Jeremiah 48
48
1 #
Is 15—16; 25.10-12; Ezek 25.8-11; Amos 2.1-3; Zeph 2.8-11. Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
2the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned evil against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3“Hark! a cry from Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4Moab is destroyed;
a cry is heard as far as Zoar.#48.4 Gk: Heb her little ones
5For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;#48.5 Cn: Heb weeping goes up with weeping
for at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the cry#48.5 Gk Compare Is 15.5: Heb the distress of the cry of destruction.
6Flee! Save yourselves!
Be like a wild ass#48.6 Gk Aquila: Heb like Aroer in the desert!
7For, because you trusted in your strongholds#48.7 Gk: Heb works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and Chemosh shall go forth into exile,
with his priests and his princes.
8The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9“Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11“Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has settled on his lees;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall send to him tilters who will tilt him, and empty his vessels, and break his#48.12 Gk Aquila: Heb their jars in pieces. 13Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14“How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16The calamity of Moab is near at hand
and his affliction hastens apace.
17Bemoan him, all you who are round about him,
and all who know his name;
say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19Stand by the way and watch,
O inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
wail and cry!
Tell it by the Arnon,
that Moab is laid waste.
21“Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mepha-ath, 22and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24and Keri-oth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
26“Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord; so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
28“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his insolence, says the Lord;
his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of Kir-heres I mourn.
32More than for Jazer I weep for you,
O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches passed over the sea,
reached as far as Jazer;#48.32 Cn: Heb the sea of Jazer
upon your summer fruits and your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.
33Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the wine presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34“Heshbon and Ele-aleh cry out;#48.34 Cn: Heb From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and burns incense to his god. 36Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-heres; therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; upon all the hands are gashes, and on the loins is sackcloth. 38On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, says the Lord. 39How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are round about him.”
40For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle,
and spread his wings against Moab;
41the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of a woman in her pangs;
42Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,
because he magnified himself against the Lord.
43Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
says the Lord.
44He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For I will bring these things#48.44 Gk Syr: Heb to her upon Moab
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength;
for a fire has gone forth from Heshbon,
a flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
the crown of the sons of tumult.
46Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh is undone;
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, says the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
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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