Jeremiah 48
1 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.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Moab: Disaster is coming to the town of Nebo, because it will be destroyed. The town of Kiriathaim will be captured and humiliated; the fortress will be torn down and its people shamed.
2 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.
No one praises Moab anymore. People in Heshbon are plotting, “We will destroy Moab as a nation. People of the town of Madmen, we will silence you too—you will be attacked by swords and chased down.”
3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.
Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
4 Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones.
Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
5 For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard.
People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
6 Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness.
Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
7 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.
It's because you put your confidence in what you do and what you own that you too will be captured. Your god Chemosh will be taken into exile along with his priests and leaders.
8 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.
The invaders will attack every town; not a single one will escape destruction. The valley will be ruined, and the plain will be destroyed, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.
Put up gravestones in Moab, because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives.
10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.
A curse on those who don't do the Lord's work properly. A curse on those who don't use their swords to kill.
11 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.
The people of Moab have been living comfortably since the country was founded. They're like wine that hasn't been disturbed, not poured from one container to another. So the taste and fragrance remains the same. They haven't experienced exile.
12 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.
But watch out, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will send them “winemakers” who will pour them out like wine. They will empty out the Moabites, and smash them like jars.
13 And ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have been ashamed Because of Beth-El their confidence.
Then the Moabites will feel let down by Chemosh, just as the people of Israel felt let down when they trusted in the golden calf idol at Bethel.
14 How do ye say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?
How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
15 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.
Moab is going to be destroyed and its towns conquered. Its finest young men will be killed, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16 Near is the calamity of Moab to come, And his affliction hath hasted exceedingly.
Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
17 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.
Mourn for them, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows them! Let others know how the great scepter has been smashed, the rod that once proudly ruled!
18 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.
Come down from your glory and sit on the dusty ground, you who live in Dibon, for Moab's destroyer will come and attack you, destroying your fortresses.
19 On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What hath happened?
Stand at the roadside and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the men and women who are running away to escape, “What's happened?”
20 Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,
Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed!
21 And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain — unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,
on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.
on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25 Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord.
26 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.
Make the people of Moab drunk, because they defied the Lord. Then they will roll around in their own vomit, as people laugh at them.
27 And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.
Didn't you Moabites used to ridicule the Israelites? But they weren't ever found to be thieves, were they? Yet whenever you talk about them, you shake your heads in contempt.
28 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.
You people living in Moab, run from your towns, go and live among the rocks. Be like a dove nesting on the cliffs at the entrance to a ravine.
29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceeding proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,
We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
30 I — I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices — not right they have done.
I'm well aware of how disrespectful they are, declares the Lord, but it doesn't matter. They make empty boasts, and what they do is just as empty.
31 Therefore for Moab I howl, even for Moab — all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it doth mourn,
So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
32 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.
will weep for you, people of the town of Sibmah with its vineyards, more than I weep for the town of Jazer. Your vines have spread to the sea, and all the way to Jazer. But the destroyer has stolen your harvest of summer fruit and grapes.
33 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!
There's no more celebration and happiness in Moab's orchards and fields. I have stopped the grape juice flowing from the winepresses. No one shouts for joy as they tread out the grapes. No, their shouts now are not because of joy!
34 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.
Cries for help reach from Heshbon to Elealeh and all the way to Jahaz. They're shouting out from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the water in the Nimrim Brook has dried up.
35 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.
I'm going to finish off those in Moab who sacrifice on the pagan high places and burn incense to their gods, declares the Lord.
36 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.
So I mourn inside like a flute playing a sad song for Moab; like a flute playing a funeral tune for the people of Kir-heres, because they've lost everything of value that they worked for.
37 For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands cuttings, and on the loins — sackcloth.
As signs of their mourning, every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth.
38 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.
Everyone is mourning on all the flat roofs and streets of Moab, because I have smashed the country like a jar nobody wants, declares the Lord.
39 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.
Moab is completely shattered! Listen to them cry! See how the Moabites turn away in shame! All the surrounding nations are horrified at what's happened to the country, and ridicule its people.
40 For thus said Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto Moab.
This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
41 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.
Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
42 And Moab hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.
Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43 Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab — an affirmation of Jehovah,
You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
44 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.
You will run away in terror and fall into a trap, and when you climb out of the trap, you'll be caught in a snare. I will do this to the Moabites at the time when they're punished, declares the Lord.
45 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.
Those who run away will be left defenseless in Heshbon where they went for protection, because fire blazes out from Heshbon, a fire from where Sihon once reigned. It burns up the whole country of Moab and its defiant people.
46 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.
What a disaster has come to you Moabites! The people of Chemosh have been wiped out. Your sons and daughters have been taken prisoner and have gone into exile.
47 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.
But even so, later on, I will bring the people of Moab back from exile, declares the Lord. This is the end of the description of the judgment on Moab.
