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.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Jeremiah 48
48
A Message About Moab
1This message is about the country of Moab. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says:#48:1 This message … says See Isa. 15 for a similar message.
“It will be bad for Mount Nebo.#48:1 Mount Nebo A mountain in Moab, a country east of Israel.
Mount Nebo will be ruined.
The town of Kiriathaim will be humbled.
It will be captured.
The strong place will be humbled.
It will be shattered.
2Moab will not be praised again.
Men in Heshbon will plan Moab’s defeat.
They will say, ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
Madmenah, you will also be silenced.
The sword will chase you.
3Listen to the cries from Horonaim.
They are cries of much confusion and destruction.
4Moab will be destroyed.
Her little children will cry for help.
5Moab’s people go up the path to Luhith.
They are crying bitterly as they go.
On the road down to the town of Horonaim,
cries of pain and suffering can be heard.
6Run away! Run for your lives!
Run away like a weed#48:6 weed In Hebrew this word is like the name “Aroer,” an important city in Moab. blowing through the desert.
7“You trust in the things you made and in your wealth,
so you will be captured.
The god Chemosh will be taken into captivity,
and his priests and officials will be taken with him.
8The Destroyer will come against every town.
Not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined.
The high plain will be destroyed.
The Lord said this would happen,
so it will happen.
9Spread salt over the fields in Moab.
The country will be an empty desert.#48:9 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Moab’s towns will become empty.
No one will live in them.
10Bad things will happen to those who
don’t obey the Lord and don’t use their swords to kill those people.
11“Moab has never known trouble.
Moab is like wine left to settle.
Moab has never been poured from one jar to another.
He has not been taken into captivity.
So he tastes as he did before,
and his smell has not changed.”
12This is what the Lord says:
“But I will soon send men
to pour you from your jars.#48:12 jars This probably means the cities in Moab.
Then they will empty the jars
and smash them to pieces.”
13Then the people of Moab will be ashamed of their false god, Chemosh. They will be like the people of Israel who trusted that god in Bethel#48:13 in Bethel This means the temple that King Jeroboam built in the town of Bethel (see 1 Kings 12:28-33). It is not clear if this means the people still worshiped the Lord there, but in a wrong way, or if they worshiped a false god, perhaps the Canaanite god El or Baal. but were ashamed when he did not help them.
14“You cannot say, ‘We are good soldiers.
We are brave men in battle.’
15The enemy will attack Moab.
The enemy will enter its towns and destroy them.
Its best young men will be killed in the slaughter.”
This message is from the King.
The King’s name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16“The end of Moab is near.
Moab will soon be destroyed.
17All you who live around Moab should cry for that country.
You know how famous Moab is.
So cry for it.
Say, ‘The ruler’s power is broken.
Moab’s power and glory are gone.’
18“You people living in Dibon,#48:18 Dibon A city in the country of Moab.
come down from your place of honor.
Sit on the ground in the dust,
because the Destroyer is coming.
And he will destroy your strong cities.
19“You people living in Aroer,
stand next to the road and watch.
See the man running away.
See that woman running away.
Ask them what happened.
20“Moab will be ruined and filled with shame.
Moab will cry and cry.
Announce at the Arnon River#48:20 Arnon River An important river in Moab.
that Moab is destroyed.
21People on the high plain have been punished.
Judgment has come to the towns of Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath.
22Judgment has come to the towns
of Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim.
23Judgment has come to the towns
of Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon.
24Judgment has come to the towns
of Kerioth and Bozrah.
Judgment has come to all the towns
of Moab, far and near.
25Moab’s strength has been cut off.
Its arm has been broken.”
This is what the Lord said.
26“The people of Moab thought they were greater than the Lord.
So punish them until they act like a drunk,
falling and rolling around in his vomit.
Then people will make fun of them.
27“Moab, you made fun of Israel.
Israel was caught by a gang of thieves.
Every time you spoke about Israel,
you shook your head and acted as if you were better than Israel.
28People in Moab, leave your towns.
Go live among the rocks;
be like a dove that makes its nest
at the opening of a cave.”
29“We have heard about Moab’s pride.
He was very proud.
He thought he was important.
He was always bragging.
He was very, very proud.”
30The Lord says, “I know Moab gets angry quickly and brags about himself,
but his boasts are lies.
He cannot do what he says.
31So I cry for Moab.
I cry for everyone in Moab.
I cry for the men from Kir Hareseth.
32I cry with the people of Jazer for Jazer.
Sibmah, in the past your vines spread all the way to the sea.
They reached as far as the town of Jazer.
But the Destroyer has taken your fruit and grapes.
33Joy and happiness are gone from the large vineyards of Moab.
I stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses.
There is no singing and dancing from people walking on the grapes to make wine.
There are no shouts of joy.
34“The people of the towns of Heshbon and Elealeh are crying. Their cry is heard even as far away as the town of Jahaz. Their cry is heard from the town of Zoar, as far away as the towns of Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up. 35I will stop Moab from making burnt offerings on the high places. I will stop them from making sacrifices to their gods.” This is what the Lord said.
36“I am very sad for Moab. My heart cries like the sad sound of a flute playing a funeral song. I am sad for the people from Kir Hareseth. Their money and riches have all been taken away. 37Everyone has a shaved head. Everyone’s beard is cut off. Everyone’s hands are cut and bleeding.#48:37 Everyone … cut and bleeding The people did these things to show their sadness for people who had died. Everyone is wearing sackcloth around their waists. 38People are crying for the dead everywhere in Moab—on every housetop and in every public square. There is sadness because I have broken Moab like an empty jar.” This is what the Lord said.
39“Moab is shattered. The people are crying. Moab surrendered. Now Moab is ashamed. People make fun of Moab, but what happened fills them with fear.”
40The Lord says, “Look! An eagle is diving down from the sky.
It is spreading its wings over Moab.
41The towns of Moab will be captured.
The strong hiding places will be defeated.
At that time Moab’s soldiers will be filled with fear,
like a woman giving birth.
42The nation of Moab will be destroyed,
because they thought that they were more important than the Lord.”
43This is what the Lord says:
“People of Moab, fear, deep holes, and traps#48:43 fear, deep holes, and traps This is a wordplay in Hebrew. The Hebrew words are “Pahad, Pahat, and Pah.” wait for you.
44People will be afraid and run away,
and they will fall into the deep holes.
Anyone who climbs out of the deep holes
will be caught in the traps.
I will bring the year of punishment to Moab.”
This is what the Lord said.
45“People have run from the powerful enemy.
They ran to safety in the town of Heshbon.
But a fire started in Heshbon.
That fire started in Sihon’s town,#48:45 Sihon’s town This was Heshbon. See Num. 21:25-30.
and it is destroying the leaders of Moab.
It is destroying those proud people.
46It will be bad for you, Moab.
Chemosh’s people are being destroyed.
Your sons and daughters are being taken away
as prisoners and captives.
47Moab’s people will be taken away as captives.
But in days to come, I will bring them back.”
This message is from the Lord.
This ends the judgment on Moab.
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