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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An historical text 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.