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
Judgment on Moab
1 # ch. 25:21; 2 Kgs. 24:2; See Isa. 15–16; Ezek. 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8, 9 Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to #ver. 22; Num. 32:3 Nebo, for it is laid waste!
# ver. 23; Num. 32:37; Josh. 13:19; Ezek. 25:9 Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame #ver. 20, 39and broken down;
2the renown of Moab is no more.
In #ver. 34, 45; ch. 49:3; Num. 32:37; Isa. 15:4 Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off #[ch. 31:36] from being a nation!’
You also, O #[Isa. 10:31]Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3“A voice! A cry from #Isa. 15:5; [ver. 34]Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 # [See ver. 3 above] For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;#48:5 Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping
for #[See ver. 3 above]at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry#48:5 Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry of destruction.
6Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like #ch. 17:6a juniper in the desert!
7For, #ch. 49:4 because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and #Num. 21:29 Chemosh #[Isa. 46:2] shall go into exile
with #ch. 49:3his priests and his officials.
8 # ch. 6:26 The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and #ver. 21; Josh. 13:9, 17, 21; [Deut. 3:10]the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9“Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 #
Judg. 5:23; [1 Sam. 15:3, 9; 1 Kgs. 20:42] “Cursed is he who does #[1 Cor. 15:58]the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11“Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has #Zeph. 1:12settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his#48:12 Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their jars in pieces. 13Then #[Num. 21:29; Isa. 16:14] Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as #[Hos. 10:6] the house of Israel was ashamed of #[1 Kgs. 12:29]Bethel, their confidence.
14“How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15The destroyer of #ver. 8, 18, 20; Isa. 15:1 Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have #ch. 50:27 gone down to slaughter,
declares #See ch. 46:18the King, #See ch. 46:18whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 # [Isa. 15:4, 5; 16:7] Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, #[Isa. 9:4; 14:5]‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 # [Isa. 47:1] “Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of #Num. 21:30; Isa. 15:2Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 # [1 Sam. 4:13, 16; Nah. 2:1] Stand by the way #[1 Sam. 4:13, 16; Nah. 2:1] and watch,
O inhabitant of #Deut. 2:36; Josh. 13:9Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
# [See ver. 17 above] wail and cry!
Tell it beside #Isa. 16:2 the Arnon,
that #[See ver. 15 above]Moab is laid waste.
21“Judgment has come upon #ver. 8; Num. 21:23 the tableland, upon Holon, and #Josh. 13:18Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22and #[See ver. 18 above] Dibon, and #Num. 33:46; Isa. 15:2Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23and #See ver. 1 Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and #[Josh. 13:17; 1 Chr. 5:8]Beth-meon, 24and #Amos 2:2 Kerioth, and #ch. 49:13, 22; Isa. 63:1Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25#[Ps. 75:10] The horn of Moab is cut off, and #[Ezek. 30:21]his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 # ch. 25:27; 51:39; Isa. 19:14 “Make him drunk, #ver. 42 because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall #ch. 25:27; 51:39; Isa. 19:14 wallow in his vomit, #ver. 39and he too shall be held in derision. 27#Zeph. 2:8; [Ezek. 25:8] Was not Israel a derision to you? #[ch. 2:26] Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him #Ps. 64:8; Lam. 2:15; Matt. 27:39you wagged your head?
28 # ver. 9 “Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be #Ps. 55:6, 7; Song 2:14like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 #
Isa. 16:6
We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
# [ch. 50:36] his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 #
Isa. 15:5; 16:7, 11 Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of #[2 Kgs. 3:25]Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32More than for #Num. 21:32 Jazer I weep for you,
#
Isa. 16:8, 9 O vine of #Josh. 13:19 Sibmah!
# [Ps. 80:11] Your branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of #Num. 21:32 Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 #
Isa. 16:10
Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 # See Isa. 15:4-6 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to #ver. 3Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in #[Isa. 15:2; 16:12; Ezek. 20:29]the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of #See ver. 31 Kir-hareseth. #Isa. 15:7Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 #
Isa. 15:2, 3 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. #[ch. 47:5] On all the hands are gashes, and #ch. 49:3; Lam. 2:10; See ch. 4:8around the waist is sackcloth. 38On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like #[ch. 22:28]a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39How it is broken! How they wail! #[ver. 6] How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab #ver. 26has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, #ch. 49:22; [Deut. 28:49; Ezek. 17:3] one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
# [Isa. 8:8] and spread his wings against Moab;
41 # ver. 24 the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
# [Isa. 13:7, 8] The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of #See ch. 6:24a woman in her birth pains;
42Moab shall be #[Isa. 7:8] destroyed and be no longer a people,
because #ver. 26he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 #
Isa. 24:17, 18; Lam. 3:47 Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
# [ch. 11:23] For I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed #Num. 24:17the forehead of Moab,
the crown of #Num. 24:17the sons of tumult.
46 # See ver. 1 Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of #ver. 13Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 # [ch. 46:27; 49:39] Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
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