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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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Jeremiah 48
48
What the LORD says about Moab
1The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab:#Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10-12; Ez 25.8-11; Am 2.1-3; Zep 2.8-11.
The town of Nebo is doomed;
Kiriathaim will be captured
and disgraced,
and even its fortress
will be left in ruins.
2No one honours 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 flat lands 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 worshipped 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 honoured 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 just north of the River Arnon.
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 River Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.”
21-24I will punish every town
that belongs to Moab,
but especially Holon,
Jahzah, Mephaath,
Dibon, Nebo,
Beth-Diblathaim, Kiriathaim,
Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,
Kerioth, and Bozrah.#48.21-24 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 boasting
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.
There are no happy shouts
from 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 Brook 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 laugh.
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
gripped by fear.#48.41 gripped by fear: 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.
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 worshipped
Chemosh, your god,
but now you are done for,
and your children are prisoners
in a foreign country.
47Yet some day, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012