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
1Here is what the Lord says about Moab.
The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,
“How terrible it will be for the city of Nebo!
It will be destroyed.
Kiriathaim will be captured.
It will be put to shame.
Its fort will be broken down.
It will be put to shame.
2Moab will not be praised anymore.
In Heshbon people will plan its fall from power.
They will say, ‘Come. Let’s put an end to that nation.’
City of Madmen, you too will be silent.
My sword will hunt you down.
3Cries of sorrow come from Horonaim.
The town is being completely destroyed.
4Moab will be broken.
Her little ones will cry out.
5The people go up the hill to Luhith.
They are weeping bitterly as they go.
Loud cries are heard on the road down to Horonaim.
People cry out because the town is being destroyed.
6People of Moab, run away! Run for your lives!
Become like a lonely bush in the desert.
7You trust in the things you can do.
You trust in your riches.
So you too will be taken away as prisoners.
Your god named Chemosh will be carried away.
So will its priests and officials.
8The one who is going to destroy you
will come against every town.
Not even one of them will escape.
The valley and the high plain
will be destroyed.
The Lord has spoken.
9Sprinkle salt all over Moab.
It will be completely destroyed.
Its towns will be a dry and empty desert.
No one will live in them.
10“May anyone who is lazy when they do the Lord’s work
be under my curse!
May anyone who keeps their sword from killing
be under my curse!
11“Moab has been at peace and rest from its earliest days.
It is like wine that has not been shaken up.
It has not been poured from one jar to another.
Moab’s people have not been taken away from their land.
They are like wine that tastes as it always did.
Its smell has not changed at all.
12But other days are coming,” announces the Lord.
“At that time I will send people who pour wine from pitchers.
They will pour Moab out like wine.
They will empty its pitchers.
They will smash its jars.
13Then Moab’s people will be ashamed of their god named Chemosh.
They will be ashamed just as the people of Israel were
when they trusted in their false god at Bethel.
14“How can you say, ‘We are soldiers.
We are men who are brave in battle’?
15Moab will be destroyed.
Its enemies will march into its towns.
Its finest young men will die in battle,”
announces the King.
His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
16“The fall of Moab is near.
Its time of trouble will come quickly.
17All you who live around it, mourn for its people.
Be sad, you who know how famous Moab is.
Say, ‘Its powerful ruler’s scepter is broken!
His glorious scepter is smashed.’
18“Come down from your glorious city, you who live in Dibon.
Come and sit on the thirsty ground.
The one who destroys Moab
will come up and attack you.
Your enemies will destroy your cities
that have high walls around them.
19Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the men who are running away.
Ask the women who are escaping.
Ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab has been put to shame.
It has been destroyed.
Weep and cry out!
Tell everyone Moab has been destroyed.
Announce it by the Arnon River.
21The high plain has been judged.
So have Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath.
22Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim have been judged.
23So have Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon.
24Kerioth and Bozrah have also been judged.
And so have all the towns of Moab, far and near alike.
25Moab’s power is gone.
Its strength is broken,”
announces the Lord.
26“Moab’s people think they are better than I am.
So let their enemies make them drunk.
Let the people get sick and throw up.
Let them roll around in the mess they have made.
Let people laugh at them.
27Moab, you laughed at Israel, didn’t you?
Were Israel’s people caught among robbers?
Is that why you shake your head at them?
Is that why you make fun of them
every time you talk about them?
28Leave your towns,
you who live in Moab.
Go and live among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the entrance of a cave.
29“We have heard all about Moab’s pride.
We have heard how very proud they are.
They think they are so much better than others.
Their pride reaches deep down inside their hearts.
30I know how rude they are.
But it will not get them anywhere,” announces the Lord.
“Their bragging does not accomplish anything.
31So I weep over Moab.
I cry for all Moab’s people.
I groan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32I weep for you as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches used to spread out.
They went all the way down to the Dead Sea.
They reached as far as the sea of Jazer.
The one who destroys your country
has taken away your grapes and ripe fruit.
33Joy has left your orchards.
Gladness is gone from your fields.
I have stopped the flow of juice from your winepresses.
No one stomps on your grapes with shouts of joy.
There are shouts.
But they are not shouts of joy.
34“The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon.
It rises as far as Elealeh and Jahaz.
It rises from Zoar.
It goes all the way to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
Even the waters at Nimrim are dried up.
35In Moab people sacrifice offerings on the high places.
They burn incense to their gods.
But I will put an end to those people,”
announces the Lord.
36“Like a flute my heart sings a song of sadness for Moab.
It sings like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they had acquired is gone.
37Every head is shaved.
Every beard is cut off.
Every hand is cut.
And every waist is covered with the clothes of sadness.
38Weeping is the only sound in Moab.
It is heard on all its roofs.
It is heard in the market.
I have broken Moab
like a jar that no one wants,”
announces the Lord.
39“How broken Moab is! How the people weep!
They turn away from others
because they are so ashamed.
All those around them laugh at them.
They are shocked at them.”
40The Lord says,
“Look! Nebuchadnezzar is like an eagle diving down.
He is spreading his wings over Moab.
41Kerioth will be captured.
Its forts will be taken.
At that time the hearts of Moab’s soldiers will tremble in fear.
They will be like the heart of a woman having a baby.
42Moab will be destroyed as a nation.
That is because its people thought
they were better than the Lord.
43You people of Moab,”
announces the Lord,
“terror, a pit and a trap are waiting for you.
44Anyone who runs away from the terror
will fall into the pit.
Anyone who climbs out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
The time is coming
when I will punish Moab,”
announces the Lord.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
those who are trying to escape stand helpless.
A fire has blazed out from Heshbon.
Flames have come out from Sihon’s city.
It burns the foreheads of Moab’s people.
It burns the skulls of those who brag loudly.
46How terrible it will be for you, Moab!
Those who worship Chemosh are destroyed.
Your sons are being taken to another country.
Your daughters are taken away as prisoners.
47“But in days to come
I will bless Moab with great success again,”
announces the Lord.
This ends the report about how the Lord would judge Moab.
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