, And upon the loins sackcloth.
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.
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 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.
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 This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, like an eagle flieth an enemy, And spreadeth his wings over 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 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 Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
And Moab shall be destroyed so as to be no more a people, Because he exalted himself against Jehovah.
43 You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
Terror and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
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 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 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.
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 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.
Woe to thee, O Moab! Undone is the people of Chemosh! For thy sons are taken captives, And thy daughters are captives.
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.
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab In future times, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.
