Font Size
Jeremiah 48
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jeremiah 48
GOD’S WORD Translation
A Prophecy against Moab
48 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Moab:
How horrible it will be for Nebo; it will be destroyed.
Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be captured.
Its stronghold will be put to shame and torn down.
2 People will no longer praise Moab.
The people in Heshbon will plan Moab’s destruction.
“Let’s destroy that nation!”
You will be silenced, city of Madmen.
Death will come after you.
3 People will cry out from Horonaim, “Looting and great destruction!”
4 Moab will be broken.
Its little ones will cry out.
5 People go up the pass of Luhith, crying bitterly as they go.
On the road down to Horonaim they have heard
the distressful cry of destruction.
6 “Run away! Run for your lives!
Run like a wild donkey in the desert.”
7 Since you trust the things you do and your treasures,
you will be captured.
Chemosh will go into captivity with all its priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will come to every city, and no city will escape.
The valley will be destroyed, and the plain will be laid waste
as the Lord has threatened.
9 Put salt on Moab.
It will be destroyed.
Its cities will become deserted ruins.
10 Cursed are those who neglect doing the Lord’s work.
Cursed are those who keep their swords from killing.
11 “Moab has lived securely ever since it was young.
Its people are like wine left to settle in a jar.
They aren’t poured from one jar to another.
They haven’t gone into captivity.
That is why its flavor has remained the same,
and its aroma hasn’t changed.
12 That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will send people to pour Moab out of its jars
and to smash its pitchers.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh
as the nation of Israel was ashamed when it trusted Bethel.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are soldiers and warriors’?
15 The enemy will attack Moab and destroy its cities.
Its finest young men will be slaughtered,”
declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
16 “Moab’s destruction is coming near; disaster is coming quickly.
17 Mourn over it, all of its neighbors and everyone who knows its fame.
Say, ‘Look at the strong staff, the beautiful rod, that is broken!’
18 “People of Dibon, come down from your place of honor
and sit on the dry ground.
The destroyers of Moab will attack you.
They will destroy your fortresses.
19 Stand by the road in Aroer, and watch.
Ask those who are fleeing
and those who are escaping what is happening.
20 They will answer, ‘Moab is disgraced; it is defeated.
Shout loudly, and cry.
Tell the news in Arnon that Moab is destroyed.’
21 “Judgment has come to all the cities on the plain: to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, Beth Meon, 24 Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the cities of Moab, far and near.
25 “Moab’s horn is cut off, and its arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Get the people of Moab drunk; they have spoken against the Lord.
They will wallow in their own vomit, and people will laugh at them.
27 People of Moab, didn’t you laugh at the people of Israel?
Were they caught among thieves?
Whenever you talk about them you shake your heads in contempt.
28 People of Moab, abandon your cities.
Live among the cliffs.
Be like doves that make their nests at the entrance of a cave.
29 “We have heard about the arrogance of Moab’s people.
They are very arrogant.
They are very arrogant, conceited, and boastful.
30 I know how arrogant they are,” declares the Lord,
“but it isn’t right.
They brag and don’t do what they say.
31 That is why I will weep for Moab and cry for all of Moab.
I will moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32 I will cry for you as Jazer cries.
I will cry for you, grapevines of Sibmah.
Your branches ⌞once⌟ spread as far as the sea,
and they reached as far as the sea of Jazer.
The destroyer will destroy your ripened fruits and your grapes.
33 Joy and gladness have disappeared from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I will stop the wine flowing from the winepresses.
No one will stomp on grapes with shouts of joy.
There will be shouts, but not shouts of joy.
34 “The cry will be heard from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz. It will be heard from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even the streams of Nimrim will dry up. 35 I will stop those in Moab who come to worship sites, those who bring offerings to their gods,” declares the Lord. 36 “That is why I moan for Moab like a flute. I sound like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they gained has disappeared.
37 “Every head is shaved, and every beard is cut off. There are gashes on every hand and sackcloth on every waist. 38 People in Moab will mourn on every rooftop and in every street. There will be mourning everywhere, because I will break Moab like a jar that no one wants,” declares the Lord. 39 “They will cry, ‘Look how Moab is defeated! Moab turns away in shame!’ Moab has become something ridiculed and something held in contempt by everyone around it.
40 “This is what the Lord says:
The enemy will swoop down like eagles and spread their wings over Moab.
41 The cities will be taken, and the fortified places will be captured.
On that day Moab’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation,
because it spoke against the Lord.
43 Disasters, pits, and traps are in store for those who live in Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees from a disaster will fall into a pit.
Whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap.
I will bring a year of punishment to Moab,” declares the Lord.
45 “Those who flee will stand exhausted in the shadow of Heshbon.
A fire will come out of Heshbon and a flame from Sihon.
It will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab
and the skulls of those noisy people.
46 How horrible it will be for you, Moab.
You people of Chemosh will die.
Your sons will be taken away into exile,
and your daughters will be taken away into captivity.
47 But I will restore Moab in the last days,” declares the Lord.
The judgment against Moab ends here.
Jeremiah 48
New International Version
Jeremiah 48
New International Version
A Message About Moab(A)
48 Concerning Moab:(B)
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe to Nebo,(C) for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim(D) will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold[a] will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praised(E) no more;
in Heshbon[b](F) people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’(G)
You, the people of Madmen,[c] will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(H)
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.[d]
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,(I)
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim(J)
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee!(K) Run for your lives;
become like a bush[e] in the desert.(L)
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,(M)
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh(N) will go into exile,(O)
together with his priests and officials.(P)
8 The destroyer(Q) will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau(R) destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt(S) on Moab,
for she will be laid waste[f];(T)
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword(U) from bloodshed!(V)
11 “Moab has been at rest(W) from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,(X)
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed(Y) of Chemosh,(Z)
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.(AA)
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,(AB)
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men(AC) will go down in the slaughter,(AD)”
declares the King,(AE) whose name is the Lord Almighty.(AF)
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;(AG)
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;(AH)
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,(AI)
how broken the glorious staff!’
18 “Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,(AJ)
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,(AK)
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.(AL)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.(AM)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail(AN) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon(AO)
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau(AP)—
to Holon,(AQ) Jahzah(AR) and Mephaath,(AS)
22 to Dibon,(AT) Nebo(AU) and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim,(AV) Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,(AW)
24 to Kerioth(AX) and Bozrah(AY)—
to all the towns(AZ) of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[g](BA) is cut off;
her arm(BB) is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make her drunk,(BC)
for she has defied(BD) the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;(BE)
let her be an object of ridicule.(BF)
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?(BG)
Was she caught among thieves,(BH)
that you shake your head(BI) in scorn(BJ)
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove(BK) that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.(BL)
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride(BM)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness(BN) of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts(BO) accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail(BP) over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.(BQ)
32 I weep for you, as Jazer(BR) weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.(BS)
Your branches spread as far as the sea[h];
they reached as far as[i] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine(BT) from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.(BU)
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon(BV) to Elealeh(BW) and Jahaz,(BX)
from Zoar(BY) as far as Horonaim(BZ) and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.(CA)
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places(CB)
and burn incense(CC) to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments(CD) for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.(CE)
The wealth they acquired(CF) is gone.
37 Every head is shaved(CG)
and every beard(CH) cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.(CI)
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares(CJ)
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar(CK) that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered(CL) she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,(CM)
an object of horror to all those around her.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is swooping(CN) down,
spreading its wings(CO) over Moab.
41 Kerioth[j](CP) will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors(CQ)
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(CR)
42 Moab will be destroyed(CS) as a nation(CT)
because she defied(CU) the Lord.
43 Terror(CV) and pit and snare(CW) await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees(CX) from the terror
will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
the year(CY) of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;(CZ)
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls(DA) of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!(DB)
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore(DC) the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
- Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
- Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
- Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
- Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
- Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
- Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
- Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.