Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 48
48
1Concerning Mo’aḇ. This is what יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl said, “Woe to Neḇo! For it is ravaged, Qiryathayim is put to shame, captured. The high stronghold is put to shame and broken down.
2“There is praise for Mo’aḇ no longer. In Ḥeshbon they have devised evil against her, ‘Come and let us cut it off as a nation.’ O Maḏmĕn, you are also cut off, a sword goes after you.
3“Listen! An outcry from Ḥoronayim, ravaging and great destruction!
4“Mo’aḇ shall be destroyed, her little ones shall cry out.
5“For on the ascent to Luḥith they go up weeping bitterly. For in the descent of Ḥoronayim the enemies shall hear a cry of destruction.
6“Flee, deliver your own lives! And be like a bush in the wilderness.
7“For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you shall be captured. And Kemosh shall go forth into exile, his priests and his heads together.
8“And a ravager shall come into every city, no one escapes. And the valley shall perish, and the plain be destroyed, as יהוה has spoken.
9“Give wings to Mo’aḇ, for she has to flee away, and her cities become a ruin, with no one to dwell in them.
10(Cursed is he who is slack in doing the work of יהוה, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood).
11“Mo’aḇ has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile. Therefore his flavour has stayed in him, and his fragrance is unchanged.
12“Therefore see, the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when I shall send him tilters, who shall tilt him over and empty his vessels and break the bottles.
13“And Mo’aḇ shall be ashamed because of Kemosh, as the house of Yisra’ĕl was ashamed of Bĕyth Ěl, their refuge.
14“How do you say, ‘We are mighty and strong men for battle’?
15“Mo’aḇ is ravaged and her cities have been entered. And her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” declares the Sovereign, whose Name is יהוה of hosts.
16“The calamity of Mo’aḇ is near to come and his affliction hurries fast.
17“Lament for him, all you who are around him. And all you who know his name, say, ‘How the strong sceptre has been broken, the staff of splendour!’
18“Come down from your esteem, and sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Diḇon. For the ravager of Mo’aḇ shall come against you, he shall destroy your strongholds.
19“Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of Aro‛ĕr. Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, ‘What has been done?’
20“Mo’aḇ has been put to shame, for it has been broken down. Howl and cry! Let it be heard in Arnon that Mo’aḇ is ravaged.
21“And judgment has come on the plain country, on Ḥolon and on Yaḥtsah and on Mopha‛ath,
22and on Diḇon and Neḇo and on Bĕyth Diḇlathayim,
23and on Qiryathayim and on Bĕyth Gamul and on Bĕyth Me‛on,
24and on Qeriyoth and on Botsrah, and on all the cities of the land of Mo’aḇ, far or near.
25“The horn of Mo’aḇ has been cut off, and his arm has been broken,” declares יהוה.
26“Make him drunk, because he has made himself great against יהוה. Mo’aḇ shall splash in his vomit, and he shall also be in mockery.
27“And was not Yisra’ĕl a mockery to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, you shake your head.
28“O inhabitants of Mo’aḇ, leave the cities and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove making a nest in the sides of the cave’s mouth.
29“We have heard of the pride of Mo’aḇ (he is very proud!), of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, and of the haughtiness of his heart.”
30“I know his wrath,” declares יהוה, “and his boastings are untrue, and his deeds are false.
31“Therefore I wail for Mo’aḇ, and I cry out for all Mo’aḇ. I mourn for the men of Qir Ḥeres.
32“O vine of Siḇmah! I weep for you with the weeping of Ya‛zĕr. Your branches have passed over the sea, they have come to the sea of Ya‛zĕr. The ravager has fallen on your summer fruit and your grape harvest.
33“Joy and gladness have been taken away from the orchard and from the land of Mo’aḇ. And I have made wine to cease from the winepresses. No one treads with shouting – the shouting is no shouting!
34“From the outcry of Ḥeshbon unto El‛alĕh, unto Yahats, they shall raise their voice, from Tso‛ar to Ḥoronayim, like a three-year-old heifer, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35“And I shall make an end in Mo’aḇ to him who offers in the high places and burns incense to his mighty ones,” declares יהוה.
36“So My heart sounds for Mo’aḇ like flutes, and My heart sounds for the men of Qir Ḥeres like flutes. Therefore the wealth they made shall be gone.
37“For every head is bald, and every beard clipped – cuts on all the hands, and sackcloth on the loins.
38“On all the house-tops of Mo’aḇ and in its streets it is all lamentation, for I have broken Mo’aḇ like a vessel in which no one delights,” declares יהוה.
39“How has she been broken down! They shall wail! How has Mo’aḇ turned her back with shame! So Mo’aḇ shall be a mockery and a horror to all those about her.”
40For thus said יהוה, “See, he soars like an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Mo’aḇ.
41“Qeriyoth shall be captured, and the strongholds seized. And the heart of the mighty men in Mo’aḇ on that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labour.
42“And Mo’aḇ shall be destroyed as a people, because he has made himself great against יהוה.
43“Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Mo’aḇ,” declares יהוה.
44“He who flees from the fear falls into the pit, and he who gets out of the pit is caught in the snare. For I am bringing upon Mo’aḇ the year of their punishment,” declares יהוה.
45“Those who fled stood powerless under the shadow of Ḥeshbon. But a fire shall come out of Ḥeshbon, and a flame from the midst of Siḥon, and consume the brow of Mo’aḇ and the crown of the head of the sons of uproar.
46“Woe to you, O Mo’aḇ! The people of Kemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken into exile, and your daughters into exile.
47“But I shall turn back the captivity of Mo’aḇ in the latter days,” declares יהוה. Thus far is the judgment of Mo’aḇ.
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Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 48: TS2009
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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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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.