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.
Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe to Nebo! for it is laid waste: Kiriathaim is confounded [and] 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.”
[There shall be] no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from [being] a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
A voice of crying [shall be] from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction.
4 Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
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 in the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6 Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath 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 works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity [with] 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.
And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD 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 it may flee and get away: for its cities shall be desolate, without any to dwell 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.
Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD 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 emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is 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 the LORD, that I will send to him wanderers that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.
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 Beth-el their confidence.
14 How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
How say ye, We [are] mighty and strong men for the 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 laid waste, and gone up [out of] her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the king, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts.
16 Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
The calamity of Moab [is] near to come, and his affliction 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 his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, [and] the beautiful rod!
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.
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strong holds.
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, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, [and] say, What is 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 and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21 Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
And judgment is 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 or 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 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 ye him drunken; for he magnified [himself] against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be 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.
For was not Israel a derision to thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou hast spoken of him, thou hast leaped for joy.
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 ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove [that] maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.
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 the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogance, and 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 know his wrath, saith the LORD; but [it shall] not [be] so; his lies shall not so effect [it].
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 howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; [my heart] shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
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.
O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants have gone over the sea, they reach [even] to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler hath fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
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 is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the wine-presses: none shall tread with shouting; [their] 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 the cry of Heshbon [even] to Elealeh, [and even] to Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar [even] to Horonaim, [as] a heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be 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.
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, 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 my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches [that] he hath gotten have 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.
For every head [shall be] bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands [shall be] cuttings, 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.
[There shall be] lamentation generally upon all the house-tops of Moab, and in its streets: for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which [is] no pleasure, saith 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.
They shall howl, [saying], How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them 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 thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread 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 strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as 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 from [being] a people, because he hath magnified [himself] against the LORD.
43 You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [shall be] upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith 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 that fleeth from the fear, shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, [even] upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith 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.
They that fled stood under the shade of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous 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.
Woe be to thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters 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 again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far [is] the judgment of Moab.
