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.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 48: FBV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Jeremiah 48
48
Judgment on Moab
1Against #Is. 15:1—16:14; 25:10; Ezek. 25:8–11; Amos 2:1–3; Zeph. 2:8–11Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to #Is. 15:2Nebo!
For it is plundered,
#Num. 32:37; Jer. 48:23; Ezek. 25:9Kirjathaim is shamed and taken;
The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed—
2#Is. 16:14No more praise of Moab.
In #Is. 15:4; Jer. 49:3Heshbon they have devised evil against her:
‘Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.’
You also shall be cut down, O #Is. 10:31Madmen!
The sword shall pursue you;
3A voice of crying shall be from #Is. 15:5; Jer. 48:5, 34Horonaim:
‘Plundering and great destruction!’
4“Moab is destroyed;
Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard;
5#Is. 15:5For in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping;
For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6“Flee, save your lives!
And be like the #Jer. 17:6juniper in the wilderness.
7For because you have trusted in your works and your #Ps. 52:7; Is. 59:4; Jer. 9:23; (1 Tim. 6:17)treasures,
You also shall be taken.
And #Num. 21:29; Judg. 11:24; Jer. 48:13Chemosh shall go forth into captivity,
His #Jer. 49:3priests and his princes together.
8And #Jer. 6:26the plunderer shall come against every city;
No one shall escape.
The valley also shall perish,
And the plain shall be destroyed,
As the Lord has spoken.
9“Give#Ps. 55:6 wings to Moab,
That she may flee and get away;
For her cities shall be desolate,
Without any to dwell in them.
10#Judg. 5:23; 1 Sam. 15:3, 9; 1 Kin. 20:42Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully,
And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
11“Moab has been at ease from his youth;
He #Zeph. 1:12has settled on his dregs,
And 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.
12“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I shall send him wine-workers
Who will tip him over
And empty his vessels
And break the bottles.
13Moab shall be ashamed of #1 Kin. 11:7Chemosh,
As the house of Israel #Hos. 10:6was ashamed of #1 Kin. 12:29; 13:32–34; Hos. 8:5, 6Bethel, their confidence.
14“How can you say, #Is. 16:6‘We are mighty
And strong men for the war’?
15Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities;
Her chosen young men have #(Is. 40:30, 31); Jer. 50:27gone down to the slaughter,” says #Jer. 46:18; 51:57; Mal. 1:14the King,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16“The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
And his affliction comes quickly.
17Bemoan him, all you who are around him;
And all you who know his name,
Say, #Is. 9:4; 14:4, 5‘How the strong staff is broken,
The beautiful rod!’
18“O #Is. 47:1daughter inhabiting #Num. 21:30; Josh. 13:9, 17; Is. 15:2; Jer. 48:22Dibon,
Come down from your glory,
And sit in thirst;
For the plunderer of Moab has come against you,
He has destroyed your strongholds.
19O inhabitant of #Deut. 2:36; Josh. 12:2; Is. 17:2Aroer,
#1 Sam. 4:13, 14, 16Stand by the way and watch;
Ask him who flees
And her who escapes;
Say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is shamed, for he is broken down.
#Is. 16:7Wail and cry!
Tell it in #Num. 21:13Arnon, that Moab is plundered.
21“And judgment has come on the plain country:
On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
22On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24On #Jer. 48:41; Amos 2:2Kerioth and Bozrah,
On all the cities of the land of Moab,
Far or near.
25#Ps. 75:10; Zech. 1:19–21The horn of Moab is cut off,
And his #Ezek. 30:21arm is broken,” says the Lord.
26“Make#Jer. 25:15 him drunk,
Because he exalted himself against the Lord.
Moab shall wallow in his vomit,
And he shall also be in derision.
27For #Zeph. 2:8was not Israel a derision to you?
#Jer. 2:26Was he found among thieves?
For whenever you speak of him,
You shake your head in #Lam. 2:15; (Mic. 7:8–10)scorn.
28You who dwell in Moab,
Leave the cities and #Ps. 55:6, 7dwell in the rock,
And be like #Song 2:14the dove which makes her nest
In the sides of the cave’s mouth.
29“We have heard the #Is. 16:6; Zeph. 2:8, 10pride of Moab
(He is exceedingly proud),
Of his loftiness and arrogance and #Jer. 49:16pride,
And of the haughtiness of his heart.”
30“I know his wrath,” says the Lord,
“But it is not right;
#Is. 16:6; Jer. 50:36His lies have made nothing right.
31Therefore #Is. 15:5; 16:7, 11I will wail for Moab,
And I will cry out for all Moab;
I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.
32#Is. 16:8, 9O vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of #Num. 21:32; Is. 16:10Jazer.
Your plants have gone over the sea,
They reach to the sea of Jazer.
The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage.
33#Is. 16:10; Jer. 25:10; Joel 1:12Joy and gladness are taken
From the plentiful field
And from the land of Moab;
I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses;
No one will tread with joyous shouting—
Not joyous shouting!
34“From#Is. 15:4–6 the cry of Heshbon to #Num. 32:3, 37Elealeh and to Jahaz
They have uttered their voice,
#Is. 15:5, 6From Zoar to Horonaim,
Like a three-year-old heifer;
For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate.
35“Moreover,” says the Lord,
“I will cause to cease in Moab
#Is. 15:2; 16:12The one who offers sacrifices in the high places
And burns incense to his gods.
36Therefore #Is. 15:5; 16:11My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab,
And like flutes My heart shall wail
For the men of Kir Heres.
Therefore #Is. 15:7the riches they have acquired have perished.
37“For #Is. 15:2, 3; Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped;
On all the hands shall be cuts, and #Gen. 37:34; Is. 15:3; 20:2on the loins sackcloth—
38A general lamentation
On all the #Is. 15:3housetops of Moab,
And in its streets;
For I have #Jer. 22:28broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the Lord.
39“They shall wail:
‘How she is broken down!
How Moab has turned her back with shame!’
So Moab shall be a derision
And a dismay to all those about her.”
40For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, #Deut. 28:49; Jer. 49:22; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8one shall fly like an eagle,
And #Is. 8:8spread his wings over Moab.
41Kerioth is taken,
And the strongholds are surprised;
#Is. 13:8; 21:3; Jer. 30:6; Mic. 4:9, 10The mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed #Ps. 83:4; Jer. 48:2as a people,
Because he exalted himself against the Lord.
43#Is. 24:17, 18; Lam. 3:47Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” says the Lord.
44“He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit,
And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the #1 Kin. 19:17; Is. 24:18; Amos 5:19snare.
For upon Moab, upon it #Jer. 11:23I will bring
The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
45“Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon
Because of exhaustion.
But #Num. 21:28, 29a fire shall come out of Heshbon,
A flame from the midst of #Num. 21:21, 26; Ps. 135:11Sihon,
And #Num. 24:17shall devour the brow of Moab,
The crown of the head of the sons of tumult.
46#Num. 21:29Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh perish;
For your sons have been taken captive,
And your daughters captive.
47“Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab
#Jer. 49:6, 39In the latter days,” says the Lord.
Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.