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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Jeremiah 48
48
Judgment on Moab
Isa 16:6–12
1#Nu 32:3; 32:37–38Concerning Moab:
Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel:
Woe to Nebo, for it is devastated.
Kiriathaim is humiliated and captured;
Misgab#Or the stronghold. is humiliated and dismayed.
2#Nu 32:37; Isa 16:14 There is no more praise for Moab;
in Heshbon they have devised evil against her:
“Come and let us cut it off from being a nation!”
Also you will be cut down, O Madmen.
The sword will pursue you.
3#Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34 A sound of crying will be from Horonaim:
“Devastation and great destruction!”
4“Moab is destroyed”;
her little ones have caused a cry of distress to be heard;
5#Isa 15:5 for by the Ascent of Luhith they will go up
with continual weeping;
for at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard a cry of destruction.
6#Jer 17:6; 51:6 Flee, save your lives,
and be like the juniper in the wilderness.
7#Nu 21:29; Jer 49:3 For because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures,
you will also be captured;
and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity
together with his priests and his officials.
8#Jer 6:26 The destroyer will come upon every city,
and no city will escape.
The valley also will perish,
and the plain will be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9#Ps 11:1; Isa 16:2 Give wings to Moab,
that she may flee and get away;
for the cities will become desolate,
without any to dwell in them.
10#1Ki 20:42; Jdg 5:23 Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently,
and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.
11#Zep 1:12; Zec 1:15 Moab has been at ease from his youth,
and he has also been undisturbed,
like wine on its dregs,
and he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into captivity.
Therefore his taste remained in him,
and his scent has not changed.
12Therefore, surely the days are coming,
says the Lord,
when I will send to him those who tip vessels,
and they will tip him over,
and will empty his vessels
and break his bottles.
13#Jdg 11:24; Isa 45:16 Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh,
as the house of Israel was ashamed
of Bethel, their confidence.
14#Ps 33:16; Isa 10:13 How do you say, “We are mighty
and strong men for the war”?
15#Jer 46:18; 50:27 Moab has been devastated and gone up out of her cities,
and her chosen young men have also gone down to the slaughter,
says the King whose name is the Lord of Hosts.
16#Isa 13:22 The calamity of Moab will come soon,
and his affliction hastens fast.
17#Isa 9:4 All you who are about him, mourn for him.
And all you who know his name,
say, “How the strong staff has been broken,
the beautiful rod!”
18#Nu 21:30; Isa 47:1 O daughter who inhabits Dibon,
come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,
for the destroyer of Moab
will come upon you,
and he will destroy your strongholds.
19#Dt 2:36; 1Sa 4:16 O inhabitant of Aroer,
stand by the road and keep watch.
Ask him who flees and her who escapes,
and say, “What has happened?”
20#Isa 16:2 Moab has been humiliated, for it has been broken down.
Howl and cry out.
Tell it in Arnon,
that Moab has been devastated.
21#Jos 13:18; Isa 15:4 And judgment has come upon the plain country:
upon Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
22#Nu 33:46; Jer 48:18 and Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23#Jos 13:17; Jer 48:1 and Kiriathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24#Am 2:2; Jer 48:41 and Kerioth and Bozrah,
and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25#Ps 75:10; 10:15 The horn of Moab has been cut off
and his arm has been broken,
says the Lord.
26#Isa 19:14; 29:9 Make him drunk,
for he magnified himself against the Lord.
Moab also will wallow in his vomit,
and he also will be held in derision.
27#Jer 2:26; Mic 7:8–10 For was not Israel a derision to you?
Or was he caught among thieves?
For each time you speak of him,
you shake your head in scorn.
28#Jdg 6:2; Ps 55:6–7 O you who dwell in Moab,
leave the cities and dwell in the rock,
and be like the dove that makes her nest
in the sides of the hole’s mouth.
29#Isa 16:6; Ps 138:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab
(he is very proud),
of his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30#Jer 50:36 I know his wrath,
says the Lord,
but it is futile. His lies have accomplished nothing.
31#2Ki 3:25; Isa 15:5 Therefore I will howl for Moab,
and I will cry out for all Moab.
My heart shall mourn for the men of Kir Hareseth.
32#Isa 16:8–9; Nu 21:32 O vine of Sibmah,
I will weep for you more than the weeping of Jazer.
Your plants have stretched over the sea,
they reach even to the sea of Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen upon your summer fruits
and upon your vintage.
33#Isa 5:10; Hag 2:16 Joy and gladness are taken away
from the plentiful field, even from the land of Moab,
and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouting.
Their shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34#Isa 15:4–6; Nu 32:3 From the outcry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, and even to Jahaz,
they have uttered their voice,
from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath Shelishiyah;
for also the waters of Nimrim shall become desolate.
35#Isa 15:2; 16:12 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab,
says the Lord,
him who offers sacrifice in the high place
and him who burns incense to his gods.
36#Isa 15:7; 16:11 Therefore My heart will wail for Moab like pipes,
and My heart will wail like pipes for the men of Kir Hareseth,
because the riches that they have gotten have perished.
37#Ge 37:34; Isa 15:2–3 For every head will be bald
and every beard clipped;
upon all the hands will be gashes,
and upon the loins sackcloth.
38#Jer 22:28; Isa 22:1 There will be lamentation everywhere
upon all the housetops of Moab
and in the streets,
for I have broken Moab
like a vessel in which is no pleasure,
says the Lord.
39How it is broken down! How they have wailed!
How Moab has turned his back with shame!
So Moab will be a derision
and a terror to all around him.
40#Dt 28:49; Isa 8:8For thus says the Lord:
Look, one will fly as an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.
41#Isa 13:8; 21:3 Kerioth has been captured,
and the strongholds have been seized,
and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab in that day
will be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42#Jer 48:2; Isa 7:8 Moab will be destroyed from being a people
because he has magnified himself against the Lord.
43#Isa 24:17–18; La 3:47 Fear and the pit and the snare will be upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,
says the Lord.
44#1Ki 19:17; Jer 11:23 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who gets up out of the pit
will be taken in the snare;
for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
45#Nu 24:17; 21:28 The fugitives stand without strength
under the shadow of Heshbon;
for a fire will come out of Heshbon
and a flame from the midst of Sihon,
and will devour the forehead of Moab
and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46#Nu 21:29; Jdg 11:24 Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished;
for your sons have been taken away captive
and your daughters into captivity.
47#Jer 49:39; 49:6 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days,
says the Lord.
Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
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