Jeremiah 48
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 48[a]
Against Moab. 1 In regard to Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
How sad it is that Nebo has been laid waste;
Kiriathaim has been captured and put to shame.
The fortress has been disgraced and overthrown;
2 the glory of Moab no longer exists.
In Heshbon, they plot her downfall:
“Come, let us put an end to her as a nation.”
And you too, inhabitants of Madmen,
will be reduced to silence,
slain by the sword.
3 Cries of anguish rise up from Horonaim,
speaking of devastation and complete destruction.
4 Moab has been crushed;
the agonized cries of her little ones
can be heard as far away as Zoar.
5 On the ascent to Luhith
they climb weeping bitterly.
On the descent to Horonaim
the anguished cry of destruction is heard:
6 “Flee! Save your lives!
Survive like a wild ass in the desert!”
7 Because you placed your trust
in your strongholds and your treasures,
you also will be captured.
Chemosh will go into exile,
along with all his priests and attendants.
8 The destroyer will move against every town;
not a single town will escape.
The valley will be laid waste,
and the plain will be destroyed,
as the Lord has said.
9 Set aside salt for Moab,
for she will be laid waste;
her towns will be left in ruins,
without a single inhabitant.
10 Accursed are those who are negligent
in doing the work of the Lord,
and accursed also is the one
who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
11 From its earliest days
Moab has been undisturbed
and never has gone into exile.
It has been like wine settled on its lees
that has never been transferred
from one decanter to another.
Thus its flavor has remained unaltered,
and its aroma has stayed unchanged.
12 Therefore, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will send men to him
to tilt the jars.
They will empty the vessels
and smash the jars.
13 Moab will then be ashamed of Chemosh,
as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel[b]
in which they placed their trust.
14 How can you say, “We are heroes,
men who are valiant in battle”?
15 The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has launched an attack,
and the flower of its youth has been slaughtered,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The destruction of Moab is near at hand,
and its doom will come shortly.
17 Grieve, all you neighbors of Moab
and all who were familiar with its name.
Say, “How the mighty staff is broken,
the glorious scepter!”
18 Descend from your seat of glory
and sit on the parched ground,
you who dwell in Dibon.
For the ravager of Moab has advanced against you
and destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the roadside and watch,
you who dwell in Aroer.
Question the man fleeing and the woman escaping;
ask them, “What has happened?”
20 Moab has been destroyed and reduced to shame.
Wail and cry out, proclaim by the Arnon,
that Moab has been laid waste.
21 Judgment has come upon the plateau: upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 upon Kiriath, and Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
25 The horn of Moab has been cut off,
and her arm has been broken, says the Lord.
26 Make Moab drunk, because she has placed herself on an equal level with the Lord. Let Moab wallow in her vomit and become a laughingstock. 27 Israel was once a laughingstock for you, although she was never caught in the company of thieves. Yet each time you spoke about her, you would shake your head.
28 Leave your towns, O inhabitants of Moab,
and make your home among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
along the edge of a gorge.
29 [c]We have heard about the pride of Moab,
pride that exceeds all bounds:
her pride and her arrogance
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30 I am fully aware of her arrogance, says the Lord;
her boasts are false, her deeds are false.
31 Therefore, I wail over Moab;
I cry out in anguish for all of Moab;
I mourn for the men of Kir-heres.
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
O vineyard of Sibmah.
Your branches stretched beyond the sea,
reaching all the way to Jazer.
Upon your harvest and your vintage,
the despoiler has descended.
33 Gladness and joy have been removed
from the orchards of Moab.
I have stanched the flow of wine from the vats;
the joyful shouts of the treader of grapes
can no longer be heard.
34 Heshbon and Elealeh utter cries of anguish that can be heard as far away as Jahaz. The shrieks echo from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim have become a desert waste. 35 In Moab, I will bring to an end the practice of those who offer holocausts on the high places or burn incense to their gods, says the Lord.
36 That is the reason why my heart wails like a flute for Moab and laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres. The wealth that they accumulated has been lost. 37 Every head has been shaved, and every beard has been cut off. There are gashes on every hand, and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38 On all the housetops of Moab and in all its squares nothing is heard but cries of lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a piece of pottery that no one wants, says the Lord. 39 How terrified Moab is, and how loudly does it wail as it retreats in shame. Moab has become a laughingstock and a source of horror to all of its neighbors.
40 For thus says the Lord:
Behold, like an eagle I will swoop down
and spread my wings over Moab.
41 The towns will be captured
and the strongholds will be seized.
On that day, the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation,
for it established itself in opposition to the Lord.
43 Terror, the pit, and the snare await you,
O inhabitants of Moab, says the Lord.
44 Everyone who flees from the terror
will fall into the pit,
and everyone who climbs out of the pit
will be caught in the snare.
For I will bring all this upon Moab
in the year of her punishment, says the Lord.
45 In the shadow of Heshbon,
the fugitives stop in exhaustion.
For a fire has blazed forth from Heshbon,
and flames from the house of Sihon,
consuming the brow of Moab
and the skulls of the noisy revelers.[d]
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
You have been destroyed, O people of Chemosh.
For your sons have been led forth in exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 Even so, I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the days to come, says the Lord.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:1 This lengthy composition, marked by bitterness and irony, on the lot in store for Moab shows that Israel had long pondered its resentment against this neighbor, which had thrown itself on Israel like dogs unleashed against the game by the hunter (see 2 Ki 24:2).
- Jeremiah 48:13 Bethel: the sanctuary in the northern kingdom, erected in opposition to the temple in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 48:29 Moab, a pleasant and prosperous region, has now been devastated and weeps over its ruins. In this passage may be seen some parallels with chapters 15–16 of the Book of Isaiah.
- Jeremiah 48:45 The oracle recalls Sihon, the Amorite king defeated by Egypt in Moses’ time (Num 21:23-29); Heshbon had been his capital (Num 21:26).
Jeremiah 48
Revised Standard Version
Judgment on Moab
48 Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
Kiriatha′im is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned evil against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “Hark! a cry from Horona′im,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
a cry is heard as far as Zo′ar.[a]
5 For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;[b]
for at the descent of Horona′im
they have heard the cry[c] of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
Be like a wild ass[d] in the desert!
7 For, because you trusted in your strongholds[e] and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and Chemosh shall go forth into exile,
with his priests and his princes.
8 The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has settled on his lees;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall send to him tilters who will tilt him, and empty his vessels, and break his[f] jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand
and his affliction hastens apace.
17 Bemoan him, all you who are round about him,
and all who know his name;
say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 “Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the way and watch,
O inhabitant of Aro′er!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
wail and cry!
Tell it by the Arnon,
that Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Meph′a-ath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblatha′im, 23 and Kiriatha′im, and Beth-ga′mul, and Beth-me′on, 24 and Ker′i-oth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.
26 “Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord; so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
28 “Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, says the Lord;
his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of Kir-he′res I mourn.
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches passed over the sea,
reached as far as Jazer;[g]
upon your summer fruits and your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.
33 Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the wine presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 “Heshbon and Ele-a′leh cry out;[h] as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zo′ar to Horona′im and Eg′lath-shelish′iyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and burns incense to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-he′res; therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; upon all the hands are gashes, and on the loins is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, says the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are round about him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle,
and spread his wings against Moab;
41 the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of a woman in her pangs;
42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,
because he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
says the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For I will bring these things[i] upon Moab
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength;
for a fire has gone forth from Heshbon,
a flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
the crown of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh is undone;
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, says the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:4 Gk: Heb her little ones
- Jeremiah 48:5 Cn: Heb weeping goes up with weeping
- Jeremiah 48:5 Gk Compare Is 15.5: Heb the distress of the cry
- Jeremiah 48:6 Gk Aquila: Heb like Aroer
- Jeremiah 48:7 Gk: Heb works
- Jeremiah 48:12 Gk Aquila: Heb their
- Jeremiah 48:32 Cn: Heb the sea of Jazer
- Jeremiah 48:34 Cn: Heb From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh
- Jeremiah 48:44 Gk Syr: Heb to her
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.