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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Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 48
48
1Concerning Mo’aḇ. This is what יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl said, “Woe to Neḇo! For it is ravaged, Qiryathayim is put to shame, captured. The high stronghold is put to shame and broken down.
2“There is praise for Mo’aḇ no longer. In Ḥeshbon they have devised evil against her, ‘Come and let us cut it off as a nation.’ O Maḏmĕn, you are also cut off, a sword goes after you.
3“Listen! An outcry from Ḥoronayim, ravaging and great destruction!
4“Mo’aḇ shall be destroyed, her little ones shall cry out.
5“For on the ascent to Luḥith they go up weeping bitterly. For in the descent of Ḥoronayim the enemies shall hear a cry of destruction.
6“Flee, deliver your own lives! And be like a bush in the wilderness.
7“For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you shall be captured. And Kemosh shall go forth into exile, his priests and his heads together.
8“And a ravager shall come into every city, no one escapes. And the valley shall perish, and the plain be destroyed, as יהוה has spoken.
9“Give wings to Mo’aḇ, for she has to flee away, and her cities become a ruin, with no one to dwell in them.
10(Cursed is he who is slack in doing the work of יהוה, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood).
11“Mo’aḇ has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile. Therefore his flavour has stayed in him, and his fragrance is unchanged.
12“Therefore see, the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when I shall send him tilters, who shall tilt him over and empty his vessels and break the bottles.
13“And Mo’aḇ shall be ashamed because of Kemosh, as the house of Yisra’ĕl was ashamed of Bĕyth Ěl, their refuge.
14“How do you say, ‘We are mighty and strong men for battle’?
15“Mo’aḇ is ravaged and her cities have been entered. And her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” declares the Sovereign, whose Name is יהוה of hosts.
16“The calamity of Mo’aḇ is near to come and his affliction hurries fast.
17“Lament for him, all you who are around him. And all you who know his name, say, ‘How the strong sceptre has been broken, the staff of splendour!’
18“Come down from your esteem, and sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Diḇon. For the ravager of Mo’aḇ shall come against you, he shall destroy your strongholds.
19“Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of Aro‛ĕr. Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, ‘What has been done?’
20“Mo’aḇ has been put to shame, for it has been broken down. Howl and cry! Let it be heard in Arnon that Mo’aḇ is ravaged.
21“And judgment has come on the plain country, on Ḥolon and on Yaḥtsah and on Mopha‛ath,
22and on Diḇon and Neḇo and on Bĕyth Diḇlathayim,
23and on Qiryathayim and on Bĕyth Gamul and on Bĕyth Me‛on,
24and on Qeriyoth and on Botsrah, and on all the cities of the land of Mo’aḇ, far or near.
25“The horn of Mo’aḇ has been cut off, and his arm has been broken,” declares יהוה.
26“Make him drunk, because he has made himself great against יהוה. Mo’aḇ shall splash in his vomit, and he shall also be in mockery.
27“And was not Yisra’ĕl a mockery to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, you shake your head.
28“O inhabitants of Mo’aḇ, leave the cities and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove making a nest in the sides of the cave’s mouth.
29“We have heard of the pride of Mo’aḇ (he is very proud!), of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, and of the haughtiness of his heart.”
30“I know his wrath,” declares יהוה, “and his boastings are untrue, and his deeds are false.
31“Therefore I wail for Mo’aḇ, and I cry out for all Mo’aḇ. I mourn for the men of Qir Ḥeres.
32“O vine of Siḇmah! I weep for you with the weeping of Ya‛zĕr. Your branches have passed over the sea, they have come to the sea of Ya‛zĕr. The ravager has fallen on your summer fruit and your grape harvest.
33“Joy and gladness have been taken away from the orchard and from the land of Mo’aḇ. And I have made wine to cease from the winepresses. No one treads with shouting – the shouting is no shouting!
34“From the outcry of Ḥeshbon unto El‛alĕh, unto Yahats, they shall raise their voice, from Tso‛ar to Ḥoronayim, like a three-year-old heifer, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35“And I shall make an end in Mo’aḇ to him who offers in the high places and burns incense to his mighty ones,” declares יהוה.
36“So My heart sounds for Mo’aḇ like flutes, and My heart sounds for the men of Qir Ḥeres like flutes. Therefore the wealth they made shall be gone.
37“For every head is bald, and every beard clipped – cuts on all the hands, and sackcloth on the loins.
38“On all the house-tops of Mo’aḇ and in its streets it is all lamentation, for I have broken Mo’aḇ like a vessel in which no one delights,” declares יהוה.
39“How has she been broken down! They shall wail! How has Mo’aḇ turned her back with shame! So Mo’aḇ shall be a mockery and a horror to all those about her.”
40For thus said יהוה, “See, he soars like an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Mo’aḇ.
41“Qeriyoth shall be captured, and the strongholds seized. And the heart of the mighty men in Mo’aḇ on that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labour.
42“And Mo’aḇ shall be destroyed as a people, because he has made himself great against יהוה.
43“Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Mo’aḇ,” declares יהוה.
44“He who flees from the fear falls into the pit, and he who gets out of the pit is caught in the snare. For I am bringing upon Mo’aḇ the year of their punishment,” declares יהוה.
45“Those who fled stood powerless under the shadow of Ḥeshbon. But a fire shall come out of Ḥeshbon, and a flame from the midst of Siḥon, and consume the brow of Mo’aḇ and the crown of the head of the sons of uproar.
46“Woe to you, O Mo’aḇ! The people of Kemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken into exile, and your daughters into exile.
47“But I shall turn back the captivity of Mo’aḇ in the latter days,” declares יהוה. Thus far is the judgment of Mo’aḇ.
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