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.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 48: NABRE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Jeremiah 48
48
The Prophecy concerning Moab
1 #
Isa 15.1—16.14; 25.10-12; Ezek 25.8-11; Amos 2.1-3; Zeph 2.8-11. Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiri-atha´im is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. 3A voice of crying shall be from Horona´im, spoiling and great destruction. 4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. 5For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horona´im the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 6Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. 7For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. 8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken. 9Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. 12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. 13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth–el their confidence.
14How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? 15Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is The Lord of hosts. 16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. 17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! 18Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strongholds. 19O inhabitant of Aro´er, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? 20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, 21and judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jaha´zah, and upon Meph´a-ath, 22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth–diblatha´im, 23and upon Kiri-atha´im, and upon Beth–ga´mul, and upon Beth–me´on, 24and upon Ker´i-oth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
26Make ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. 27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. 28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth. 29We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud,) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. 30I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it. 31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir–he´res. 32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. 33And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. 34From the cry of Heshbon even unto Ele-a´leh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zo´ar even unto Horona´im, as a heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. 35Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. 36Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir–he´res: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. 38There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord. 39They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.
40For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. 41Ker´i-oth is taken, and the strongholds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord. 43Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord. 44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. 46Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives. 47Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.