Jeremiah 48
48
Prophecy Against Moab
1Concerning Moab, thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “Oy to Nebo! For it will be ravaged. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured. The fortress will be shamed, shattered.
2There is no more praise for Moab. In Heshbon they plotted evil against her: ‘Come, let’s cut her off as a nation.’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced— the sword will chase you.
3The sound of outcry from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction!
4Moab is shattered—her little ones have raised a cry to be heard.
5For at the ascent of Luhith they go up with continual weeping. For on the descent to Horonaim they heard the foe’s shattering cry.
6Flee! Escape with your lives! Be like a tamarisk in the wilderness.
7For because of your trust in your works and your treasures, you will be captured, too. Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and princes.
8The destroyer will come to every town. No town will escape. The valley will perish and the plain will be destroyed, as Adonai has said.
9Give wings to Moab, for she must fly and get away. Her cities will become a wasteland, with no one living in them.
10Cursed is the one who does the work of Adonai with slackness, and cursed is the one who withholds his sword from blood.
11Moab has been at ease since his youth. He has settled like wine on its dregs. He has not been emptied from jar to jar, nor gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, and his aroma has not changed.
12Therefore behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will send to him those who will tip him up and over, and they will empty his vessels, and smash his jars in pieces.
13So Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
14How can you say: ‘We are warriors and men valiant for battle’?
15Moab is ravaged, its towns entered, its choice young men gone down to slaughter” —It is a declaration of the King, whose Name is Adonai-Tzva’ot.
16“Moab’s calamity will come soon, and his downfall hastens swiftly.
17Mourn for him, all who are around him, all who know his name. Say: ‘How the mighty scepter, the splendid rod, is broken!’
18O daughter dwelling in Dibon come down from your glory and sit in thirst! For Moab’s destroyer has come to you. He has devastated your strongholds.
19O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the road and watch— ask him fleeing and her escaping, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is disgraced, indeed shattered. Wail and shriek! Declare by the Arnon, Moab is ruined!
21Judgment has come on the tableland —on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,
22on Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,
23on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,
24on Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken!” It is a declaration of Adonai.
26“Make him drunk, for he exalted himself against Adonai. So Moab will wallow in his vomit and also become a laughingstock.
27After all, Israel is a laughingstock to you. Was he ever found among thieves, that whenever you speak of him, you should wag the head?
28Inhabitants of Moab, leave the towns and dwell in crags— like a dove nesting in a cave’s mouth.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab —very proud he is—his haughtiness, his arrogance, his insolence, and his self-exalted heart.
30I know his arrogance,” says Adonai, “but it is dishonest— his boasts really accomplish nothing.
31Therefore I wail for Moab! Yes, I cry out for all Moab, for the men of Kir-heres I moan.
32More than weeping of Jazer will I weep for you, vine of Sibmah! Your branches spread to the sea, reached as far as the sea of Jazer. On your summer fruits and your vintage the destroyer has fallen.
33So joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab. I stopped wine from the winepresses. No one will tread with shouting— any shouting is not a shout of joy.”
34“From the outcry of Heshbon to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they will raise their voice—from Zoar to Horonaim and a 3-year old heifer—for the Waters of Nimrim also will be waste.
35Moreover I will make an end in Moab”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“of the one offering on the high place and the one burning incense to his gods.”
36“That is why my heart is moaning like funeral flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. Thus the wealth he made is lost.
37For every head is bald, every beard clipped, on all the hands are gashes, and around the waist sackcloth.
38On all the housetops of Moab and in its squares— lamentation everywhere! For I have broken Moab like a jar In which no one delights” —it is a declaration of Adonai—
39“‘How shattered it is!’ they wailed! ‘How Moab turned his back in shame!’ So Moab will become a laughingstock and a horror to all around him.”
40For thus says Adonai: “Behold, he will swoop down like a vulture and spread out his wings against Moab.
41The towns are captured, the strongholds seized. The hearts of Moab’s warriors in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42Moab will be destroyed as a people, because he boasted against Adonai.
43Panic, pit and trap, are upon you, inhabitant of Moab,” declares Adonai.
44“The one who flees from panic will fall into the pit, and one who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. For I will bring on Moab the year of their visitation.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stop, exhausted, for fire breaks out of Heshbon flame from within Sihon, and it singes the foreheads and the scalps of Moab’s noisy sons.
46Oy to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished! For your sons are taken away captive and your daughters into exile.
47Yet I will restore Moab from exile in the end of days.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “Until then this is the judgment of Moab.”
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Jeremiah 48: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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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