Jeremiah 48
1 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.
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.
2 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!
There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you.
3 A cry is heard from Horonaim, Desolation and great destruction.
A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed; Her little ones raise a cry.
Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
5 At the ascent of Luhith Weeping goeth up after weeping; At the descent of Horonaim is heard a bitter cry of despair.
For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction:
6 Flee ye! save your lives! Be ye like one that has been stripped in the wilderness!
‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
7 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.
Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
8 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.
The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.
9 Give wings to Moab, That she may flee away; For her cities shall be a desolation, With none to dwell therein.
Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah deceitfully, And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
11 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.
Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.
12 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.
Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
14 How will ye say, “We are mighty, And strong men for war”?
How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
15 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.
Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
16 The destruction of Moab is near at hand; His destruction hasteth fast.
Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.
17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him! And all ye that know him, say, “How is the strong sceptre broken, The splendid staff!”
Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered— the glorious staff!
18 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,
Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
19 O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask of him that fleeth, and of her that escapeth, And say, “What hath been done?”
Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down; Howl ye, and cry! Tell ye it in Arnon, That Moab is destroyed!
Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21 And punishment hath come upon the plain country; Upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
Judgment has come upon the high plain— upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim.
upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, And upon all the cities of the land of Moab far and near.
upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, And his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,”
26 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.
“Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
27 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?
Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
28 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!
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.
29 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.
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart.
30 I, too, know his insolence, saith Jehovah, And his vain boastings. They shall effect nothing.
I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is as empty as his deeds.
31 Therefore will I wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; For the men of Kir-heres shall there be mourning.
Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 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.
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33 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.
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts are not for joy.
34 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.
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
35 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.
In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.
36 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.
Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.
37 Every head is bald, And every beard shorn; Upon all hands are cutting, And upon the loins sackcloth.
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
38 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.
On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,”
39 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.
“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
40 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, like an eagle flieth an enemy, And spreadeth his wings over Moab.
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
41 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.
Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 And Moab shall be destroyed so as to be no more a people, Because he exalted himself against Jehovah.
Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD.
43 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,”
44 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.
“Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,”
45 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.
“Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to thee, O Moab! Undone is the people of Chemosh! For thy sons are taken captives, And thy daughters are captives.
Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
47 Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab In future times, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.
Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
