Jeremiah 48
48
The Destruction of Moab
1 #
Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10–12; Ezek 25.8–11; Amos 2.1–3; Zeph 2.8–11 This is what the LORD Almighty said about Moab:
“Pity the people of Nebo —
their town is destroyed!
Kiriathaim is captured,
its mighty fortress torn down,
and its people put to shame;
2the splendour of Moab is gone.
The enemy have captured Heshbon
and plot to destroy the nation of Moab.
The town of Madmen will be silenced;
armies will march against it.
3The people of Horonaim cry out,
‘Violence! Destruction!’
4“Moab has been destroyed;
listen to the children crying.
5Hear the sound of their sobs
along the road up to Luhith,
the cries of distress
on the way down to Horonaim.
6‘Quick, run for your lives!’ they say.
‘Run like a wild desert donkey!’
7“Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth,
but now even you will be conquered;
your god Chemosh will go into exile,
along with his princes and priests.
8Not a town will escape the destruction;
both valley and plain will be ruined.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
9Set up a tombstone for Moab;
it will soon be destroyed.
Its towns will be left in ruins,
and no one will live there again.”
10(Curse those who do not do the LORD's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)
The Cities of Moab are Destroyed
11The LORD said, “Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavour has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.
12“So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces. 13Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.
14“Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes,
brave soldiers tested in war?
15Moab and its cities are destroyed;
its finest young men have been slaughtered.
I am the king, the LORD Almighty,
and I have spoken.
16Moab's doom approaches;
its ruin is coming soon.
17“Mourn for that nation, you that live near by,
all of you that know its fame.
Say, ‘Its powerful rule has been broken;
its glory and might are no more.’
18You that live in Dibon,
come down from your place of honour
and sit on the ground in the dust;
Moab's destroyer is here
and has left its forts in ruins.
19You that live in Aroer,
stand by the road and wait;
ask those who are running away,
find out from them what has happened.
20‘Moab has fallen,’ they will answer,
‘weep for it; it is disgraced.
Announce along the River Arnon
that Moab is destroyed!’
21“Judgement has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon, 24Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgement has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near. 25Moab's might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Moab will be Humbled
26The LORD said, “Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh. 27Moab, remember how you jeered at the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.
28“You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine. 29Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves. 30I, the LORD, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last. 31And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres. 32I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed. 33Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the winepresses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.
34“The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,#48.34 Probable text Heshbon… cry out; Hebrew unclear. and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even the brook of Nimrim has dried up. 35I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the LORD, have spoken.
36“So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone. 37All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth. 38On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants. 39Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations jeer at it. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
No Escape for Moab
40The LORD has promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings, 41and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labour. 42Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me. 43Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. The LORD has spoken. 44Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because the LORD has set the time for Moab's destruction. 45Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames.#48.45 Heshbon, the city… flames; or the city of Heshbon, but it is in flames and the palace of King Sihon is burning. Fire has burnt up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab. 46Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshipped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.
47But in days to come the LORD will make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what the LORD has said will happen to Moab.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Jeremiah 48
48
Jeremiah 48
1¶ Against Moab thus hath the Lord of the hosts, the God of Israel said; Woe unto Nebo! for it is destroyed; it is confounded; Kiriathaim is taken; Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
2Moab shall no longer be praised; they have devised evil against Heshbon, saying, Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
3A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
4Moab is destroyed; they have caused the cry of her little ones to be heard.
5For in the ascending road of Luhith he that weeps shall go up weeping; for in the descending road of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
7For because thou hast trusted in thy works; in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.
8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed as the Lord has spoken.
9Give wings {Heb. open flowers} unto Moab that he may flee and get away, for his cities shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10Cursed be he that does the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keeps back his sword from blood.
11Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
12Therefore, behold, the days come, said the Lord, that I will send unto him captors that shall take him captive and shall empty his vessels and break his wineskins.
13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
14¶ How do ye say, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
15Moab is spoiled, and his cities destroyed, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, said the King whose name is the Lord of the hosts.
16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hastens fast.
17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken: the beautiful rod!
18Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab has come against thee and has dissipated thy strong holds.
19O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way and watch; ask her that flees and her that escapes and say, What has happened?
20Moab is confounded, for it is broken down; howl and cry; tell it in Arnon that Moab is spoiled,
21and judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,
23and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
24and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those that are far and those that are near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, said the Lord.
26Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against the Lord; Moab shall also wallow in his vomit, and be in derision.
27For was not Israel a derision unto thee, as if he were found among thieves? for since thou hast spoken of him, thou hast slipped.
28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.
29We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness and his arrogancy and his pride and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his wrath, saith the Lord, but it shall have no effect; his lies shall not be to his advantage.
31Therefore I will weep over Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; my heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer; thy shoots are gone over the sea; they reach even to the sea of Jazer; the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
33And joy and gladness shall be taken from the plentiful field and from the land of Moab; and I shall cause wine to cease from the winepresses; no one shall tread with song; their song shall be no song.
34The cry, from Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as a heifer of three years old; for the waters of Nimrim shall also be destroyed.
35Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offers upon an altar and him that burns incense to his gods.
36Therefore my heart shall sound like flutes for Moab, and my heart shall sound like flutes for the men of Kirheres because the riches that he has gotten are perished.
37For every head shall be bald, and every beard shaved: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon all the loins sackcloth.
38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which there is no pleasure, said the Lord.
39They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how has Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all those about him.
40For thus hath the Lord said: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle and shall spread his wings over Moab.
41The cities are taken, and the strong holds are taken, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people because he has magnified himself against the Lord.
43Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, said the Lord.
44He that flees from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that gets up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for I will bring upon him, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, said the Lord.
45Those that fled from the force stood under the shadow of Heshbon; because fire came forth out of Heshbon and a flame from the midst of Sihon and burned the corner of Moab and the crown of the head of the rebellious sons.
46Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh have perished; for thy sons are taken prisoners into captivity, and thy daughters are captives.
47Yet I will turn again the captivity of Moab in the last of the times, said the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International