Jeremiah 48
48
A message about Moab
1Concerning Moab:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
‘Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold#48:1 Or captured; / Misgab will be disgraced and shattered.
2Moab will be praised no more;
in Heshbon#48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot. people will plot her downfall:
“Come, let us put an end to that nation.”
You, the people of Madmen,#48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced. will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.#48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
5They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6Flee! Run for your lives;
become like a bush#48:6 Or like Aroer in the desert.
7Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
8The destroyer will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste#48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away;
her towns will become desolate,
with no-one to live in them.
10‘A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
11‘Moab has been at rest from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another –
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12But days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.
14‘How can you say, “We are warriors,
men valiant in battle”?
15Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,’
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16‘The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly.
17Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;
say, “How broken is the mighty sceptre,
how broken the glorious staff!”
18‘Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.
19Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, “What has happened?”
20Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21Judgment has come to the plateau –
to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
22to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24to Kerioth and Bozrah –
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25Moab’s horn#48:25 Horn here symbolises strength. is cut off;
her arm is broken,’
declares the Lord.
26‘Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.
27Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?
Was she caught among thieves,
that you shake your head in scorn
whenever you speak of her?
28Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.
29‘We have heard of Moab’s pride –
how great is her arrogance! –
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30I know her insolence but it is futile,’ declares the Lord,
‘and her boasts accomplish nothing.
31Therefore I wail over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches spread as far as the sea#48:32 Probably the Dead Sea;
they reached as far as#48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;
no-one treads them with shouts of joy.
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34‘The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,’ declares the Lord.
36‘So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.
37Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar that no-one wants,’ declares the Lord.
39‘How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.’
40This is what the Lord says:
‘Look! An eagle is swooping down,
spreading its wings over Moab.
41Kerioth#48:41 Or The cities will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labour.
42Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord.
43Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,’
declares the Lord.
44‘Whoever flees from the terror
will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
the year of her punishment,’
declares the Lord.
45‘In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of the noisy boasters.
46Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,’
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
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Jeremiah 48: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremiah 48
48
1This 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. 2No 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.”
3Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!” 4Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help. 5People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
6Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert! 7It'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. 8The 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.
9Put up gravestones in Moab,#48:9. This is one of the most problematic lines in Jeremiah. Other proposed translations include, “Put salt on the land of Moab,” “Give Moab wings so it can fly away,” “Give a flower to Moab,” etc. The Septuagint translates “Set marks upon Moab,” or “Place signs on Moab.” because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives. 10A curse on those who don't do the Lord's work properly. A curse on those who don't use their swords to kill. 11The 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.
12But 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. 13Then 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.#48:13. See 1 Kings 12.
14How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”? 15Moab 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. 16Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
17Mourn 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!
18Come 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. 19Stand at the roadside and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the men and women who are running away to escape, “What's happened?”
20Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed! 21Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord. 26Make the people of Moab drunk, because they defied the Lord. Then they will roll around in their own vomit, as people laugh at them.
27Didn'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.
28You 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.
29We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
30I'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.
31So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres. 32will 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. 33There'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!
34Cries 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.
35I'm going to finish off those in Moab who sacrifice on the pagan high places and burn incense to their gods, declares the Lord. 36So 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.
37As signs of their mourning,#48:37. “As signs of their mourning”: supplied for clarity. every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth. 38Everyone 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.
39Moab 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.
40This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab. 41Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor. 42Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord. 44You 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.
45Those 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.#48:45. Literally, “It consumes the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.”
46What 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.
47But 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.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com