Jeremias (Jeremiah) 48
48
1Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath trembled.
2There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.
3A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.
4Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry for her little ones.
5For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.
6Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.
7For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.
8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. And the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed: for the Lord hath spoken.
9Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be desolate and uninhabited.
10Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
11Moab hath been fruitful from his youth and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity. Therefore his taste hath remained in him and his scent is not changed.
12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles: and they shall cast him down: and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.
13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
14How do you say: We are valiant, and stout men in battle?
15Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities, and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.
17Comfort him, all you that are round about him. And all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
18Come down from thy glory and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
19Stand in the way and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth and say to him that hath escaped: What is done?
20Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown. Howl ye and cry: tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted.
21And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon and upon Jasa and upon Mephaath.
22And upon Dibon and upon Nabo and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23And upon Cariathaim and upon Bethgamul and upon Bethmaon,
24And upon Carioth and upon Bosra 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 him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27For Israel hath been a derision unto thee: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.
28Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.
29We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness and his arrogancy and his pride and the loftiness of his heart.
30I know, saith the Lord, his boasting and that the strength thereof is not according to it: neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.
31Therefore will I lament for Moab and I will cry out to all Moab for the men of the brick wall that mourn.
32O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea. They are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy vintage.
33Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.
34From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old. The waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.
35And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places and that sacrificeth to his gods.
36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes: and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall. Because he hath done more than he could, therefore they have perished.
37For every head shall be bald and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together and upon every back there shall be haircloth.
38Upon all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.
39How is it overthrown and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck and is confounded! And Moab shall be a derision and an example to all round about him.
40Thus saith the Lord: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle and shall stretch forth his wings to Moab.
41Carioth is taken and the strongholds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
42And Moab shall cease to be a people: because he hath gloried against the Lord.
43Fear and the pit and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
44He that shall flee from the fear shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
45They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Kesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seon, and it shall devour part of Moab and the crown of the head of the children of tumult.
46Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast perished, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.
47And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 48: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 48
48
What the Lord Says about Moab
1 #
Is 15.1—16.14; 25.10-12; Ez 25.8-11; Am 2.1-3; Zep 2.8-11. The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab:
The town of Nebo is doomed;
Kiriathaim will be captured
and disgraced,
and even its fortress
will be left in ruins.
2No one honors you, Moab.
In Heshbon, enemies make plans
to end your life.
My sword will leave only silence
in your town named “Quiet.”#48.2 silence … Quiet: In Hebrew the name of the town was “Madmen,” which sounds like the word for “silence.”
3The people of Horonaim
will cry for help,
as their town is attacked
and destroyed.
4Moab will be shattered!
Your children will sob
5and cry on their way up
to the town of Luhith;
on the road to Horonaim
they will tell of disasters.
6Run for your lives!
Head into the desert
like a wild donkey.#48.6 like a wild donkey: One ancient translation; Hebrew “like (the town of) Aroer” (see verse 19).
7You thought you could be saved
by your power and wealth,
but you will be captured
along with your god Chemosh,
his priests, and officials.
8Not one of your towns
will escape destruction.
I have told your enemies,
“Wipe out the valley
and the flatlands of Moab.
9Spread salt on the ground
to kill the crops.#48.9 Spread salt … crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Leave its towns in ruins,
with no one living there.
10I want you to kill the Moabites,
and if you let them escape,
I will put a curse on you.”
11Moab, you are like wine
left to settle undisturbed,
never poured from jar to jar.
And so, your nation continues
to prosper and improve.#48.11 continues … improve: Or “remains as evil as ever.”
12But now, I will send enemies
to pour out the wine
and smash the jars!
13Then you will be ashamed,
because your god Chemosh
cannot save you,
just as Bethel#48.13 Bethel: It may refer to the Phoenician or Canaanite god of that name; or it may refer to the town where people of the northern kingdom worshiped at a local shrine (see 1 Kings 12.26-30). could not help
the Israelites.
14You claim that your soldiers
are strong and brave.
15But I am the Lord,
the all-powerful King,
and I promise that enemies
will overpower your towns.
Even your best warriors
will die in the battle.
16It won't be long now—
disaster will hit Moab!
17I will order the nearby nations
to mourn for you and say,
“Isn't it sad? Moab ruled others,
but now its glorious power
has been shattered.”
18People in the town of Dibon,#48.18 Dibon: The capital city of Moab.
you will be honored no more,
so have a seat in the dust.
Your walls will be torn down
when the enemies attack.
19You people of Aroer,#48.19 Aroer: A Moabite town located just north of the Arnon River.
go wait beside the road,
and when refugees run by,
ask them, “What happened?”
20They will answer,
“Moab has been defeated!
Weep with us in shame.
Tell everyone at the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed.”
21I will punish every town
that belongs to Moab,
but especially Holon,
Jahzah, Mephaath,
22Dibon, Nebo,
Beth-Diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim,
Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,
24Kerioth, and Bozrah.#48.24 Bozrah: Not the same Bozrah as in 49.13.
25My decision is final—
your army will be crushed,
and your power broken.
26People of Moab, you claim
to be stronger than I am.
Now I will tell other nations
to make you drunk
and to laugh while you collapse
in your own vomit.
27You made fun of my people
and treated them like criminals
caught in the act.
28Now you must leave your towns
and live like doves
in the shelter of cliffs
and canyons.
29I know about your pride,
and how you strut and boast.
30But I also know bragging
will never save you.
31So I will cry and mourn
for Moab
and its town of Kir-Heres.
32People of Sibmah,
you were like a vineyard
heavy with grapes,
and with branches reaching
north to the town of Jazer
and west to the Dead Sea.#48.32 reaching north … Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
But you have been destroyed,
and so I will weep for you,
as the people of Jazer weep
for the vineyards.
33Harvest celebrations are gone
from the orchards and farms
of Moab.
I have silenced the shouts
of people making wine.
34Weeping from Heshbon
can be heard as far
as Elealeh and Jahaz;
cries from Zoar are heard
in Horonaim
and Eglath-Shelishiyah.
And Nimrim Creek has run dry.
35I will get rid of anyone
who burns incense
to the gods of Moab
or offers sacrifices
at their shrines.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
36In my heart I moan for Moab,
like a funeral song
played on a flute.
I mourn for the people
of the town of Kir-Heres,
because their wealth is gone.
* 37-38The people of Moab
mourn on the rooftops
and in the streets.
Men cut off their beards,
people shave their heads;
they make cuts on their hands
and wear sackcloth.#48.37,38 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
And it's all because I, the Lord,
have shattered Moab like a jar
that no one wants.
39Moab lies broken!
Listen to its people cry
as they turn away in shame.
Other nations are horrified
at what happened,
but still they mock her.
40Moab, an enemy swoops down
like an eagle spreading its wings
over your land.
41Your cities#48.41 Your cities: Or “Kerioth.” and fortresses
will be captured,
and your warriors as fearful
as women giving birth.#48.41 as fearful … birth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
42You are finished as a nation,
because you dared oppose me,
the Lord.
43Terror, pits, and traps
are waiting for you.
44If you are terrified and run,
you will fall into a pit;
and if you crawl out of the pit,
you'll get caught in a trap.
The time has come
for you to be punished.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
45Near the city of Heshbon,
where Sihon once ruled,
tired refugees stand in shadows
cast by the flames
of their burning city.
Soon, the towns on other hilltops,
where those warlike people live,
will also go up in smoke.
46People of Moab, you worshiped
Chemosh, your god,
but now you are done for,
and your children are prisoners
in a foreign country.
47Yet someday, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
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