Jeremiah 48
Legacy Standard Bible
Word Against Moab
48 Concerning (A)Moab. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Woe to (B)Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
(C)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and [a]shattered.
2 There is praise for Moab no longer;
In (D)Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, [b]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
3 The sound of an outcry from (E)Horonaim,
‘[c]Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is broken;
Her little ones have made their cry of distress heard.
5 For by the ascent of (F)Luhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6 (G)Flee, escape with your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7 For because of your (H)trust in your own works and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And (I)Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
8 A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will perish,
And the (J)plateau will be destroyed,
As Yahweh has said.
9 Give [d](K)wings to Moab,
For she will [e]flee away;
And her cities will become a (L)desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 (M)Cursed be the one who does the work of Yahweh (N)with a slack hand,
And cursed be the one who restrains his (O)sword from blood.
11 “Moab has been (P)at ease since his youth;
He has also had (Q)quiet, like wine on [f]its dregs,
And he has not been (R)emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore [g]he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter [h]his jars. 13 And Moab will be (S)ashamed of (T)Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of (U)Bethel, their trust.
14 How can you say, ‘We are (V)mighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
15 Moab has been destroyed, and [i]men have gone up to [j]his cities;
His choicest [k](W)young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the (X)King, whose name is Yahweh of hosts.
16 “The disaster of Moab will (Y)soon come,
And his calamity has quickly hastened.
17 Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the strong [l](Z)scepter been broken,
A staff of beauty!’
18 (AA)Come down from your glory
And inhabit [m]the parched ground,
O inhabitant of the (AB)daughter of (AC)Dibon;
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and keep watch,
O inhabitant of (AD)Aroer;
(AE)Ask him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab has been put to shame, for it has been [n]shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the (AF)Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.
21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, upon (AG)Jahzah, and against (AH)Mephaath, 22 and against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and (AI)Beth-meon, 24 and against (AJ)Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The (AK)horn of Moab has been cut in pieces and his (AL)arm broken,” declares Yahweh. 26 “(AM)Make him drunk, for he has (AN)magnified himself against Yahweh; so Moab will [o]wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a (AO)laughingstock to you? Or was he [p](AP)caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you (AQ)shake your head in scorn.
28 Leave the cities and dwell among the (AR)crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a (AS)dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29 (AT)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his (AU)pride, his arrogance, and the exaltedness of his heart.
30 I know his (AV)fury,” declares Yahweh,
“But it is nothing;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 Therefore I will (AW)wail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
[q]I will moan for the men of (AX)Kir-heres.
32 More than the (AY)weeping for (AZ)Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
33 So (BA)gladness and joy are gathered up
From the fruitful orchard, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to (BB)cease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34 (BC)From the outcry at Heshbon even to (BD)Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have given forth their voice, from (BE)Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make Moab cease,” declares Yahweh, “the one who offers offerings on the (BF)high place and the one who (BG)offers offerings in smoke to his gods.
36 “Therefore My (BH)heart moans for Moab like flutes; My heart also moans like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have (BI)lost the abundance it produced. 37 For (BJ)every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and (BK)sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the (BL)rooftops of Moab and in its open squares [r]there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable (BM)vessel,” declares Yahweh. 39 “How [s]shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an (BN)object of terror to all around him.”
40 For thus says Yahweh:
“Behold, one will (BO)swoop like an eagle
And (BP)spread out his wings against Moab.
41 Kerioth has been captured,
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the (BQ)hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a (BR)woman in labor.
42 Moab will be (BS)destroyed from being a people
Because he has (BT)magnified himself against Yahweh.
43 (BU)Panic and pit and pitfall are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares Yahweh.
44 “The one who (BV)flees from the panic
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the pitfall;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their (BW)punishment,” declares Yahweh.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
Those who flee stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a (BX)flame from the midst of (BY)Sihon,
And it has devoured the (BZ)top of the head of Moab
And the scalps of [t]those who rumble.
46 (CA)Woe to you, Moab!
The people of (CB)Chemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will [u](CC)return the [v]fortunes of Moab
In the last days,” declares Yahweh.
Thus far the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:1 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:2 A city of Moab
- Jeremiah 48:3 Or destruction, cf. 48:1
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or salt
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or fall in ruins
- Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his
- Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his flavor has stayed in him
- Jeremiah 48:12 Lit their
- Jeremiah 48:15 Lit one has
- Jeremiah 48:15 Lit her
- Jeremiah 48:15 Warriors
- Jeremiah 48:17 Or rod
- Jeremiah 48:18 Lit in thirst
- Jeremiah 48:20 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:26 Or splash into
- Jeremiah 48:27 Or found
- Jeremiah 48:31 Or He
- Jeremiah 48:38 Lit all of it is lamentation
- Jeremiah 48:39 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:45 Lit sons of tumult
- Jeremiah 48:47 Or restore
- Jeremiah 48:47 Or captivity
Jeremiah 48
New Living Translation
A Message about Moab
48 This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo;
it will soon lie in ruins.
The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured;
the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.
2 No one will ever brag about Moab again,
for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her.
‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’
The town of Madmen,[a] too, will be silenced;
the sword will follow you there.
3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim,
cries of devastation and great destruction.
4 All Moab is destroyed.
Her little ones will cry out.[b]
5 Her refugees weep bitterly,
climbing the slope to Luhith.
They cry out in terror,
descending the slope to Horonaim.
6 Flee for your lives!
Hide[c] in the wilderness!
7 Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill,
you will be taken captive.
Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials,
will be hauled off to distant lands!
8 “All the towns will be destroyed,
and no one will escape—
either on the plateaus or in the valleys,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 Oh, that Moab had wings
so she could fly away,[d]
for her towns will be left empty,
with no one living in them.
10 Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work,
who hold back their swords from shedding blood!
11 “From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace,
never going into exile.
He is like wine that has been allowed to settle.
He has not been poured from flask to flask,
and he is now fragrant and smooth.
12 But the time is coming soon,” says the Lord,
“when I will send men to pour him from his jar.
They will pour him out,
then shatter the jar!
13 At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh,
as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.[e]
14 “You used to boast, ‘We are heroes,
mighty men of war.’
15 But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed.
His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,”
says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16 “Destruction is coming fast for Moab;
calamity threatens ominously.
17 You friends of Moab,
weep for him and cry!
See how the strong scepter is broken,
how the beautiful staff is shattered!
18 “Come down from your glory
and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon,
for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too.
They will tear down all your towers.
19 You people of Aroer,
stand beside the road and watch.
Shout to those who flee from Moab,
‘What has happened there?’
20 “And the reply comes back,
‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River:
Moab has been destroyed!’
21 Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—
on Holon and Jahaz[f] and Mephaath,
22 on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23 on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24 on Kerioth and Bozrah—
all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 “The strength of Moab has ended.
His arm has been broken,” says the Lord.
26 “Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard,
for he has rebelled against the Lord.
Moab will wallow in his own vomit,
ridiculed by all.
27 Did you not ridicule the people of Israel?
Were they caught in the company of thieves
that you should despise them as you do?
28 “You people of Moab,
flee from your towns and live in the caves.
Hide like doves that nest
in the clefts of the rocks.
29 We have all heard of the pride of Moab,
for his pride is very great.
We know of his lofty pride,
his arrogance, and his haughty heart.
30 I know about his insolence,”
says the Lord,
“but his boasts are empty—
as empty as his deeds.
31 So now I wail for Moab;
yes, I will mourn for Moab.
My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.[g]
32 “You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards,
I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer.
Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea,[h]
but the destroyer has stripped you bare!
He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.
33 Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab.
The presses yield no wine.
No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy.
There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.
34 “Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.
35 “I will put an end to Moab,” says the Lord, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. 36 My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. 37 The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. 38 There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. 39 How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,
spreading his wings over Moab.
41 Its cities will fall,
and its strongholds will be seized.
Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish
like a woman in labor.
42 Moab will no longer be a nation,
for it has boasted against the Lord.
43 “Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
O Moab,” says the Lord.
44 “Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will step into a snare.
I will see to it that you do not get away,
for the time of your judgment has come,”
says the Lord.
45 “The people flee as far as Heshbon
but are unable to go on.
For a fire comes from Heshbon,
King Sihon’s ancient home,
to devour the entire land
with all its rebellious people.
46 “What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!
The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed!
Your sons and your daughters
have been taken away as captives.
47 But I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
This is the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Moab.
Footnotes
- 48:2 Madmen sounds like the Hebrew word for “silence”; it should not be confused with the English word madmen.
- 48:4 Greek version reads Her cries are heard as far away as Zoar.
- 48:6 Or Hide like a wild donkey; or Hide like a juniper shrub; or Be like [the town of] Aroer. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 48:9 Or Put salt on Moab, / for she will be laid waste.
- 48:13 Hebrew ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
- 48:21 Hebrew Jahzah, a variant spelling of Jahaz.
- 48:31 Hebrew Kir-heres, a variant spelling of Kir-hareseth; also in 48:36.
- 48:32 Hebrew the sea of Jazer.
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