Jeremiah 48
1 Against Moab. Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Woe unto Nebo! for it is wasted; made ashamed, captured is Kiryathayim; made ashamed is Misgab and dismayed.
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 praise of Moab: in Cheshbon have they devised evil against it, “Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation.” Also thou Madmen shalt be ruined; after thee shall pursue the sword.
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 There is a voice of crying from Choronayim, destruction and a great breach.
Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
4 Broken down is Moab: her little ones send forth a cry of distress.
Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
5 For the ascent of Luchith is ascended with weeping and tears; for on the descent of Choronayim the enemies have heard the cry 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 life, and be ye like the solitary tree in the wilderness.
Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
7 For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be conquered: and Kemosh shall go forth into exile, [with] 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 water shall come over every city, and no city shall escape: and lost shall be the valley, and destroyed shall be the plain, as the Lord hath said.
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 wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; since her cities shall become desolate, without any to dwell therein.
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 negligently, 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 was ever at ease from his youth, and he was resting on his lees, and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, and had not gone into exile: therefore had his taste remained in him, and his scent was 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, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will send unto him tappers, that shall tap him, and they shall empty his vessels, and dash in pieces their bottles.
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 Kemosh, as the house of Israel were made ashamed because of Beth-el their confidence.
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 can ye say, We are mighty and men of bravery for the war?
How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
15 Moab is wasted, and into his cities hath [the enemy] ascended, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name.
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 Near is the calamity of Moab to come, and his misfortune hasteneth fast.
Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
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 stick!
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, thou inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; for the waster of Moab cometh up against thee, he destroyeth thy strong-holds.
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 by the way, and look out, O inhabitress of 'Aro'er: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, say, What hath been 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 hath been made ashamed; for it is broken down; wail, and cry aloud: tell ye it by the Arnon, 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 punishment is come over the land of the plain, over Cholon, and over Yahzah, and over Mepha'ath,
Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And over Dibon, and over Nebo, and over Beth-diblathayim,
on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And over Kiryathayim, and over Beth-gamul, and over Beth-me'on,
on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 And over Keriyoth, and over Bozrah, and over all the cities of the land of Moab, that are far and that are near.
on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25 Hewn away is the horn of Moab, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord.
26 Make him drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall become [an object] of 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 was not Israel a derision unto thee? or was he found among thieves? that whenever thou spokest of him, thou hadst to shake [thy head]?
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 on rocks, O ye that dwell in Moab; and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of rocky clefts.
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, who is so exceedingly proud, his haughtiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the overbearingness 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 will know, saith the Lord, his wrath, and how causeless it is: his liars have done what is not right.
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 wail for Moab, and for all Moab will I cry out; for the men of Kir-cheres shall people moan.
So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
32 With the weeping of Ya'zer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy tendrils [once] passed over the sea, they reached as far as to the sea of Ya'zer: over thy summer-fruits and over thy vintage the waster is fallen.
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 And banished are joy and gladness from Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread the press with the vintner's call; battle cry—nor vintner's call.
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 loud cry of Cheshbon as far as El'aleh, even unto Yahaz, have they sent forth their voice, from Zo'ar even unto Choronayim, to the third 'Eglath; for the waters also of Nimrim shall become desolate.
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 Moreover will I cause to cease unto Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth on the high-places, and him that burneth incense 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 shall my heart groan for Moab like flutes, and my heart shall groan like flutes for the men of Kir-cheres; for the cause that the remnant of the riches he had gotten are lost.
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 is bald, and every beard is shorn: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins is sackcloth.
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 roofs of Moab, and in her streets, there is everywhere lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel which hath no value, 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 Oh, how is it broken down! wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! and Moab shall be a derision and a dismay to all those around 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 For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, as the eagle shall he fly, and he shall spread out his wings over Moab.
This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
41 Captured are the fortresses, and the strong-holds are conquered: and the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be on that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
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 be destroyed from being a people; because it hath magnified himself against the Lord.
Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43 Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be 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 fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for I will bring upon it, even 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 Under the shadow of Cheshbon stand still, deprived of strength, those that flee; but a fire cometh forth out of Cheshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sichon, and it devoureth the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of vaunting.
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 unto thee, O Moab! lost is the people of Kemosh; for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters into captivity.
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 Yet will I bring back again the captivity of Moab in the end of days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the punishment 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.
