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 Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath 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 more praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised against it evil: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, thou art cut off, After thee goeth a sword.
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].
Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones.
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, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard.
6 [Someone will say to them], ‘Flee! Hide in the desert!’
Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye 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 thy trusting in thy works, And in thy treasures, even thou art captured, And gone out hath Chemosh 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 come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah 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, for she utterly goeth out, 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 Jehovah 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.
Secure is Moab from his youth, And at rest [is] he for his preserved things, And he hath not been emptied out from vessel unto vessel, And into captivity he hath not gone, Therefore hath his taste remained in him, And his fragrance hath 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, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sent to him wanderers, And they have caused him to wander, And his vessels they empty out, And his bottles they dash 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 ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have 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 ye 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.
Spoiled is Moab, and her cities hath one gone up, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name.
16 Moab will very soon be destroyed. It will soon experience disaster.
Near is the calamity of Moab to come, And his affliction hath hasted 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 ye round about him, And all knowing his name, say ye: How hath it 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 honour, sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, For a spoiler of Moab hath come up to thee, He hath destroyed thy fenced places.
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]?”
On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What hath 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.
Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,
21 [Yahweh] will have punished [the towns in Moab that are on] the (plateau/high level): Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain — unto Holon, And unto 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.
Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 ye him drunk, For against Jehovah he made himself great And Moab hath stricken in his vomit, And he hath 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 not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.
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, Ye 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, Exceeding 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 — I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices — not right they have done.
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 for Moab I howl, even for Moab — all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it doth mourn,
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 thee, O vine of Sibmah, Thy branches have passed over a sea, Unto the sea of Jazer they have come, On thy summer fruits, and on thy harvest, A spoiler hath 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 removed hath been joy and gladness From the fruitful field, Even from the land of Moab, And wine from wine-presses I have caused to cease, Shouting doth not proceed, The shouting [is] no 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 unto Elealeh, Unto Jahaz they have given their voice, From Zoar unto Horonaim, A heifer of the third [year], For even 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 to Moab, An affirmation of Jehovah, Him who is offering in a high place, And him who is making perfume 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 for Moab as pipes doth sound, And my heart for men of Kir-Heres As pipes doth sound, Therefore the abundance he made did perish.
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 — [is] lamentation, For I have broken Moab as a vessel in which there is no pleasure, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 hath it been broken down! they have howled, How hath Moab turned the neck ashamed, And Moab hath been for a derision. And for a terror to all round about 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 Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto 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.
Captured have been the cities, And the strongholds are caught, And the heart of the mighty of Moab Hath 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 hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.
43 [I, ] Yahweh, say that you people of Moab will be terrified, and fall into pits and traps.
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab — an affirmation of Jehovah,
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.’
Whoso is fleeing because of the fear falleth into the snare, And whoso is coming up from the snare is captured by the gin, For I bring in unto her — unto Moab — The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 stood powerless have fugitives, For fire hath gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from within Sihon, And it consumeth 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 thee, O Moab, Perished hath the people of Chemosh, For thy sons were taken with the captives, And thy 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, An affirmation of Jehovah! Hitherto [is] the judgment of Moab.
