Jeremiah 48
1 Of Moab, —Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, —Alas for Nebo, for it is laid waste, put to shame—captured, is Kiriathaim, put to shame is Misgab, and dismayed.
This is a message about Moab. The Commander of the armies of angels said: “Terrible things will happen to Nebo [town]; it will [soon] be ruined. Kiriathaim [city] will be captured and [all its people will be] humiliated; the high wall around their city will be ruined, and [its people] will become ashamed.
2 No more, is the praise of Moab, In Heshbon, have they devised against her, calamity, Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation, —Even thou, Madmen also, shalt be silenced, After thee, shall march the sword.
No one will boast about Moab again; the [enemies of Moab] will plan to destroy [the capital city, ] Heshbon. [They will say, ] ‘Come, let’s cause Moab to no longer be a nation.’ You people in Madmen [town], you also will be silenced; enemy armies [MTY] will pursue you.
3 A voice of outcry, from Horonaim, —Wasting and great destruction!
Listen to the people of Horonaim [town] screaming; [they will be wailing because their town will have been] devastated and destroyed [DOU].
4 Moab is broken: Her little ones, have caused to be heard an outcry.
[All of] Moab will be ruined; [even] the little children will cry [loudly].
5 For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping, one ascendeth—with weeping, —For in the descent of Horonaim, the distress of the outcry of destruction, have they heard:
They will cry bitterly as they climb up Luhith [Hill]. [Others will wail] on the road down to Horonaim, being very sad because of [their town being] destroyed.
6 Flee deliver your own lives, —Then shall the women be as a shrub in the desert.
[Someone will say to them], ‘Flee! Hide in the desert!’
7 For seeing thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, Thou too, shalt be captured, —Then shall Chemosh go forth into captivity, His priests and his princes together.
But you trusted that because you were rich and powerful, [you would be safe]; so you will be captured. [The statue of your god] Chemosh and all his priests and officials will be taken away to distant lands.
8 And the spoiler shall enter into every city, And not, a city, shall escape, Then shall perish the vale Then be destroyed the table-land, —As Yahweh hath said.
All the towns [in Moab] will be destroyed; none of them will escape. [Towns in] the valleys and on the plateau will [all] be destroyed, because [I, ] Yahweh, have said that is what will happen.
9 Give wing to Moab, For she must, fly away; And her cities To desolation, shall be turned, With no inhabitant therein.
Spread salt on the ground in order that it will become a wasteland with [nothing growing there any more], and no one will be living in it!”
10 Accursed be he that doeth the business of Yahweh carelessly; And, accursed be he that withholdeth his sword, from blood!
Yahweh will curse anyone who will not eagerly do what he desires, anyone who refrains from using his sword to kill [MTY] others [in Moab].
11 Moab, hath been at ease from his youth, And settled is he upon his lees, And hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, Nor into captivity, hath gone, —For this cause, hath his flavour stood still within him, And his scent is unchanged.
[The people of] Moab have always felt secure; they have never been (exiled/forced [by their enemies] to go to other countries). They are like [MET] wine that has been left undisturbed [in a container for many days to give it good flavor], so now it smells good, and it tastes good.
12 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will send to him tilters and they shall tilt him, —And his vessels, shall they empty, And their jars, shall they dash in pieces.
But Yahweh says that there will be a time when he will send [enemies to attack them]; they will get rid of the people of Moab like people pour out wine [on the ground] and then smash the wine jar.
13 Then shall Moab, be ashamed, of, Chemosh, —Just as, the sons of Israel, were ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
Then [the people of] Moab will be ashamed of [their god/idol] Chemosh [because it did not help them], like the Israeli people were ashamed because their gold statue of a calf [was smashed] at Bethel.
14 How can ye say, Heroes, are we? and Men of might for the war?
[The soldiers of Moab previously] said, “We are warriors; we have fought bravely in battles!”
15 Spoiled is Moab And her cities, hath he ascended, And the choice of his young men, have gone down to the slaughter, —Declareth The King, Yahweh of hosts, is his Name.
But now our King, who is Yahweh, who is called ‘the Commander of the armies of angels’, says that [the country of] Moab and all the towns in it will be destroyed. Their fine young men will [all] be slaughtered.
16 Near is the doom of Moab, to come, —And, his calamity, hasteth greatly.
Moab will very soon be destroyed. It will soon experience disaster.
17 Lament ye for him—All that are round about him, and All that know his name, —Say, How is broken—The staff of strength! The rod of beauty!
You [people who live in nations] near Moab, who know that it is very famous, should mourn for Moab, and say, “Its glorious power [MTY, DOU] is [completely] ended/broken.”
18 Come down from glory, and sit in thirst, O inhabitress daughter of Dibon; For the spoiler of Moab, hath come up against thee, He hath laid in ruins thy strongholds.
You people of Dibon [city], stop being proud because of being honored, and sit in the dust/dirt, because those who will destroy other places in Moab will attack your [city] and destroy your high walls.
19 Near the way, take thy stand and keep outlook, O inhabitress of Aroer: Ask—him that fleeth, and Her that hath escaped, Say, What hath happened?
You people of Aroer [town], stand along the road and watch. Shout to the men and women who will be fleeing [from Moab], “What has happened [there]?”
20 Confounded is Moab! For it is broken down! Howl and make outcry, —Tell ye in Arnon, That Moab is spoiled;
[They will reply], “Moab is ruined and [we are] disgraced!” [So] weep and wail [DOU]. Proclaim at the Aroer [River] that Moab has been destroyed.
21 And, judgment, hath come Upon the country of the table-land, —Upon Holon, and Upon Jazer and Upon Mephaath;
[Yahweh] will have punished [the towns in Moab that are on] the (plateau/high level): Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
22 and Upon Dibon, and Upon Nebo, and Upon Beth-diblathaim;
Dibon and Nebo and Beth-Diblathaim,
23 and Upon Kiriathaim, and Upon Beth-gamul, and Upon Beth-meon;
Kiriathaim and Beth-Gamul and Beth-Meon,
24 and Upon Kerioth, and Upon Bozrah, —Yea, upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
Kerioth and Bozrah, cities that are near [each other] and towns that are far away [from each other].
25 Cut off is the horn of Moab, Yea, his arm, is broken, —Declareth Yahweh.
Yahweh says, “The power [MTY] of Moab will be ended; [it is as though] [MET] Moab will have a broken arm.
26 Make ye him drunken, Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself; So shall, Moab, stagger, into his own vomit, And shall become a derision, even he!
[You people of] Moab have rebelled against [me, ] Yahweh; so [now] I will cause you all to [stagger like] [SIM] drunken people. [You people of] will wallow in your own vomit and be ridiculed.
27 And was it not, a derision, that Israel became to thee? And was it not among thieves, he was found? For, as often as thou didst speak of him, thou didst wag the head!
You [people of Moab] ridiculed [the people of] Israel [RHQ]. You treated them as though they were thieves [RHQ]. You shook your head at them scornfully and despised them [RHQ].
28 Leave ye the cities and dwell in the cliff, Ye inhabitants of Moab; And become ye as a dove, that maketh her nest in the further-side of the fissure’s mouth.
You people who live in Moab, you should abandon your towns and go and live in caves. Be like [SIM] doves that make their nests in the entrances of caves.”
29 We have heard the arrogance of Moab—proud exceedingly: His loftiness and his arrogance and his majesty, and his elevation of heart!
We have [all] heard that [the people of] are very proud; they are extremely proud and conceited/arrogant. [IDM, DOU]
30 I know—Declareth Yahweh His passion—that’tis Unjust! His boastings, that Untrue have they made [them]!
But Yahweh says, “I know about that, but it is useless for them to boast [because] it will accomplish nothing.
31 For this cause over Moab, will I howl, And for all Moab, will I make outcry, —For the men of Kir-heres, must one moan!
So [now] I will wail for Moab; I will cry about all its people. I will moan for the men of Kir-Hareseth [city], [the old capital of Moab].
32 Beyond the weeping of Jazer, will I weep for thee O vine of Sibmah, Thy tendrils, have gone over the sea, Unto the sea of Jazer, have they reached, Upon thy summer fruits And upon thy vintage, the spoiler, hath fallen.
You people of Sibmah [city], you have many vineyards. [It is as though] the branches of your vines extend across the [Dead] Sea to Jazer [city].
33 So shall be withdrawn gladness and exultation—From the fruitful field and From the land of Moab, —And wine from the vats, have I caused to fail, They shall not tread with shouting, The shouting shall be no shouting!
But no one will be joyful or happy in Moab now; your fruit and grapes that ripen in the (summer/hot season) will soon be destroyed. There will be no grape juice coming from the winepresses, [so] there will be no wine. People will not shout joyfully as they tread on the grapes; people will shout, but they will not be shouting joyfully.
34 From the outcry of Heshbon, Even unto Elealeh Even unto Jahaz, have they given forth their voice, From Zoar even unto Horonaim, the third Eglath, —For, even the waters of Nimrim, to utter desolation, have been turned:
Instead, the sound of their wailing will rise from Heshbon [city] to Elealeh [town] and Jahaz [village], from Zoar [city] as far as Horonaim [town] and Eglath-Shelishiyah [village]. Even the water in Nimrim [Stream] will be dried up.
35 Then will I cause to cease, from Moab, Declareth Yahweh, —him that offereth at a high-place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
[I, ] Yahweh, say that I will get rid of the people who offer sacrifices on the hilltops, and burn incense to their gods.
36 For this cause, my heart, for Moab, like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Yea my heart for the men of Kir-heres! like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Because, the abundance he hath gotten is lost!
I [SYN] moan for the people of Moab and Kir-Hareseth like [SIM] [someone playing a funeral song on] a flute, because [all] their wealth will disappear.
37 For, every head, is baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, And upon the loins, sackcloth
The men will shave their heads and their beards [to show that they are mourning]. They all will slash their hands and wear (rough cloth/sackcloth) around their waists.
38 Upon all the housetops of Moab And in her broadways, it is all lamentation, —For I have broken Moab—Like a vessel wherein is no pleasure Declareth Yahweh.
In every home and in the town plazas/centers in Moab there will be [people who are] mourning, because I will have destroyed Moab like [SIM] someone smashes an [old] jar that no one wants [any more].
39 How it is broken down! They have howled, How hath Moab turned the back, for shame, —So shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all round about him.
Moab will be completely shattered! And you will hear the people wailing loudly! They will be disgraced. Moab will become a nation that people ridicule. The people in nearby [countries] will be horrified [about what has happened there].
40 For, thus, saith Yahweh, Lo! as an eagle, shall one dart along, —And shall spread out his wings towards Moab.
This is what [I, ] Yahweh, say: ‘Look! Their enemies will be swooping/rushing down over Moab like an eagle [SIM] swoops down [to seize an animal].
41 Captured is Kerioth, And the fortresses, are seized, —Then shall the heart of the heroes of Moab become in that day, As the heart of a woman in her pains.
Its cities will be captured, its fortresses will be seized. [Even] their warriors will be [afraid], like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth.
42 Then shall, Moab, be destroyed from being a people, —Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself.
[The leaders of] Moab boasted against [me, ] Yahweh, so Moab will be destroyed.
43 Terror and pit and snare are upon thee O inhabitant of Moab Declareth Yahweh:
[I, ] Yahweh, say that you people of Moab will be terrified, and fall into pits and traps.
44 He that fleeth from the face of the terror, Shall fall into the pit, And, he that getteth up out of the pit, Shall be captured by the snare, —For I will bring against her—against Moab, The year of their visitation, Declareth Yahweh.
Those who are terrified and try to run away will fall into deep pits. Whoever climbs out of a pit will be caught in a trap, because I will punish them at the time that I have chosen.’
45 In the shadow of Heshbon, stand strengthless, the fugitives, —For, a fire, hath gone forth out of Heshbon And shall flame out of the midst of Sihon, And shall devour the beard of Moab, And the crown of the head of the proudly tumultuous.
The people will flee as far as Heshbon [city], but they will not be able to go any further, because a fire will burn in Heshbon, [which is the city] where [King] Sihon lived [long ago], and it will burn up all the people [SYN] in Moab who noisily/loudly boasted very much.
46 Woe to thee Moab! Lost are the people of Chemosh, —For thy sons have been taken, into captivity, And thy daughters into captivity.
[You people of] Moab, terrible things will happen to you! You people who worship [your god] Chemosh, you will be destroyed. Your sons and your daughters will be captured and taken away [to other countries].
47 Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab, In the afterpart of the days, Declareth Yahweh, Thus far, is the sentence of Moab.
But some day, I will enable the people of Moab to return to their land again. [That will surely happen because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.” That is the end of what I prophesied about Moab.
