Jeremiah 48
48
A Message about Moab
1This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo;
it will soon lie in ruins.
The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured;
the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.
2No one will ever brag about Moab again,
for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her.
‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’
The town of Madmen,#48:2 Madmen sounds like the Hebrew word for “silence”; it should not be confused with the English word madmen. too, will be silenced;
the sword will follow you there.
3Listen to the cries from Horonaim,
cries of devastation and great destruction.
4All Moab is destroyed.
Her little ones will cry out.#48:4 Greek version reads Her cries are heard as far away as Zoar.
5Her refugees weep bitterly,
climbing the slope to Luhith.
They cry out in terror,
descending the slope to Horonaim.
6Flee for your lives!
Hide#48:6 Or Hide like a wild donkey; or Hide like a juniper shrub; or Be like [the town of] Aroer. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. in the wilderness!
7Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill,
you will be taken captive.
Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials,
will be hauled off to distant lands!
8“All the towns will be destroyed,
and no one will escape—
either on the plateaus or in the valleys,
for the Lord has spoken.
9Oh, that Moab had wings
so she could fly away,#48:9 Or Put salt on Moab, / for she will be laid waste.
for her towns will be left empty,
with no one living in them.
10Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work,
who hold back their swords from shedding blood!
11“From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace,
never going into exile.
He is like wine that has been allowed to settle.
He has not been poured from flask to flask,
and he is now fragrant and smooth.
12But the time is coming soon,” says the Lord,
“when I will send men to pour him from his jar.
They will pour him out,
then shatter the jar!
13At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh,
as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.#48:13 Hebrew ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
14“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes,
mighty men of war.’
15But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed.
His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,”
says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16“Destruction is coming fast for Moab;
calamity threatens ominously.
17You friends of Moab,
weep for him and cry!
See how the strong scepter is broken,
how the beautiful staff is shattered!
18“Come down from your glory
and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon,
for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too.
They will tear down all your towers.
19You people of Aroer,
stand beside the road and watch.
Shout to those who flee from Moab,
‘What has happened there?’
20“And the reply comes back,
‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River:
Moab has been destroyed!’
21Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—
on Holon and Jahaz#48:21 Hebrew Jahzah, a variant spelling of Jahaz. and Mephaath,
22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24on Kerioth and Bozrah—
all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25“The strength of Moab has ended.
His arm has been broken,” says the Lord.
26“Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard,
for he has rebelled against the Lord.
Moab will wallow in his own vomit,
ridiculed by all.
27Did you not ridicule the people of Israel?
Were they caught in the company of thieves
that you should despise them as you do?
28“You people of Moab,
flee from your towns and live in the caves.
Hide like doves that nest
in the clefts of the rocks.
29We have all heard of the pride of Moab,
for his pride is very great.
We know of his lofty pride,
his arrogance, and his haughty heart.
30I know about his insolence,”
says the Lord,
“but his boasts are empty—
as empty as his deeds.
31So now I wail for Moab;
yes, I will mourn for Moab.
My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.#48:31 Hebrew Kir-heres, a variant spelling of Kir-hareseth; also in 48:36.
32“You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards,
I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer.
Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea,#48:32 Hebrew the sea of Jazer.
but the destroyer has stripped you bare!
He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.
33Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab.
The presses yield no wine.
No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy.
There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.
34“Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.
35“I will put an end to Moab,” says the Lord, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. 36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. 37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. 38There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. 39How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.”
40This is what the Lord says:
“Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,
spreading his wings over Moab.
41Its cities will fall,
and its strongholds will be seized.
Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish
like a woman in labor.
42Moab will no longer be a nation,
for it has boasted against the Lord.
43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
O Moab,” says the Lord.
44“Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will step into a snare.
I will see to it that you do not get away,
for the time of your judgment has come,”
says the Lord.
45“The people flee as far as Heshbon
but are unable to go on.
For a fire comes from Heshbon,
King Sihon’s ancient home,
to devour the entire land
with all its rebellious people.
46“What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!
The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed!
Your sons and your daughters
have been taken away as captives.
47But I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
This is the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Moab.
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Jeremiah 48: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 48
48
1Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath trembled.
2There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.
3A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.
4Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry for her little ones.
5For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.
6Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.
7For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.
8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. And the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed: for the Lord hath spoken.
9Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be desolate and uninhabited.
10Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
11Moab hath been fruitful from his youth and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity. Therefore his taste hath remained in him and his scent is not changed.
12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles: and they shall cast him down: and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.
13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
14How do you say: We are valiant, and stout men in battle?
15Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities, and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.
17Comfort him, all you that are round about him. And all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
18Come down from thy glory and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
19Stand in the way and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth and say to him that hath escaped: What is done?
20Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown. Howl ye and cry: tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted.
21And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon and upon Jasa and upon Mephaath.
22And upon Dibon and upon Nabo and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23And upon Cariathaim and upon Bethgamul and upon Bethmaon,
24And upon Carioth and upon Bosra and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
26Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27For Israel hath been a derision unto thee: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.
28Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.
29We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness and his arrogancy and his pride and the loftiness of his heart.
30I know, saith the Lord, his boasting and that the strength thereof is not according to it: neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.
31Therefore will I lament for Moab and I will cry out to all Moab for the men of the brick wall that mourn.
32O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea. They are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy vintage.
33Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.
34From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old. The waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.
35And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places and that sacrificeth to his gods.
36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes: and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall. Because he hath done more than he could, therefore they have perished.
37For every head shall be bald and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together and upon every back there shall be haircloth.
38Upon all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.
39How is it overthrown and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck and is confounded! And Moab shall be a derision and an example to all round about him.
40Thus saith the Lord: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle and shall stretch forth his wings to Moab.
41Carioth is taken and the strongholds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
42And Moab shall cease to be a people: because he hath gloried against the Lord.
43Fear and the pit and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
44He that shall flee from the fear shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
45They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Kesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seon, and it shall devour part of Moab and the crown of the head of the children of tumult.
46Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast perished, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.
47And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.