Jeremiah 48
48
1Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed. 2Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee. 3A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction! 4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. 5For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction. 6Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness. 7For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. 8And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said. 9Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant. 10Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood! 11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed. 12Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons. 13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war? 15Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up in smoke, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah 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, the beautiful rod! 18Come down from thy glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed. 19Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done? 20Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste. 21And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath; 22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim; 23and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon; 24and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah. 26Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab 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, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head? 28Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth. 29We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, — he is very proud; — his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. 30I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as they say. 31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning. 32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. 33And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting. 34Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, unto Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations. 35And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods. 36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished. 37For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. 38It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah. 39They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him. 40For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab. 41Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab 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 Jehovah. 43Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah. 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 her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah. 45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. 46Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives. 47But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.
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Jeremiah 48: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 48
48
The Destruction of Moab
1 #
Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10–12; Ezek 25.8–11; Amos 2.1–3; Zeph 2.8–11 This is what the LORD Almighty said about Moab:
“Pity the people of Nebo —
their town is destroyed!
Kiriathaim is captured,
its mighty fortress torn down,
and its people put to shame;
2the splendour of Moab is gone.
The enemy have captured Heshbon
and plot to destroy the nation of Moab.
The town of Madmen will be silenced;
armies will march against it.
3The people of Horonaim cry out,
‘Violence! Destruction!’
4“Moab has been destroyed;
listen to the children crying.
5Hear the sound of their sobs
along the road up to Luhith,
the cries of distress
on the way down to Horonaim.
6‘Quick, run for your lives!’ they say.
‘Run like a wild desert donkey!’
7“Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth,
but now even you will be conquered;
your god Chemosh will go into exile,
along with his princes and priests.
8Not a town will escape the destruction;
both valley and plain will be ruined.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
9Set up a tombstone for Moab;
it will soon be destroyed.
Its towns will be left in ruins,
and no one will live there again.”
10(Curse those who do not do the LORD's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)
The Cities of Moab are Destroyed
11The LORD said, “Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavour has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.
12“So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces. 13Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.
14“Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes,
brave soldiers tested in war?
15Moab and its cities are destroyed;
its finest young men have been slaughtered.
I am the king, the LORD Almighty,
and I have spoken.
16Moab's doom approaches;
its ruin is coming soon.
17“Mourn for that nation, you that live near by,
all of you that know its fame.
Say, ‘Its powerful rule has been broken;
its glory and might are no more.’
18You that live in Dibon,
come down from your place of honour
and sit on the ground in the dust;
Moab's destroyer is here
and has left its forts in ruins.
19You that live in Aroer,
stand by the road and wait;
ask those who are running away,
find out from them what has happened.
20‘Moab has fallen,’ they will answer,
‘weep for it; it is disgraced.
Announce along the River Arnon
that Moab is destroyed!’
21“Judgement has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon, 24Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgement has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near. 25Moab's might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Moab will be Humbled
26The LORD said, “Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh. 27Moab, remember how you jeered at the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.
28“You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine. 29Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves. 30I, the LORD, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last. 31And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres. 32I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed. 33Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the winepresses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.
34“The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,#48.34 Probable text Heshbon… cry out; Hebrew unclear. and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even the brook of Nimrim has dried up. 35I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the LORD, have spoken.
36“So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone. 37All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth. 38On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants. 39Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations jeer at it. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
No Escape for Moab
40The LORD has promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings, 41and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labour. 42Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me. 43Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. The LORD has spoken. 44Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because the LORD has set the time for Moab's destruction. 45Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames.#48.45 Heshbon, the city… flames; or the city of Heshbon, but it is in flames and the palace of King Sihon is burning. Fire has burnt up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab. 46Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshipped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.
47But in days to come the LORD will make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what the LORD has said will happen to Moab.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.