Jeremiah 48
1 Concerning Moab: “Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Woe to Nebo, for it is spoiled, Kiriathaim has been captured [and] put to shame, The high tower has been put to shame, Indeed, it has been broken down.
Against Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe upon Nebo! For it has been devastated and confounded. Kiriathaim has been seized; the strong one has been confounded and has trembled.
2 There is no longer praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised evil against her: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, you are cut off, A sword goes after you.
There is no longer any rejoicing in Moab over Heshbon. They have devised evil. ‘Come and let us destroy it as a nation.’ Then you will be utterly silenced, and the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.
A voice of clamor from Horonaim: devastation and great destruction!
4 Moab has been destroyed, Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
Moab has been crushed. Announce an outcry for her little ones.
5 For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Weeping goes up, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries have heard a cry of desolation.
For, along the ascent of Luhith, the mourner will ascend with weeping. For, on the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard the wailing of devastation.
6 Flee, deliver yourselves, You are as a naked thing in a wilderness.
Flee, save your lives! And you shall be like a saltcedar tree in the desert.
7 For because of your trusting in your works, And in your treasures, even you are captured, And Chemosh has gone out in a removal, His priests and his heads together.
For because you have had faith in your fortifications and in your storehouses, you too will be seized. And Chemosh will go into captivity: his priests and his leaders together.
8 And a spoiler comes to every city, And no city escapes, And the valley has perished, And the plain has been destroyed, as YHWH said.
And the despoiler will overwhelm every city, and not a single city will be saved. And the valleys will perish, and the fields will be destroyed. For the Lord has spoken.
9 Give wings to Moab, that she may go forth and flee away, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.
Give a blossom to Moab. For it will depart when it is blossoming. And its cities will become desolate and uninhabited.
10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of YHWH slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.
Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully. And cursed is he who prohibits his sword from blood.
11 Moab is secure from his youth, And he [is] at rest for his preserved things, And he has not been emptied out from vessel to vessel, And he has not gone into captivity, Therefore his taste has remained in him, And his fragrance has not been changed.
Moab has been fertile from his youth, and he has rested amid his brood. And he has not been transferred from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into the transmigration. Therefore, his taste has remained with him, and his scent has not changed.
12 Therefore, behold, days are coming, A declaration of YHWH, And I have sent wanderers to him, And they have caused him to wander, And they empty out his vessels, And they dash his bottles in pieces.
Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will send to him those who will line up and knock down his bottles, and they will knock him down and empty his vessels, and they will break their bottles against one another.
13 And Moab has been ashamed because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel has been ashamed Because of Beth-El, their confidence.
And Moab will be confounded by Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was shamed by Bethel, in which they had faith.
14 How do you say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?
How can you say: ‘We are strong and robust men of battle?’
15 Moab is spoiled, and has gone up [from] her cities, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.
Moab has been devastated, and they have cut down her cities. And her elect young men have descended to slaughter. So says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The destruction of Moab is near to come, And his calamity has hurried exceedingly.
The passing away of Moab draws near and arrives. Its evil will rush forward with great speed.
17 Bemoan for him, all you around him, And all knowing his name, say, How it has been broken, the staff of strength, The rod of beauty!
Console him, all you who surround him and all you who know his name. Say: ‘How has the strong staff become broken, the glorious staff?’
18 Come down from glory, sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, For a spoiler of Moab has come up to you, He has destroyed your fortifications.
Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst, O habitation of the daughter of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has ascended to you; he has dissipated your fortifications.
19 Stand on the way, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What has happened?
Stand in the way, and gaze out, O habitation of Aroer! Question him who is fleeing, and say to him who has escaped: ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab has been put to shame, For it has been broken down, Howl and cry, declare in Arnon, For Moab is spoiled,
Moab has been confounded, because he has been conquered. Wail and cry out! Announce it in Arnon: Moab has been devastated,
21 And judgment has come to the land of the plain—to Holon, And to Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
and judgment has arrived upon the land of the plains: upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23 And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon the house of Gamul, and upon the house of Meon,
24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those far away and those nearby.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut down, And his arm has been broken, A declaration of YHWH.
The horn of Moab has been cut away, and his arm has been crushed, says the Lord.
26 Declare him drunk, For he made himself great against YHWH And Moab has struck in his vomit, And he has been for a derision—even he.
Inebriate him, for he has lifted himself up against the Lord. And Moab will thrust his hand into his own vomit, and also now he himself will become a derision.
27 And was Israel not the derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For since your words concerning him, You bemoan yourself.
For Israel had been a derision to them. It was as if you had discovered him among thieves. Because of your own words, then, which you have spoken against him, you will be led away captive.
28 Forsake cities, and dwell in a rock, You inhabitants of Moab, And be as a dove making a nest in the passages of a pit’s mouth.
Relinquish the cities, and live upon a rock, O inhabitants of Moab, and be like a dove nesting at the mouth of an opening at the summit.
29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceedingly proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,
We have listened to the arrogance of Moab; he is very proud: his exaltation, and arrogance, and pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
30 I have known, a declaration of YHWH, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His boastings—they have done nothing right.
I myself know, says the Lord, his boasting, and that his ability is not in accord with it, nor is it in accord with what he has been striving to do.
31 Therefore I howl for Moab, even for Moab—all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it mourns,
For this reason, I will wail over Moab, and I will cry out to all of Moab, to the men on the brick wall who are lamenting.
32 With the weeping of Jazer, I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, Your branches have passed over a sea, They have come to the Sea of Jazer, On your summer fruits, and on your harvest, A spoiler has fallen.
O vineyard of Sibmah, I will weep for you, with the mourning of Jazer. Your offshoots have crossed over the sea. They have reached even to the sea of Jazer. The despoiler has rushed over your harvest and your vintage.
33 And joy and gladness have been removed from the fruitful field, Even from the land of Moab, And I have caused wine to cease from winepresses, Shouting does not proceed, The shouting [is] not shouting!
Rejoicing and exultation has been taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. And I have taken the wine from the winepresses. The treader of grapes will no longer sing the usual rhythmic chant.
34 Because of the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh, They have given their voice to Jahaz, From Zoar to Horonaim, A heifer of the third [year], For even [the] waters of Nimrim become desolations.
From the outcry of Heshbon, even to Elealeh and Jahzah, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar, even to Horonaim, like a three year old calf. So too, the waters of Nimrim will be very bad.
35 And I have caused to cease in Moab, A declaration of YHWH, Him who is offering in a high place, And him who is making incense to his god.
And I will take away from Moab, says the Lord, the one who makes offerings in exalted places, and the one who sacrifices to his gods.
36 Therefore My heart sounds as pipes for Moab, And My heart sounds as pipes for men of Kir-Heres, Therefore the abundance he made perished.
Because of this, my heart will resound for Moab, like the pipes, and my heart will make a sound like the pipes for the men on the brick wall. For he has done more than he was able, yet still they have perished.
37 For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands—cuttings, and on the loins—sackcloth.
For every head will be bald, and every beard will be shaved. All the hands will be bound together, and there will be haircloth on every back.
38 On all roofs of Moab, and in her broad-places, All of it—lamentation, For I have broken Moab as a vessel in which there is no pleasure,” A declaration of YHWH.
Over all the rooftops of Moab, and in its streets, everyone will mourn. For I have crushed Moab like a useless vessel, says the Lord.
39 “How it has been broken down! They have howled, How Moab has turned the neck ashamed! And Moab has been for a derision And for a terror to all around her.”
How was it conquered, so that they would wail? How is it that Moab has cast down his neck and been confounded? And Moab will be a derision and an example to everyone around him.”
40 For thus said YHWH: “Behold, he flees as an eagle, And has spread his wings to Moab.
Thus says the Lord: “Behold, he will fly like the eagle, and he will extend his wings to Moab.
41 The cities have been captured, And the strongholds are caught, And the heart of the mighty of Moab Has been in that day as the heart of a distressed woman.
Kerioth has been captured, and the fortifications have been taken. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Moab will be like the heart of a woman giving birth.
42 And Moab has been destroyed from [being] a people, For he exerted himself against YHWH.
And Moab will cease to be a people. For he has been glorified against the Lord.
43 Fear, and a snare, and a trap, [are] for you, O inhabitant of Moab—a declaration of YHWH,
Terror and the pit and the snare will overwhelm you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord.
44 Whoever is fleeing because of the fear falls into the snare, And whoever is coming up from the snare is captured by the trap, For I bring to her—to Moab—The year of their inspection, A declaration of YHWH.
Whoever flees from the terror will fall into the pit. And whoever climbs out of the pit will be seized by the snare. For I will lead over Moab the year of their visitation, says the Lord.
45 In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives have stood powerless, For fire has gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from within Sihon, And it consumes the corner of Moab, And the crown of the sons of Shaon.
Those fleeing from the snare stood in the shadow of Heshbon. For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it will devour the portion of Moab, and the top of the head of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab, The people of Chemosh have perished, For your sons were taken with the captives, And your daughters with the captivity.
Woe to you, O Moab! You have been ruined, O people of Chemosh! For your sons and your daughters have been taken into captivity.
47 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Moab, In the latter end of the days,” A declaration of YHWH! “Until now [is] the judgment of Moab.”
But I will convert the captivity of Moab in the last days, says the Lord.” Such are the judgments of Moab thus far.
