Jeremiah 48
48
Against Moab.#Moab, located east of the Dead Sea, was one of Israel’s bitter enemies (cf., e.g., Is 15–16; Am 2:1–3). According to Flavius Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Moab and Ammon in his twenty-third year (582 B.C.), five years after the destruction of Jerusalem. This chapter is full of local place names in Moab. 1Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Ah, Nebo! it is ravaged;
Kiriathaim is disgraced, captured;
Disgraced and overthrown is the stronghold:
2Moab’s glory is no more.
In Heshbon they plot evil against her:
“Come! We will put an end to her as a nation.”
You, too, Madmen,#Madmen: a place name, not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. shall be silenced;
you the sword stalks!
3Listen! an outcry from Horonaim,#Is 15:5.
“Ruin and great destruction!”
4“Moab is crushed!”
their outcry is heard in Zoar.
5Up the ascent of Luhith
they go weeping;
At the descent to Horonaim
they hear cries of anguish:
6“Flee, save your lives!
Be like a wild donkey in the wilderness!”
7Because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be captured.
Chemosh#Chemosh: chief god of Moab (cf. Nm 21:29). shall go into exile,
his priests and princes with him.#Nm 21:29.
8The destroyer comes upon every city,
not a city escapes;
Ruined is the valley,
wasted the plateau—oracle of the Lord.
9Set up a tombstone for Moab;
it will soon become a complete wasteland,
Its cities turned into ruins
where no one dwells.
10Cursed are they who do the Lord’s work carelessly,
cursed those who keep their sword from shedding blood.
11#Moabite wine was known for its high quality. Here the wine is a metaphor for Moab’s complacency. Moab has been resting from its youth,
suspended above its dregs,
Never poured from flask to flask,
never driven into exile.
Thus it retained its flavor,
its bouquet is not lost.#Zep 1:12.
12Be assured! The days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will send him wine-makers to decant the wine; they shall empty its flasks and smash its jars. 13Chemosh shall disappoint Moab, just as the house of Israel was disappointed by Bethel, in which they trusted.#Is 16:12.
14How can you say, “We are heroes,
mighty warriors”?
15The one who ravages Moab and its cities comes up,
the best of its youth go down to slaughter—
oracle of the King, whose name is Lord of hosts.
16Moab’s ruin is near at hand,
its disaster approaches swiftly.
17Mourn, all you neighbors,
all you who know its name!
Say: How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff!
18Come down from glory, sit on the parched ground,
enthroned daughter Dibon;#Dibon, the capital of Moab at that time, is situated on a height. The prophet here offers a personification of the city, pictured as a confident ruler.
Moab’s destroyer has fallen upon you,
has shattered your strongholds.#Nm 21:30.
19Stand along the road, keep watch,
enthroned Aroer;
Ask the fleeing man, the escaping woman:
ask them what has happened.#Dt 2:36.
20“Moab is put to shame, destroyed.”
Wail and cry out,
Proclaim it at the Arnon:
“Moab is destroyed!”#Is 16:7.
21Judgment has come upon the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,#Is 15:4. 22on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24on Kerioth and on Bozrah: on all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off,
its arm is broken—oracle of the Lord.
26Make him drunk because he set himself over against the Lord; let Moab swim in his vomit and become a laughingstock. 27Has Israel not been a laughingstock to you? Was he caught among thieves that you wag your heads whenever you speak of him?#Zep 2:8–10.
28Abandon the cities, take shelter in the crags,
inhabitants of Moab.
Be like the dove that nests
in the walls of a gorge.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab,#Is 16:6.
pride beyond bounds:
His loftiness, his pride, his scorn,
his insolent heart.
30I myself know his arrogance—oracle of the Lord—
liar in word, liar in deed.
31And so I wail over Moab,
over all Moab I cry,
over the people of Kir-heres I moan.#Is 16:7.
32More than for Jazer I weep for you,
vine of Sibmah.
Your tendrils trailed down to the sea,
as far as Jazer they stretched.
Upon your summer harvest and your vintage,
the destroyer has fallen.#Is 16:8–9.
33Joy and gladness are taken away
from the garden land, the land of Moab.
I dry up the wine from the wine vats,
the treader treads no more,
the vintage shout is stilled.
34The cry of Heshbon and Elealeh is heard as far as Jahaz; they call from Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; even the waters of Nimrim turn into a wasteland.#Is 15:4–5. 35I will leave no one in Moab—oracle of the Lord—to offer burnt offerings on the high place or to make sacrifices to their gods. 36Hence my heart wails like a flute for Moab; my heart wails like a flute for the people of Kir-heres: the wealth they accumulated has perished.#Is 16:11. 37Every head has been shaved bald, every beard cut off; every hand gashed, and all their loins are draped in sackcloth.#Jer 47:5; Is 15:2–3; Ez 7:18. 38On all the rooftops of Moab and in all its squares there is mourning. I have shattered Moab like a pot that no one wants—oracle of the Lord. 39How terrified they are, how they wail! How Moab turns its back in shame! Moab has become a laughingstock and a horror to all its neighbors!
40For thus says the Lord:
Look there! Like an eagle he swoops,
spreading his wings over Moab.#Jer 49:22.
41Cities are captured,
strongholds seized:
On that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
become like the heart of a woman in labor.#Jer 6:24; 30:6.
42Moab shall be wiped out, a people no more,
because it set itself over against the Lord.#Zep 2:9–10.
43Terror, pit, and trap be upon you,
enthroned Moab—oracle of the Lord.#Is 24:17–18.
44Those fleeing the terror
fall into the pit;
Those climbing out of the pit
are caught in the trap;
Ah, yes! I will bring these things upon Moab
in the year of their punishment—oracle of the Lord.
45In Heshbon’s shadow the fugitives
stop short, exhausted;
For fire blazes up from Heshbon,
and flames up from the house of Sihon:
It consumes the forehead of Moab,
the scalp of the noisemakers.#Nm 21:28–29.
46Woe to you, Moab!
You are finished, people of Chemosh!
Your sons are taken into exile,
your daughters into captivity.
47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the days to come—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 49:39.
Thus far the judgment on Moab.
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Jeremiah 48: NABRE
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Jeremiah 48
48
Prophecy against Moab
1Concerning Moab:
The LORD of heavenly forces,
the God of Israel, proclaims:
How awful for Nebo;
it lies in ruins.
Kirathaim is captured and shamed;
the fortress is disgraced,
reduced to rubble.
2No one sings Moab’s praise any longer!
In Heshbon they are hatching
a plot against her:
“Come, let’s bring down the nation!”
You too, Madmen, will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3Listen to the cries for help from Horonaim:
“Destruction and massive devastation!”
4Moab is shattered;
its young cry for help.
5On the way up to Luhith,
there is uncontrollable weeping.
On the way down to Horonaim,
they hear sobs of anguish.
6Run for your lives!
Be like Aroer#48.6 Heb uncertain in the desert.
7Because you have relied
on your own strength and treasures,
you also will be captured.
Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
8The destroyer will sweep through every town;
no town will escape.
The valleys will be ravaged;
the plateaus will be destroyed,
because the LORD has declared it so.
9Give wings to Moab,
and it would fly away#48.9 Heb uncertain
because its towns lie in ruins,
with no one left in them.
10Cursed is the one who is halfhearted
in doing the LORD’s work.
Cursed is the one who restrains
the sword from bloodshed.
11From early on Moab has been at ease,
like wine#48.11 Heb lacks like wine. left to settle on its sediment.
It hasn’t been poured into jars;
nor has Moab been taken into exile.
Therefore, its taste is still pleasant,
and its aroma is the same.
12But the time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him someone to spill it—to pour out his wine and to smash his jars. 13And Moab will be put to shame on account of Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were put to shame on account of Bethel, in which they trusted.#48.13 Or And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh just as the people of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
14How can you claim,
“We’re soldiers; we’re war heroes”?
15Moab is doomed;
its towns will surrender;#48.15 Heb uncertain
its elite forces will go down in defeat,
declares the king whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces.
16Moab’s destruction is near;
its downfall approaches rapidly.
17Grieve for this nation,
you neighbors of Moab,
all you who know his name.
Proclaim how its mighty scepter
and magnificent staff are shattered!
18Come down from your lofty place
and sit in the dust,#48.18 Or thirst
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon;#48.18 Heb uncertain, or residing Daughter Dibon
because Moab’s destroyer
has arrived to level your fortresses.
19Stand by the roads and watch,
you inhabitants of Aroer.
Ask the men who flee
and the women who run off,
“What’s happened?”
20Moab is shamed and shocked;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the Arnon River:
Moab’s been destroyed!
21Judgment has come to the towns of the plateau—
to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23to Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24to Kerioth and Bozrah,
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25Moab’s horn is cut off;
its arm is broken,
declares the LORD.
26Get Moab drunk,
because it has exalted itself above the LORD.
Moab will collapse in its vomit
and become the butt of every joke.
27Wasn’t Israel the butt of your jokes?
Didn’t you shake your head
as if they were thieves
caught in the act?
28Leave your towns, head for the cliffs,
you people of Moab.
Hide like a dove
that nests in the mouth of a cave.
29We have heard of Moab’s pride:
arrogant, puffed up, exalted,
high and mighty, boastful!
30I myself know about its arrogance,
declares the LORD,
the idle talk, the empty deeds.
31But I’ll still wail for Moab;
I’ll cry out for all Moab;
I’ll#48.31 Or He sob for the people of Kir-heres.
32I’ll weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
more than I would for Jazer.
Though your branches extended to the sea
and reached the coast of Jazer,
now the destroyer has come
to harvest your grapes and summer fruits.
33Joy and gladness have been taken
from the orchards and farms of Moab.
I have stopped making wine in the presses.
No one shouts with joy
while treading the grapes.
Though there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy!#48.33 Heb uncertain
34Screams are heard from Heshbon
to Elealeh and Jahaz;
their cries resound from Zoar
to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah.
Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35I’ll put an end to Moab,
declares the LORD,
for making offerings on the shrines,
and worshipping their gods.
36Therefore, my heart wails for Moab
like a mournful#48.36 Heb lacks mournful. flute that plays the dirge;
my heart wails for the people of Kir-heres,
like a mournful flute.
Their abundance is now gone.
37Every head is shaved,
every beard is cut off,
every hand is slashed,
and everyone wears mourning clothes.
38On every housetop of Moab
and in all its streets,
there’s nothing but mourning.
I have shattered Moab
like a pottery vessel no one wants,
declares the LORD.
39How it’s shattered! Go wail!
How Moab turns away!
What shame!
Moab has become the butt of every joke,
horrific to all its neighbors.
40The LORD proclaims:
Look! One who soars like an eagle
and spreads its wings over Moab.
41The towns will be captured;
the strongholds will be seized.
On that day, the heart of every soldier from Moab
will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.
42Moab will be destroyed once and for all
because it has exalted itself above the LORD.
43Terror, traps, and trackers#48.43 Or terror, pit, and trap
are upon you, people of Moab,
declares the LORD.
44Those who flee from terror
will fall into a pit;
those who escape the pit
will be captured by the trap.
I will bring upon Moab
the year of its punishment,
declares the LORD.
45In Heshbon tired refugees seek shelter.
But fire is raging in Heshbon,
flames from the house#48.45 Heb manuscripts; MT from among of Sihon.
It has burned up part of Moab,
including the leader of this rebellious nation.#48.45 Heb uncertain
46How terrible for you, Moab;
the people of Chemosh have perished.
Your sons have been carried off;
your daughters have been taken captive.
47But in the days to come
I’ll bring back Moab from captivity,
declares the LORD.
Such is the judgment on Moab.
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