Jeremiah 48
48
Prophecies against Moab
1About Moab,#Gn 19:37; Nm 22:1; 24:17; 25:1; Dt 23:3; 34:5–6; Jdg 3:30; Ru 1:2; 2Sm 8:2; 1Kg 11:7; 2Kg 1:1; Is 15:1; Ezk 25:8–11; Am 2:1–2; Zph 2:8–9 this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo,#Nm 32:3; Jr 48:22 because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame;#Nm 32:37; Jr 48:23; Ezk 25:9 it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:#Jr 48:34,45; 49:3
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will follow#Jr 29:18; Am 1:11 you.
3A voice cries out from Horonaim,#Is 15:5; Jr 48:34
“devastation and a crushing blow!” #Jr 51:54
4Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually,#48:5 Lit Luhith, weeping goes up with weeping
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:#Is 15:5
6Flee! Save your lives!#Jr 51:6,45
Be like a juniper bush#48:6 Or like Aroer; Is 17:2; Jr 48:19#Is 41:19; Jr 17:6 in the wilderness.
7Because you trust in your works and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh#Nm 1:29; Jdg 11:24; 1Kg 11:7,33; 2Kg 23:13; Jr 48:13,45–47 will go into exile
with his priests and officials.#Jr 49:3
8The destroyer#Jr 6:26; 48:15,18,32 will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated,#Jos 13:9,17,21
as the Lord has said.
9Make Moab a salt marsh,#48:9 LXX reads a sign; Vg reads a flower; Syr, Tg read a crown#Jdg 9:45; Jr 17:6; Ezk 47:11; Zph 2:9
for she will run away;#48:9 Hb obscure
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant.#Jos 8:26; Is 5:9; 6:11; Jr 2:15; 4:29; 6:8; 33:10; 34:22; 44:2,22; 51:37; Zph 3:6
10The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully#48:10 Or negligently is cursed,#1Kg 20:42
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs.#Ps 75:8; Zph 1:12
He hasn’t been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn’t changed.
12Therefore look, the days are coming#Jr 7:32; 16:14; 19:6; 23:7; 49:2; 51:47,52 —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
when I will send pourers to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel#1Kg 12:28–33; 13:1–5; 2Kg 10:29; 23:15; Hs 4:15; Am 3:14; 4:4; 5:5–6 that they trusted in.
14How can you say, “We are warriors —
valiant men for battle”?
15The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up,#48:15 Or Moab is destroyed; he has come up against its cities
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
the Lord of Armies is his name.#Jr 46:18; 51:57
16Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say, “How the mighty scepter#Ps 110:2; Ezk 19:11–12,14 is shattered,
the glorious staff!”
18Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,#Jos 13:8–9; Jr 46:19
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19Stand by the highway and watch,
resident of Aroer!#Dt 2:36
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping,#1Sm 4:13,16
“What happened?”
20Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!#Is 14:31; Jr 25:34; 47:2; Ezk 21:12
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21“Judgment has come to the land of the plateau#Jos 13:17–19 — to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,#Jos 13:17 24Kerioth,#Jr 48:41; Am 2:2 Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. 25Moab’s horn is chopped off;#Ps 75:10; Lm 2:3; Am 3:14 his arm is shattered.”#Jb 38:15; Ps 10:15; 37:17; Ezk 30:21–24
This is the Lord’s declaration.
26“Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord.#Jr 48:42 Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. 27Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?#Gn 38:23; Jb 12:4; Ps 44:14; Jr 20:7; 48:39; Lm 2:15–17; 3:14 Was he ever found among thieves?#Jr 2:26 For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”#2Kg 19:21; Jb 2:11; 16:4; 42:11; Ps 22:7; 64:8; 69:20; 109:25; Is 37:22; 51:19; Jr 15:5; 18:16; Lm 2:15; Nah 3:7
28Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave.#Is 2:19–21
29We have heard of Moab’s pride,
great pride, indeed —
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
with more than the weeping for Jazer.
Your tendrils have extended to the sea;
they have reached to the sea and to Jazer.#48:32 Some Hb mss read reached as far as Jazer
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33Gladness and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy.#Is 16:7–10
34“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz#Is 15:4–6 — from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah — because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate. 35In Moab, I will stop” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.#Jr 11:12–13; 18:15 36Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab,#Is 15:5 and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. 37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short.#Is 15:2–3; Jr 47:5 On every hand is a gash#Lv 19:28; 21:5; Jr 5:7; 41:5; 47:5 and sackcloth#Jr 4:8; 6:26; 49:3 around the waist. 38On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.”#Jr 22:28 This is the Lord’s declaration. 39“How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”#Is 16:6–11; Zph 2:9–10
40For this is what the Lord says:
Look! He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.#Dt 28:49; Jr 49:22
41The towns have#48:41 Or Kerioth has been captured,
and the strongholds seized.
In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.#Is 13:8; Jr 49:22
42Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord.#Jr 48:26
43Panic,#Jr 30:5; 49:5 pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
44He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.#Jr 23:12
This is the Lord’s declaration.#Is 24:17–18
45Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow
because fire has come out from Heshbon
and a flame from within Sihon.
It will devour Moab’s forehead
and the skull of the noisemakers.
46Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity.#Nm 21:28–29
47Yet, I will restore the fortunes#48:47 Or will end the captivity of Moab in the last days.#Jr 49:6,39
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
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Jeremiah 48: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Jeremiah 48
48
A Message to Moab
1This message is to the country of Moab.
This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
“How terrible it will be for the city of Nebo,
because it will be ruined.
The town of Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the strong city will be disgraced and shattered.
2Moab will not be praised again.
Men in the town of Heshbon plan Moab’s defeat.
They say, ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation!’
Town of Madmen, you will also be silenced.
The sword will chase you.
3Listen to the cries from the town of Horonaim,
cries of much confusion and destruction.
4Moab will be broken up.
Her little children will cry for help.
5Moab’s people go up the path to the town of Luhith,
crying loudly as they go.
On the road down to Horonaim,
cries of pain and suffering can be heard.
6Run! Run for your lives!
Go like a bush being blown through the desert.
7You trust in the things you do and in your wealth,
so you also will be captured.
The god Chemosh will go into captivity
and his priests and officers with him.
8The destroyer will come against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined,
and the high plain will be destroyed,
as the Lord has said.
9Give wings to Moab,
because she will surely leave her land.
Moab’s towns will become empty,
with no one to live in them.
10A curse will be on anyone who doesn’t do what the Lord says,
and a curse will be on anyone who holds back his sword from killing.
11“The people of Moab have never known trouble.
They are like wine left to settle;
they have never been poured from one jar to another.
They have not been taken into captivity.
So they taste as they did before,
and their smell has not changed.
12A time is coming,” says the Lord,
“When I will send people to pour you from your jars.
They will empty Moab’s jars
and smash her jugs.
13The people of Israel trusted that god in the town of Bethel,
and they were ashamed when there was no help.
In the same way Moab will be ashamed of their god Chemosh.
14“You cannot say, ‘We are warriors!
We are brave men in battle!’
15The destroyer of Moab and her towns has arrived.
Her best young men will be killed!” says the King,
whose name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16“The end of Moab is near,
and she will soon be destroyed.
17All you who live around Moab,
all you who know her, cry for her.
Say, ‘The ruler’s power is broken;
Moab’s power and glory are gone.’
18“You people living in the town of Dibon, come down from your place of honor
and sit on the dry ground,
because the destroyer of Moab has come against you.
And he has destroyed your strong, walled cities.
19You people living in the town of Aroer,
stand next to the road and watch.
See the man running away and the woman escaping.
Ask them, ‘What happened?’
20Moab is filled with shame, because she is ruined.
Cry, Moab, cry out!
Announce at the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed.
21People on the high plain have been punished.
Judgment has come to these towns:
Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath;
22Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim;
23Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon;
24Kerioth and Bozrah.
Judgment has come to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25Moab’s strength has been cut off,
and its arm broken!” says the Lord.
26“The people of Moab thought they were greater than the Lord,
so punish them until they act as if they are drunk.
Moab will fall and roll around in its own vomit,
and people will even make fun of it.
27Moab, you made fun of Israel.
Israel was caught in the middle of a gang of thieves.
When you spoke about Israel,
you shook your head and acted as if you were better than it.
28People in Moab, leave your towns empty
and go live among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the entrance of a cave.
29“We have heard that the people of Moab are proud,
very proud.
They are proud, very proud,
and in their hearts they think they are important.”
30The Lord says,
“I know Moab’s great pride, but it is useless.
Moab’s bragging accomplishes nothing.
31So I cry sadly for Moab,
for everyone in Moab.
I moan for the people from the town of Kir Hareseth.
32I cry with the people of the town of Jazer
for you, the grapevines of the town of Sibmah.
In the past your vines spread all the way to the sea,
as far as the sea of Jazer.
But the destroyer has taken over
your fruit and grapes.
33Joy and happiness are gone
from the large, rich fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses.
No one walks on the grapes with shouts of joy.
There are shouts,
but not shouts of joy.
34“Their crying can be heard from Moabite towns,
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz.
It can be heard from Zoar as far away as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35I will stop Moab
from making burnt offerings at the places of worship
and from burning incense to their gods,” says the Lord.
36“My heart cries sadly for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song.
It cries like a flute for the people from Kir Hareseth.
The money they made has all been taken away.
37Every head has been shaved
and every beard cut off.
Everyone’s hands are cut,
and everyone wears rough cloth around his waist.
38People are crying on every roof in Moab
and in every public square.
There is nothing but sadness,
because I have broken Moab
like a jar no one wants,” says the Lord.
39“Moab is shattered! The people are crying!
Moab turns away in shame!
People all around her make fun of her.
The things that happened fill them with great fear.”
40This is what the Lord says:
“Look! Someone is coming, like an eagle diving down from the sky
and spreading its wings over Moab.
41The towns of Moab will be captured,
and the strong, walled cities will be defeated.
At that time Moab’s warriors will be frightened,
like a woman who is having a baby.
42The nation of Moab will be destroyed,
because they thought they were greater than the Lord.
43Fear, deep pits, and traps wait for you,
people of Moab,” says the Lord.
44“People will run from fear,
but they will fall into the pits.
Anyone who climbs out of the pits
will be caught in the traps.
I will bring the year of punishment to Moab,” says the Lord.
45“People have run from the powerful enemy
and have gone to Heshbon for safety.
But fire started in Heshbon;
a blaze has spread from the hometown of Sihon king of Moab.
It burned up the leaders of Moab
and destroyed those proud people.
46How terrible it is for you, Moab!
The people who worship Chemosh have been destroyed.
Your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters have been taken away.
47“But in days to come,
I will make good things happen again to Moab,” says the Lord.
This ends the judgment on Moab.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.