Jeremiah 48

1 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.

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.

2 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.

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.

3 Listen to the people of Horonaim [town] screaming; [they will be wailing because their town will have been] devastated and destroyed [DOU].

A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.

4 [All of] Moab will be ruined; [even] the little children will cry [loudly].

Moab has been destroyed, Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

5 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.

For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Weeping goes up, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries have heard a cry of desolation.

6 [Someone will say to them], ‘Flee! Hide in the desert!’

Flee, deliver yourselves, You are as a naked thing in a wilderness.

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 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!”

Give wings to Moab, that she may go forth and flee away, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.

10 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].

Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of YHWH slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.

11 [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.

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.

12 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.

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.

13 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.

And Moab has been ashamed because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel has been ashamed Because of Beth-El, their confidence.

14 [The soldiers of Moab previously] said, “We are warriors; we have fought bravely in battles!”

How do you say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?

15 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.

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.

16 Moab will very soon be destroyed. It will soon experience disaster.

The destruction of Moab is near to come, And his calamity has hurried exceedingly.

17 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.”

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!

18 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.

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.

19 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]?”

Stand on the way, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What has happened?

20 [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.

Moab has been put to shame, For it has been broken down, Howl and cry, declare in Arnon, For Moab is spoiled,

21 [Yahweh] will have punished [the towns in Moab that are on] the (plateau/high level): Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,

And judgment has come to the land of the plain—to Holon, And to Jahazah, and on Mephaath,

22 Dibon and Nebo and Beth-Diblathaim,

And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,

23 Kiriathaim and Beth-Gamul and Beth-Meon,

And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,

24 Kerioth and Bozrah, cities that are near [each other] and towns that are far away [from each other].

And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.

25 Yahweh says, “The power [MTY] of Moab will be ended; [it is as though] [MET] Moab will have a broken arm.

The horn of Moab has been cut down, And his arm has been broken, A declaration of YHWH.

26 [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.

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.

27 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].

And was Israel not the derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For since your words concerning him, You bemoan yourself.

28 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.”

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.

29 We have [all] heard that [the people of] are very proud; they are extremely proud and conceited/arrogant. [IDM, DOU]

We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceedingly proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,

30 But Yahweh says, “I know about that, but it is useless for them to boast [because] it will accomplish nothing.

I have known, a declaration of YHWH, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His boastings—they have done nothing right.

31 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].

Therefore I howl for Moab, even for Moab—all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it mourns,

32 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].

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.

33 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.

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!

34 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.

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.

35 [I, ] Yahweh, say that I will get rid of the people who offer sacrifices on the hilltops, and burn incense to their gods.

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.

36 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.

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.

37 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.

For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands—cuttings, and on the loins—sackcloth.

38 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].

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.

39 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].

“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.”

40 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].

For thus said YHWH: “Behold, he flees as an eagle, And has spread his wings to Moab.

41 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.

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.

42 [The leaders of] Moab boasted against [me, ] Yahweh, so Moab will be destroyed.

And Moab has been destroyed from [being] a people, For he exerted himself against YHWH.

43 [I, ] Yahweh, say that you people of Moab will be terrified, and fall into pits and traps.

Fear, and a snare, and a trap, [are] for you, O inhabitant of Moab—a declaration of YHWH,

44 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.’

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.

45 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.

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.

46 [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].

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.

47 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.

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.”