Jeremiah 48
48
1 CONCERNING MOAB: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to [the city of] Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriathaim is put to shame and taken; Misgab [the high fortress] is put to shame, broken down, and crushed. [Isa. 15-16; 25:10-12; Ezek. 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8-11.]
2 The glory of Moab is no more; in Heshbon [a border town between Reuben and Gad, east of the Jordan River] they planned evil against her, saying, Come, let us cut her off from being a nation. You also, O [town of] Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you.
3 The sound of a cry from Horonaim, [a cry of] desolation and great destruction!
4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard [as far as Zoar].
5 For the ascent of Luhith will be climbed [by successive bands of fugitives] with continual weeping; for on the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
6 Flee! Save your lives! But they shall be like a destitute and forsaken person in the wilderness.
7 For because you have trusted in your works [your bungling idol images] and in your treasures [instead of in God], you shall also be taken. And Chemosh [your god] shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
8 And the destroyer shall come upon every city; no city shall escape. The [Jordan] valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be devastated, as the Lord has said.
9 Give wings to Moab, for [by that means only] she will flee and get away; her cities will be desolate, without any to dwell in them.
10 Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently [with slackness, deceitfully]; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood [in executing judgment pronounced by the Lord].
11 Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees [like wine] and has not been drawn off from one vessel to another, neither has he gone into exile. Therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent has not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall send to [Moab] tilters who shall tilt him up and shall empty his vessels and break his bottles (earthenware) in pieces.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh [his god], as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. [I Kings 12:28, 29.]
14 How can you say, We are heroes and mighty men in the war?
15 Moab has been made desolate, and his cities have gone up [in smoke and flame]; and his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter, says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The destruction of Moab is coming near, and his calamity hastens swiftly.
17 Bemoan him, all you [nations] who are around him, and all you [nations more remote] who know his name; say, How broken is the mighty scepter [of national power] and the splendid rod [of glory]!
18 Come down from your glory, you inhabitant of the Daughter of Dibon, and sit on the ground among the thirsty! For the destroyer of Moab is advancing against you; he will destroy your strongholds.
19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way and watch! Ask him who flees and her who escapes, What has happened?
20 Moab is put to shame, for she is broken down. Wail and cry out! Tell by [the banks of] the Arnon that Moab is laid waste (destroyed).
21 Judgment has come upon the land of the plain–upon Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 And upon Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And upon Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24 And upon Kerioth and Bozrah–and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25 The horn (strength) of Moab is cut off, and his arm [of authority] is shattered, says the Lord.
26 Make him drunk, for he has magnified himself against the Lord [by resisting Reuben's occupation of the land the Lord had assigned him]. Moab also shall splash in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. [Num. 22:1-7.]
27 For was not Israel [an object of] derision to you? Was he found among thieves–since whenever you speak of him you wag your head [in scorn]?
28 O you inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities and dwell among the rocks, and be like the dove that makes her nest in the walls of the yawning ravine.
29 We have heard of the [giddy] pride of Moab, the extremely proud one–his loftiness, his arrogance, his conceit, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolent wrath, says the Lord, and the nothingness of his boastings and his deeds; they are false and have accomplished nothing.
31 Therefore I will wail over Moab, and I will cry out over the whole of Moab. Over the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth) there will be sighing and mourning. [Isa. 15:1; 16:7, 11.]
32 O vines of Sibmah, I weep for you more than the weeping of Jazer [over its ruins and wasted vineyards]. Your tendrils [of influence] have gone over the sea, reaching even to Jazer. The destroyer has fallen upon your summer fruit harvest and your [season's] crop of grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful orchards and fields and from the land of Moab. And I have made the juice [of the grape] to fail from what is pressed out in the vats; no one treads [the grapes] with shouting. Their shouting is no shouting [of joy, but is a battle cry].
34 From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh even to Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah [like a three-year-old heifer], for even the waters of Nimrim have become desolations.
35 Moreover, I will cause to cease in Moab, says the Lord, the one who ascends and offers in the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.
36 Therefore My heart moans and sighs for Moab like flutes, and My heart moans and sighs like flutes for the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth); therefore [the remnant of] the abundant riches they gained has perished.
37 For every head is shaven bald and every beard cut off: upon all the hands are cuts (slashes) and upon the loins is sackcloth [all to express mourning]. [Isa. 15:2, 3.]
38 On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere, for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which there is no pleasure, says the Lord.
39 How it is broken down! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become [an object of] a derision and a [horrifying] terror to all who are round about him.
40 For thus says the Lord: Behold, he [Babylon] shall fly swiftly like an eagle and shall spread out his wings against Moab. [Ezek. 17:3.]
41 Kerioth [and the cities] shall be taken and the strongholds seized; and the hearts of the mighty warriors of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs [in childbirth].
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a nation, because he has magnified himself against the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare are before you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord. [Isa. 24:7.]
44 He who flees from the terror will fall into the pit, and he who gets up out of the pit will be taken and caught in the trap or snare; for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation (their inspection and infliction of punishment), says the Lord.
45 In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand powerless (stopped in their tracks, helpless and without strength), for a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the midst of Sihon; it has destroyed the corner of Moab and the crowns of the heads of the ones in tumult [the proud Moabites].
46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of [the god] Chemosh are undone; for your sons are taken away captive and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet will I reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
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Jeremiah 48: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Jeremiah 48
48
A Message About Moab
1Here is what the Lord says about Moab.
The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,
“How terrible it will be for the city of Nebo!
It will be destroyed.
Kiriathaim will be captured.
It will be put to shame.
Its fort will be broken down.
It will be put to shame.
2Moab will not be praised anymore.
In Heshbon people will plan its fall from power.
They will say, ‘Come. Let’s put an end to that nation.’
City of Madmen, you too will be silent.
My sword will hunt you down.
3Cries of sorrow come from Horonaim.
The town is being completely destroyed.
4Moab will be broken.
Her little ones will cry out.
5The people go up the hill to Luhith.
They are weeping bitterly as they go.
Loud cries are heard on the road down to Horonaim.
People cry out because the town is being destroyed.
6People of Moab, run away! Run for your lives!
Become like a lonely bush in the desert.
7You trust in the things you can do.
You trust in your riches.
So you too will be taken away as prisoners.
Your god named Chemosh will be carried away.
So will its priests and officials.
8The one who is going to destroy you
will come against every town.
Not even one of them will escape.
The valley and the high plain
will be destroyed.
The Lord has spoken.
9Sprinkle salt all over Moab.
It will be completely destroyed.
Its towns will be a dry and empty desert.
No one will live in them.
10“May anyone who is lazy when they do the Lord’s work
be under my curse!
May anyone who keeps their sword from killing
be under my curse!
11“Moab has been at peace and rest from its earliest days.
It is like wine that has not been shaken up.
It has not been poured from one jar to another.
Moab’s people have not been taken away from their land.
They are like wine that tastes as it always did.
Its smell has not changed at all.
12But other days are coming,” announces the Lord.
“At that time I will send people who pour wine from pitchers.
They will pour Moab out like wine.
They will empty its pitchers.
They will smash its jars.
13Then Moab’s people will be ashamed of their god named Chemosh.
They will be ashamed just as the people of Israel were
when they trusted in their false god at Bethel.
14“How can you say, ‘We are soldiers.
We are men who are brave in battle’?
15Moab will be destroyed.
Its enemies will march into its towns.
Its finest young men will die in battle,”
announces the King.
His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
16“The fall of Moab is near.
Its time of trouble will come quickly.
17All you who live around it, mourn for its people.
Be sad, you who know how famous Moab is.
Say, ‘Its powerful ruler’s scepter is broken!
His glorious scepter is smashed.’
18“Come down from your glorious city, you who live in Dibon.
Come and sit on the thirsty ground.
The one who destroys Moab
will come up and attack you.
Your enemies will destroy your cities
that have high walls around them.
19Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the men who are running away.
Ask the women who are escaping.
Ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab has been put to shame.
It has been destroyed.
Weep and cry out!
Tell everyone Moab has been destroyed.
Announce it by the Arnon River.
21The high plain has been judged.
So have Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath.
22Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim have been judged.
23So have Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon.
24Kerioth and Bozrah have also been judged.
And so have all the towns of Moab, far and near alike.
25Moab’s power is gone.
Its strength is broken,”
announces the Lord.
26“Moab’s people think they are better than I am.
So let their enemies make them drunk.
Let the people get sick and throw up.
Let them roll around in the mess they have made.
Let people laugh at them.
27Moab, you laughed at Israel, didn’t you?
Were Israel’s people caught among robbers?
Is that why you shake your head at them?
Is that why you make fun of them
every time you talk about them?
28Leave your towns,
you who live in Moab.
Go and live among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the entrance of a cave.
29“We have heard all about Moab’s pride.
We have heard how very proud they are.
They think they are so much better than others.
Their pride reaches deep down inside their hearts.
30I know how rude they are.
But it will not get them anywhere,” announces the Lord.
“Their bragging does not accomplish anything.
31So I weep over Moab.
I cry for all Moab’s people.
I groan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32I weep for you as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches used to spread out.
They went all the way down to the Dead Sea.
They reached as far as the sea of Jazer.
The one who destroys your country
has taken away your grapes and ripe fruit.
33Joy has left your orchards.
Gladness is gone from your fields.
I have stopped the flow of juice from your winepresses.
No one stomps on your grapes with shouts of joy.
There are shouts.
But they are not shouts of joy.
34“The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon.
It rises as far as Elealeh and Jahaz.
It rises from Zoar.
It goes all the way to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
Even the waters at Nimrim are dried up.
35In Moab people sacrifice offerings on the high places.
They burn incense to their gods.
But I will put an end to those people,”
announces the Lord.
36“Like a flute my heart sings a song of sadness for Moab.
It sings like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they had acquired is gone.
37Every head is shaved.
Every beard is cut off.
Every hand is cut.
And every waist is covered with the clothes of sadness.
38Weeping is the only sound in Moab.
It is heard on all its roofs.
It is heard in the market.
I have broken Moab
like a jar that no one wants,”
announces the Lord.
39“How broken Moab is! How the people weep!
They turn away from others
because they are so ashamed.
All those around them laugh at them.
They are shocked at them.”
40The Lord says,
“Look! Nebuchadnezzar is like an eagle diving down.
He is spreading his wings over Moab.
41Kerioth will be captured.
Its forts will be taken.
At that time the hearts of Moab’s soldiers will tremble in fear.
They will be like the heart of a woman having a baby.
42Moab will be destroyed as a nation.
That is because its people thought
they were better than the Lord.
43You people of Moab,”
announces the Lord,
“terror, a pit and a trap are waiting for you.
44Anyone who runs away from the terror
will fall into the pit.
Anyone who climbs out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
The time is coming
when I will punish Moab,”
announces the Lord.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
those who are trying to escape stand helpless.
A fire has blazed out from Heshbon.
Flames have come out from Sihon’s city.
It burns the foreheads of Moab’s people.
It burns the skulls of those who brag loudly.
46How terrible it will be for you, Moab!
Those who worship Chemosh are destroyed.
Your sons are being taken to another country.
Your daughters are taken away as prisoners.
47“But in days to come
I will bless Moab with great success again,”
announces the Lord.
This ends the report about how the Lord would judge Moab.
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