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.
To Moab, Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, “Woe to Nebo, for it has been devastated. Kiriathaim has been humiliated and captured. Her fortress has been disgraced and crushed.
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.
The honor of Moab is no more. Their enemies in Heshbon plotted disaster against her. They said, 'Come and let us destroy her as a nation. Madmen will also perish—a sword will go after you.'
3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.
Listen! A sound of screaming is coming from Horonaim, where there is ruin and great destruction.
4 Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones.
Moab has been destroyed. Her children have made their cries heard.
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.
They go up the hill of Luhith weeping, for on the way down to Horonaim, screams are heard because of the destruction.
6 Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness.
Flee! Save your lives and become like a juniper bush in the wilderness.
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.
For because of your trust in your practices and your wealth, you also will be captured. Then Chemosh will go away into captivity, together 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.
For the destroyer will come to every city; no city will escape. So the valley will perish and the plain will be devastated, as Yahweh has said.
9 Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.
Give wings to Moab, for she must certainly fly away. Her cities will become a wasteland, where there is no one to live in them.
10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.
May anyone who is lazy in doing Yahweh's work be cursed! May anyone who keeps his sword back from shedding blood be cursed!
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.
Moab has felt secure since he was young. He is like his wine that has never been poured from pot to pot. He has never gone into captivity. Therefore he tastes as good as ever; his flavor remains unchanged.
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.
So see, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will send him those who will tip him over and pour out all his pots and shatter his 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 Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their object of trust.
14 How do ye say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?
How can you say, 'We are soldiers, powerful fighting men'?
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 will be devastated and its cities attacked. For its finest young men have gone down to the place of slaughter. This is the king's declaration! Yahweh of hosts is his name.
16 Near is the calamity of Moab to come, And his affliction hath hasted exceedingly.
Moab's disaster is soon to happen; calamity is hurrying quickly.
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.
All you who are around Moab, wail; and all you who know its fame, shout this, 'Woe, the strong staff, the honored rod, has been broken.'
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 honored place and sit on the dry ground, you daughter living in Dibon. For the one who will destroy Moab is attacking you, the one who will destroy your strongholds.
19 On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What hath happened?
Stand on the road and watch, you people who live in Aroer. Ask the ones who are fleeing and escaping. Say, 'What has 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 shamed, for it has been shattered. Howl and lament; shout for help. Tell it to people by the Arnon River that Moab has been devastated.
21 And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain — unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
Now punishment has come to the hill country, to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,
to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim,
23 And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
to 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.
To Kerioth and Bozrah, and to all the cities in the land of Moab— the farthest and the closest cities.
25 Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.
The horn of Moab has been hacked off; its arm has been broken—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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 him drunk, because he acted proudly against Yahweh. Let Moab wallow in his vomit, and let him be an object of ridicule.
27 And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.
For did not Israel become an object for laughter to you? Was he found among thieves, so that you shook your head at him as often as you spoke about him?
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.
Abandon the cities and camp on the cliffs, inhabitants of Moab. Become like a dove that is nesting over the mouth of a hole in the rocks.
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 have heard of Moab's pride—his arrogance, his haughtiness, his pride, his self-glory and the conceit in his heart.
30 I — I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices — not right they have done.
This is Yahweh's declaration—I myself know his defiant speech, which amounts to nothing, like his deeds.
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 howl a lament for Moab, and I will shout in sorrow for all of Moab. I will lament for the people of Kir Hareseth.
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.
I will weep for you more than I did for Jazer, vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed across the Salt Sea and reached as far as Jazer. The destroyers have attacked your summer fruit and your wine.
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!
So celebration and rejoicing have been taken away from the fruit trees and the land of Moab. I have put an end to the wine from their winepresses. They will not tread with joyful shouts. Any shouts will not be shouts 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.
From the shouts at Heshbon as far as Elealeh, their sound is heard at Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, since even the waters of Nimrim have 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.
For I will put an end to anyone in Moab who makes sacrifices on the high places and burns incense to his gods—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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 my heart is lamenting for Moab like a flute. My heart is lamenting like flutes for the people of Kir Hareseth. The riches they gained are gone.
37 For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands cuttings, and on the loins — sackcloth.
For every head is bald and every beard shaved. Incisions are on every hand, and sackcloth is around their waists.
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.
There is mourning everywhere, on every flat roof of Moab and in Moab's plazas. For I have destroyed Moab like pots that no one wants—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
How it has been shattered! How they howl in their lamenting! Moab turns its back in shame! So Moab will become an object of derision and a terror to all those who are around him.”
40 For thus said Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto Moab.
For Yahweh says this, “See, the enemy will come flying like an eagle, spreading out his wings over 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.
Kerioth has been captured, and its strongholds have been seized. For in that day the hearts of Moab's soldiers will be like the hearts of women in birth labor.
42 And Moab hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.
So Moab will be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he made himself to be great against Yahweh.
43 Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab — an affirmation of Jehovah,
Terror and the pit, and a trap are coming on you, inhabitant of Moab—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
Anyone who flees because of terror will fall into the pit, and anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap, for I will bring this on them in the year of my vengeance against them—this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
The ones who flee will stand in the shadow of Heshbon without any strength, for fire will go out from Heshbon, flame from the middle of Sihon. It will devour the forehead of Moab and the top of the heads of the boastful 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.
Woe to you, Moab! Chemosh's people are destroyed, For your sons are taken as captives and your daughters into captivity.
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 I will restore the fortunes of Moab in later days—this is Yahweh's declaration.” The judgment on Moab ends here.
