Jeremiah 48
48
Prophecies against Moab
1About Moab, # Gn 19:37; Nm 22:1; 24:17; 25:1; Dt 23:3; 34:5-6; Jdg 3:30; Rt 1:2; 2Sm 8:2; 1Kg 11:7; 2Kg 1:1; Is 15:1; Ezk 25:8-11; Am 2:1-2; Zph 2:8-9 this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo, # Nm 32:3; Jr 48:22 because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame; # Nm 32:37; Jr 48:23; Ezk 25:9 it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon: # Jr 48:34,45; 49:3
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, # A city in Moab you will be silenced;
the sword will pursue # Jr 29:18; Am 1:11 you.
3A voice cries out from Horonaim, # Is 15:5; Jr 48:34
“devastation and great disaster!” # Jr 51:54
4Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually, # Lit Luhith, weeping goes up with weeping
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction: # Is 15:5
6Flee! Save your lives! # Jr 51:6,45
Be like a juniper bush # Or like Aroer ; Is 17:2; Jr 48:19 # Is 41:19; Jr 17:6 in the wilderness.
7Because you trust in your works # LXX reads strongholds and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh # Nm 1:29; Jdg 11:24; 1Kg 11:7,33; 2Kg 23:13; Jr 48:13,45-47 will go into exile
with his priests and officials. # Jr 49:3
8The destroyer # Jr 6:26; 48:15,18,32 will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated, # Jos 13:9,17,21
as the Lord has said.
9Make Moab a salt marsh, # LXX reads a sign ; Vg reads a flower ; Syr, Tg read a crown # Jdg 9:45; Jr 17:6; Ezk 47:11; Zph 2:9
for she will run away; # Hb obscure
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant. # Jos 8:26; Is 5:9; 6:11; Jr 2:15; 4:29; 6:8; 33:10; 34:22; 44:2,22; 51:37; Zph 3:6
10The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully # Or negligently is cursed, # 1Kg 20:42
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs. # Ps 75:8; Zph 1:12
He hasn’t been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn’t changed.
12Therefore look, the days are coming # Jr 7:32; 16:14; 19:6; 23:7; 49:2; 51:47,52 —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel # 1Kg 12:28-33; 13:1-5; 2Kg 10:29; 23:15; Hs 410:15; Am 3:14; 4:4; 5:5-6 that they trusted in.
14How can you say, “We are warriors —
mighty men ready for battle”?
15The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up, # Or Moab is destroyed; he has come up against its city
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name. # Jr 46:18; 51:57
16Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say: How the mighty scepter # Ps 110:2; Ezk 19:11-12,14 is shattered,
the glorious staff!
18Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon, # Jos 13:8-9; Jr 46:19
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19Stand by the highway and look,
resident of Aroer! # Dt 2:36
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping: # 1Sm 4:13,16
What happened?
20Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out! # Is 14:31; Jr 25:34; 47:2; Ezk 21:12
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21“Judgment has come to the land of the plateau # Jos 13:17-19 — to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, 23Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon, # Jos 13:17 24Kerioth, # Jr 48:41; Am 2:2 Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. 25Moab’s horn is chopped off; # Ps 75:10; Lm 2:3; Am 3:14 his arm is shattered.” # Ps 10:15; 37:17; Jb 38:15; Ezk 30:21-24
This is the Lord’s declaration.
26“Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord. # Jr 48:42 Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. 27Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? # Gn 38: 23; Jb 12:4; Ps 44:14; Jr 20:7; 48:39; Lm 2:15-17; 3:14 Was he ever found among thieves? # Jr 2:26 For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.” # 2Kg 19:21; Jb 2:11; 16:4; 42:11; Ps 22:7; 64:8; 69:20; 109:25; Is 37:22; 51:19; Jr 15:5; 18:16; Lm 2:15; Nah 3:7
28Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave. # Is 2:19-21
29We have heard of Moab’s pride,
great pride, indeed —
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
with more than the weeping for Jazer.
Your tendrils have extended to the sea;
they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. # Some Hb mss read reached as far as Jazer
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy. # Is 16:7-10
34“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz # Is 15:4-6 — from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah — because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate. 35In Moab, I will stop” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods. # Jr 11:12-13; 18:15 36Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab, # Is 15:5 and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. 37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped; # Is 15:2-3; Jr 47:5 on every hand is a gash # Lv 19:28; 21:5; Jr 5:7; 41:5; 47:5 and sackcloth # Jr 4:8; 6:26; 49:3 around the waist. 38On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.” # Jr 22:28 This is the Lord’s declaration. 39“How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.” # Is 16:6-11; Zph 2:9-10
40For this is what the Lord says:
He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab. # Dt 28:49; Jr 49:22
41The towns have # Or Kerioth has been captured,
and the strongholds seized.
In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman with contractions. # Is 13:8; Jr 49:22
42Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord. # Jr 48:26
43Panic, # Jr 30:5; 49:5 pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
44He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment. # Jr 23:12
This is the Lord’s declaration. # Is 24:17-18
45Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow
because fire has come out from Heshbon
and a flame from within Sihon.
It will devour Moab’s forehead
and the skull of the noisemakers.
46Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity. # Nm 21:28-29
47Yet, I will restore the fortunes # Or will end the captivity of Moab in the last days. # Jr 49:6,39
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
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Jeremiah 48: HCSB
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 48
48
1This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Moab: Disaster is coming to the town of Nebo, because it will be destroyed. The town of Kiriathaim will be captured and humiliated; the fortress will be torn down and its people shamed. 2No one praises Moab anymore. People in Heshbon are plotting, “We will destroy Moab as a nation. People of the town of Madmen, we will silence you too—you will be attacked by swords and chased down.”
3Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!” 4Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help. 5People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
6Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert! 7It's because you put your confidence in what you do and what you own that you too will be captured. Your god Chemosh will be taken into exile along with his priests and leaders. 8The invaders will attack every town; not a single one will escape destruction. The valley will be ruined, and the plain will be destroyed, for the Lord has spoken.
9Put up gravestones in Moab,#48:9. This is one of the most problematic lines in Jeremiah. Other proposed translations include, “Put salt on the land of Moab,” “Give Moab wings so it can fly away,” “Give a flower to Moab,” etc. The Septuagint translates “Set marks upon Moab,” or “Place signs on Moab.” because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives. 10A curse on those who don't do the Lord's work properly. A curse on those who don't use their swords to kill. 11The people of Moab have been living comfortably since the country was founded. They're like wine that hasn't been disturbed, not poured from one container to another. So the taste and fragrance remains the same. They haven't experienced exile.
12But watch out, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will send them “winemakers” who will pour them out like wine. They will empty out the Moabites, and smash them like jars. 13Then the Moabites will feel let down by Chemosh, just as the people of Israel felt let down when they trusted in the golden calf idol at Bethel.#48:13. See 1 Kings 12.
14How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”? 15Moab is going to be destroyed and its towns conquered. Its finest young men will be killed, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty. 16Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
17Mourn for them, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows them! Let others know how the great scepter has been smashed, the rod that once proudly ruled!
18Come down from your glory and sit on the dusty ground, you who live in Dibon, for Moab's destroyer will come and attack you, destroying your fortresses. 19Stand at the roadside and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the men and women who are running away to escape, “What's happened?”
20Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed! 21Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord. 26Make the people of Moab drunk, because they defied the Lord. Then they will roll around in their own vomit, as people laugh at them.
27Didn't you Moabites used to ridicule the Israelites? But they weren't ever found to be thieves, were they? Yet whenever you talk about them, you shake your heads in contempt.
28You people living in Moab, run from your towns, go and live among the rocks. Be like a dove nesting on the cliffs at the entrance to a ravine.
29We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
30I'm well aware of how disrespectful they are, declares the Lord, but it doesn't matter. They make empty boasts, and what they do is just as empty.
31So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres. 32will weep for you, people of the town of Sibmah with its vineyards, more than I weep for the town of Jazer. Your vines have spread to the sea, and all the way to Jazer. But the destroyer has stolen your harvest of summer fruit and grapes. 33There's no more celebration and happiness in Moab's orchards and fields. I have stopped the grape juice flowing from the winepresses. No one shouts for joy as they tread out the grapes. No, their shouts now are not because of joy!
34Cries for help reach from Heshbon to Elealeh and all the way to Jahaz. They're shouting out from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the water in the Nimrim Brook has dried up.
35I'm going to finish off those in Moab who sacrifice on the pagan high places and burn incense to their gods, declares the Lord. 36So I mourn inside like a flute playing a sad song for Moab; like a flute playing a funeral tune for the people of Kir-heres, because they've lost everything of value that they worked for.
37As signs of their mourning,#48:37. “As signs of their mourning”: supplied for clarity. every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth. 38Everyone is mourning on all the flat roofs and streets of Moab, because I have smashed the country like a jar nobody wants, declares the Lord.
39Moab is completely shattered! Listen to them cry! See how the Moabites turn away in shame! All the surrounding nations are horrified at what's happened to the country, and ridicule its people.
40This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab. 41Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor. 42Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord. 44You will run away in terror and fall into a trap, and when you climb out of the trap, you'll be caught in a snare. I will do this to the Moabites at the time when they're punished, declares the Lord.
45Those who run away will be left defenseless in Heshbon where they went for protection, because fire blazes out from Heshbon, a fire from where Sihon once reigned. It burns up the whole country of Moab and its defiant people.#48:45. Literally, “It consumes the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.”
46What a disaster has come to you Moabites! The people of Chemosh have been wiped out. Your sons and daughters have been taken prisoner and have gone into exile.
47But even so, later on, I will bring the people of Moab back from exile, declares the Lord. This is the end of the description of the judgment on Moab.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com