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.
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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
What the Lord Says about Moab
1 #
Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10-12; Ez 25.8-11; Am 2.1-3; Zep 2.8-11. The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab:
The town of Nebo is doomed;
Kiriathaim will be captured
and disgraced,
and even its fortress
will be left in ruins.
2No one honors you, Moab.
In Heshbon, enemies make plans
to end your life.
My sword will leave only silence
in your town named “Quiet.”#48.2 silence … Quiet: In Hebrew the name of the town was “Madmen,” which sounds like the word for “silence.”
3The people of Horonaim
will cry for help,
as their town is attacked
and destroyed.
4Moab will be shattered!
Your children will sob
5and cry on their way up
to the town of Luhith;
on the road to Horonaim
they will tell of disasters.
6Run for your lives!
Head into the desert
like a wild donkey.#48.6 like a wild donkey: One ancient translation; Hebrew “like (the town of) Aroer” (see verse 19).
7You thought you could be saved
by your power and wealth,
but you will be captured
along with your god Chemosh,
his priests, and officials.
8Not one of your towns
will escape destruction.
I have told your enemies,
“Wipe out the valley
and the flatlands of Moab.
9Spread salt on the ground
to kill the crops.#48.9 Spread salt … crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Leave its towns in ruins,
with no one living there.
10I want you to kill the Moabites,
and if you let them escape,
I will put a curse on you.”
11Moab, you are like wine
left to settle undisturbed,
never poured from jar to jar.
And so, your nation continues
to prosper and improve.#48.11 continues … improve: Or “remains as evil as ever.”
12But now, I will send enemies
to pour out the wine
and smash the jars!
13Then you will be ashamed,
because your god Chemosh
cannot save you,
just as Bethel#48.13 Bethel: It may refer to the Phoenician or Canaanite god of that name; or it may refer to the town where people of the northern kingdom worshiped at a local shrine (see 1 Kings 12.26-30). could not help
the Israelites.
14You claim that your soldiers
are strong and brave.
15But I am the Lord,
the all-powerful King,
and I promise that enemies
will overpower your towns.
Even your best warriors
will die in the battle.
16It won't be long now—
disaster will hit Moab!
17I will order the nearby nations
to mourn for you and say,
“Isn't it sad? Moab ruled others,
but now its glorious power
has been shattered.”
18People in the town of Dibon,#48.18 Dibon: The capital city of Moab.
you will be honored no more,
so have a seat in the dust.
Your walls will be torn down
when the enemies attack.
19You people of Aroer,#48.19 Aroer: A Moabite town located just north of the Arnon River.
go wait beside the road,
and when refugees run by,
ask them, “What happened?”
20They will answer,
“Moab has been defeated!
Weep with us in shame.
Tell everyone at the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed.”
21I will punish every town
that belongs to Moab,
but especially Holon,
Jahzah, Mephaath,
22Dibon, Nebo,
Beth-Diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim,
Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,
24Kerioth, and Bozrah.#48.24 Bozrah: Not the same Bozrah as in 49.13.
25My decision is final—
your army will be crushed,
and your power broken.
26People of Moab, you claim
to be stronger than I am.
Now I will tell other nations
to make you drunk
and to laugh while you collapse
in your own vomit.
27You made fun of my people
and treated them like criminals
caught in the act.
28Now you must leave your towns
and live like doves
in the shelter of cliffs
and canyons.
29I know about your pride,
and how you strut and boast.
30But I also know bragging
will never save you.
31So I will cry and mourn
for Moab
and its town of Kir-Heres.
32People of Sibmah,
you were like a vineyard
heavy with grapes,
and with branches reaching
north to the town of Jazer
and west to the Dead Sea.#48.32 reaching north … Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
But you have been destroyed,
and so I will weep for you,
as the people of Jazer weep
for the vineyards.
33Harvest celebrations are gone
from the orchards and farms
of Moab.
I have silenced the shouts
of people making wine.
34Weeping from Heshbon
can be heard as far
as Elealeh and Jahaz;
cries from Zoar are heard
in Horonaim
and Eglath-Shelishiyah.
And Nimrim Creek has run dry.
35I will get rid of anyone
who burns incense
to the gods of Moab
or offers sacrifices
at their shrines.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
36In my heart I moan for Moab,
like a funeral song
played on a flute.
I mourn for the people
of the town of Kir-Heres,
because their wealth is gone.
* 37-38The people of Moab
mourn on the rooftops
and in the streets.
Men cut off their beards,
people shave their heads;
they make cuts on their hands
and wear sackcloth.#48.37,38 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
And it's all because I, the Lord,
have shattered Moab like a jar
that no one wants.
39Moab lies broken!
Listen to its people cry
as they turn away in shame.
Other nations are horrified
at what happened,
but still they mock her.
40Moab, an enemy swoops down
like an eagle spreading its wings
over your land.
41Your cities#48.41 Your cities: Or “Kerioth.” and fortresses
will be captured,
and your warriors as fearful
as women giving birth.#48.41 as fearful … birth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
42You are finished as a nation,
because you dared oppose me,
the Lord.
43Terror, pits, and traps
are waiting for you.
44If you are terrified and run,
you will fall into a pit;
and if you crawl out of the pit,
you'll get caught in a trap.
The time has come
for you to be punished.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
45Near the city of Heshbon,
where Sihon once ruled,
tired refugees stand in shadows
cast by the flames
of their burning city.
Soon, the towns on other hilltops,
where those warlike people live,
will also go up in smoke.
46People of Moab, you worshiped
Chemosh, your god,
but now you are done for,
and your children are prisoners
in a foreign country.
47Yet someday, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
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