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
A Message Concerning Moab
1Concerning Moab, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to Nebo,
for it is devastated.
It is ashamed,
Kiriathaim is captured.
Misgab is ashamed,
and it is filled with terror.
2The glory of Moab is no longer.
In Heshbon they planned evil against her.
Come and let us cut her off from being a nation.
Also, Madmen, you will be silent.
After you will go the sword.
3The sound of a cry of distress arises from Horonaim,
devastation and great destruction.
4Moab is broken,
her little ones make heard#Literally “cause to hear” a cry for help.
5For the ascent of Luhith,
in weeping they go weeping,
For on the slope of Horonaim they have heard
the distresses of the cry of distress of the destruction.
6Flee! Save your life!
For#Literally “And” you must not be like the juniper tree in the desert.
7For because of your trusting in your works and in your treasures,
even you yourselves will be taken,
and Chemosh will go out into the exile,
his priests and his officials together.
8And the destroyer will come to every town,
and a town will not escape.
And the valley will be destroyed,
and the plain will be destroyed, as Yahweh has spoken.
9Give salt for Moab,
for certainly she will go to ruin,
and her towns will become as a desolation,
without#Literally “from there is not” an inhabitant in them.
10The one who does the work of Yahweh with slackness is cursed,
and the one who keeps away blood from his sword is cursed.
11Moab has been at ease from his youth,
and he has been quiet on his dregs,
and he has not been poured out from vessel to vessel,
and he has not gone into exile.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” his taste has remained unchanged,
and his fragrance has not changed.
12Therefore#Literally “To thus” look, days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and I will send to him decanters,#Literally “those who tilt”
and they will decant him,
and his vessels they will empty out,
and their jars they will smash.
13Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, their trust.
14How can you say, ‘we are warriors,
and men of might for the battle.’
15Moab is destroyed,
and his towns have gone up,
and the choice of his young men have gone down to the slaughtering,”
declares#Literally “a declaration of” the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name.
16“The disaster of Moab is near to come,
and his disaster approaches very quickly.#Literally “hastens greatly”
17Mourn for him, all his surroundings,
and all those who knew his name.
Say, ‘How the staff of might is broken,
the staff of glory.’
18Come down from glory and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon,
for the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
he has destroyed your fortifications.
19Stand by the road and watch,
O inhabitant of Aroer.
Ask the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping,
say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is ashamed,
for it is filled with terror.
Wail and cry out,
tell it by Arnon that Moab is devastated.
21Judgment has also come to the land of the plain, to Holon, and to Jahaz, and on Mephaath, 22and on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim, 23and on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon, 24and on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, the far and the near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
26“Make him drunk,
because he magnified himself against Yahweh,
and let Moab wallow in his vomit.
And he also will become a laughingstock.
27Now was not Israel the laughingstock to you?
Or was he found among thieves?
For as often as#Literally “from enough” you spoke over him
you shook your head.
28Leave the towns and dwell on the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab,
and be like the dove,
it nests on the sides of the mouth of a ravine.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab
—he is very proud—
his height, and his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his insolence,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and his boastings are false;#Literally “not right”
they act falsely.#Literally “not right”
31Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” over Moab I wail,
and for all of Moab I cry out,
for the people#Or “men” of Kir-heres I moan.
32More than the weeping of Jazer
I weep for you, O vine Sibmah.
Your branches cross over the sea,
up to the sea of Jazer they reach.
Upon your summer fruit and upon your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.
33And joy and rejoicing have been taken away from the fruitful land,
even from the land of Moab.
And the wine from the wine presses
I have caused to disappear.
He will not tread with exuberant shouts.#Hebrew “exuberant shout”
Exuberant shouts#Hebrew “Exuberant shout” will not be exuberant shouts.#Hebrew “exuberant shout”
34From the cry for help of Heshbon, up to Elealeh,
up to Jahaz, they give their voice,
from Zoar up to Horonaim, up to Eglath-shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim have become as a desolation.
35And I will cause to disappear for Moab,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“the one who presents a sacrifice at a high place,
and the one who burns a smoke offering to his gods.
36Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” my heart moans for Moab like the flute.#Hebrew “flutes”
It moans for the people#Or “men” of Kir-heres like the flute.#Hebrew “flutes”
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” the wealth they gained has perished.
37For on every head is baldness,
and every beard is trimmed.
On all the hands, slashes,
and on the loins, sackcloth.
38On all the roofs of Moab, and in its public squares,
there is wailing everywhere.
For I have broken Moab like a vessel,
there is no delight in it,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
39“How it is filled with terror! How they wail!
How Moab has turned his back! He is disgraced!
So Moab has become as a derision,
and as a terror for all his surrounding peoples.”
40For thus says Yahweh,
“Look, like an eagle he will swoop down,
and he will spread out his wings against Moab.
41Kerioth will be taken,
and the strongholds will be conquered,
and the hearts#Hebrew “heart” of the warriors of Moab will be on that day
like the heart of a woman who is in labor.
42And Moab will be destroyed from being a people,
because against Yahweh he magnified himself.
43Dread, and pit, and a trapping net are against you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
44“He who flees before#Literally “from the face of” the dread
will fall into the pit,
and the one who climbs up from the pit
will be caught in the trapping net,
for I will bring on Moab
the year of their punishment,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stand without strength,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
and a flame from Sihon.
And it has eaten the forehead of Moab,
and the skulls#Hebrew “skull” of the people#Or “sons” of tumult.
46Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished.
For your sons have been taken into captivity,
and your daughters into captivity.
47Yet I will restore the fortunes#Hebrew “fortune” of Moab
in the last of the days,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
Thus far#Literally “Up to here” is the judgment of Moab.
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