Jeremiah 48
Christian Standard Bible
Prophecies against Moab
48 About Moab,(A) this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo,(B) because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame;(C) it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2 There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:(D)
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will follow(E) you.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim,(F)
“devastation and a crushing blow!” (G)
4 Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5 For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually,[a]
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:(H)
6 Flee! Save your lives!(I)
Be like a juniper bush[b](J) in the wilderness.
7 Because you trust in your works and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh(K) will go into exile
with his priests and officials.(L)
8 The destroyer(M) will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated,(N)
as the Lord has said.
9 Make Moab a salt marsh,[c](O)
for she will run away;[d]
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant.(P)
10 The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully[e] is cursed,(Q)
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11 Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs.(R)
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.
12 Therefore look, the days are coming(S)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will send pourers to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13 Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel(T) that they trusted in.
14 How can you say, “We are warriors—
valiant men for battle”?
15 The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up,[f]
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
the Lord of Armies is his name.(U)
16 Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17 Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say, “How the mighty scepter(V) is shattered,
the glorious staff!”
18 Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,(W)
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19 Stand by the highway and watch,
resident of Aroer!(X)
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping,(Y)
“What happened?”
20 Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!(Z)
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21 “Judgment has come to the land of the plateau(AA)—to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,(AB) 24 Kerioth,(AC) Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. 25 Moab’s horn is chopped off;(AD) his arm is shattered.”(AE)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
26 “Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(AF) Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. 27 Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?(AG) Was he ever found among thieves?(AH) For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”(AI)
28 Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave.(AJ)
29 We have heard of Moab’s pride,
great pride, indeed—
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30 I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31 Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 I 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.[g]
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33 Gladness 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.(AK)
34 “There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz(AL)—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate. 35 In 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.(AM) 36 Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab,(AN) and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. 37 Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short.(AO) On every hand is a gash(AP) and sackcloth(AQ) around the waist. 38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.”(AR) 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.”(AS)
40 For this is what the Lord says:
Look! He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.(AT)
41 The towns have[h] 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.(AU)
42 Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(AV)
43 Panic,(AW) pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
44 He 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.(AX)
This is the Lord’s declaration.(AY)
45 Those 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.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity.(AZ)
47 Yet, I will restore the fortunes[i] of Moab in the last days.(BA)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
Footnotes
- 48:5 Lit Luhith, weeping goes up with weeping
- 48:6 Or like Aroer; Is 17:2; Jr 48:19
- 48:9 LXX reads a sign; Vg reads a flower; Syr, Tg read a crown
- 48:9 Hb obscure
- 48:10 Or negligently
- 48:15 Or Moab is destroyed; he has come up against its cities
- 48:32 Some Hb mss read reached as far as Jazer
- 48:41 Or Kerioth has
- 48:47 Or will end the captivity
Jeremiah 48
Common English Bible
Prophecy against Moab
48 Concerning Moab:
The Lord of heavenly forces,
the God of Israel, proclaims:
How awful for Nebo;
it lies in ruins.
Kirathaim is captured and shamed;
the fortress is disgraced,
reduced to rubble.
2 No one sings Moab’s praise any longer!
In Heshbon they are hatching
a plot against her:
“Come, let’s bring down the nation!”
You too, Madmen, will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Listen to the cries for help from Horonaim:
“Destruction and massive devastation!”
4 Moab is shattered;
its young cry for help.
5 On the way up to Luhith,
there is uncontrollable weeping.
On the way down to Horonaim,
they hear sobs of anguish.
6 Run for your lives!
Be like Aroer[a] in the desert.
7 Because you have relied
on your own strength and treasures,
you also will be captured.
Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will sweep through every town;
no town will escape.
The valleys will be ravaged;
the plateaus will be destroyed,
because the Lord has declared it so.
9 Give wings to Moab,
and it would fly away[b]
because its towns lie in ruins,
with no one left in them.
10 Cursed is the one who is halfhearted
in doing the Lord’s work.
Cursed is the one who restrains
the sword from bloodshed.
11 From early on Moab has been at ease,
like wine[c] left to settle on its sediment.
It hasn’t been poured into jars;
nor has Moab been taken into exile.
Therefore, its taste is still pleasant,
and its aroma is the same.
12 But the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will send to him someone to spill it—to pour out his wine and to smash his jars. 13 And Moab will be put to shame on account of Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were put to shame on account of Bethel, in which they trusted.[d]
14 How can you claim,
“We’re soldiers; we’re war heroes”?
15 Moab is doomed;
its towns will surrender;[e]
its elite forces will go down in defeat,
declares the king whose name is the Lord of heavenly forces.
16 Moab’s destruction is near;
its downfall approaches rapidly.
17 Grieve for this nation,
you neighbors of Moab,
all you who know his name.
Proclaim how its mighty scepter
and magnificent staff are shattered!
18 Come down from your lofty place
and sit in the dust,[f]
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon;[g]
because Moab’s destroyer
has arrived to level your fortresses.
19 Stand by the roads and watch,
you inhabitants of Aroer.
Ask the men who flee
and the women who run off,
“What’s happened?”
20 Moab is shamed and shocked;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the Arnon River:
Moab’s been destroyed!
21 Judgment has come to the towns of the plateau—
to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 to Kerioth and Bozrah,
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn is cut off;
its arm is broken,
declares the Lord.
26 Get Moab drunk,
because it has exalted itself above the Lord.
Moab will collapse in its vomit
and become the butt of every joke.
27 Wasn’t Israel the butt of your jokes?
Didn’t you shake your head
as if they were thieves
caught in the act?
28 Leave your towns, head for the cliffs,
you people of Moab.
Hide like a dove
that nests in the mouth of a cave.
29 We have heard of Moab’s pride:
arrogant, puffed up, exalted,
high and mighty, boastful!
30 I myself know about its arrogance,
declares the Lord,
the idle talk, the empty deeds.
31 But I’ll still wail for Moab;
I’ll cry out for all Moab;
I’ll[h] sob for the people of Kir-heres.
32 I’ll weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
more than I would for Jazer.
Though your branches extended to the sea
and reached the coast of Jazer,
now the destroyer has come
to harvest your grapes and summer fruits.
33 Joy and gladness have been taken
from the orchards and farms of Moab.
I have stopped making wine in the presses.
No one shouts with joy
while treading the grapes.
Though there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy![i]
34 Screams are heard from Heshbon
to Elealeh and Jahaz;
their cries resound from Zoar
to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah.
Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 I’ll put an end to Moab,
declares the Lord,
for making offerings on the shrines,
and worshipping their gods.
36 Therefore, my heart wails for Moab
like a mournful[j] flute that plays the dirge;
my heart wails for the people of Kir-heres,
like a mournful flute.
Their abundance is now gone.
37 Every head is shaved,
every beard is cut off,
every hand is slashed,
and everyone wears mourning clothes.
38 On every housetop of Moab
and in all its streets,
there’s nothing but mourning.
I have shattered Moab
like a pottery vessel no one wants,
declares the Lord.
39 How it’s shattered! Go wail!
How Moab turns away!
What shame!
Moab has become the butt of every joke,
horrific to all its neighbors.
40 The Lord proclaims:
Look! One who soars like an eagle
and spreads its wings over Moab.
41 The towns will be captured;
the strongholds will be seized.
On that day, the heart of every soldier from Moab
will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed once and for all
because it has exalted itself above the Lord.
43 Terror, traps, and trackers[k]
are upon you, people of Moab,
declares the Lord.
44 Those who flee from terror
will fall into a pit;
those who escape the pit
will be captured by the trap.
I will bring upon Moab
the year of its punishment,
declares the Lord.
45 In Heshbon tired refugees seek shelter.
But fire is raging in Heshbon,
flames from the house[l] of Sihon.
It has burned up part of Moab,
including the leader of this rebellious nation.[m]
46 How terrible for you, Moab;
the people of Chemosh have perished.
Your sons have been carried off;
your daughters have been taken captive.
47 But in the days to come
I’ll bring back Moab from captivity,
declares the Lord.
Such is the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:6 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 48:9 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 48:11 Heb lacks like wine.
- Jeremiah 48:13 Or And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh just as the people of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
- Jeremiah 48:15 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 48:18 Or thirst
- Jeremiah 48:18 Heb uncertain, or residing Daughter Dibon
- Jeremiah 48:31 Or He
- Jeremiah 48:33 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 48:36 Heb lacks mournful.
- Jeremiah 48:43 Or terror, pit, and trap
- Jeremiah 48:45 Heb manuscripts; MT from among
- Jeremiah 48:45 Heb uncertain
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