Old/New Testament
48 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say about Moab.
Next is Moab, a familiar enemy of Israel. Despite Jeremiah’s warning they will answer for their trust in themselves, their material wealth, and their god Chemosh.
Eternal One: Woe to the city of Nebo, for she is in ruins.
So, too, will Kiriathaim be put to shame when she is captured.
The proud fortress of Moab will be humbled and shattered into pieces.
2 No one will praise you, Moab—that time has gone.
Instead, in places like Heshbon, men are planning your destruction.
“Come,” they will say, “and let us finish off that nation.”
Indeed, the town of Madmen will be silenced,
for war will surely find you.
3 Do you hear the voice from Horonaim—
the cries rising up from the ruins and desolation?
4 Moab is broken,
and her little ones cry in desperation.
5 The defeated make their way up Luhith, crying bitterly as they go;
as they descend to Horonaim, they hear the anguished cries of destruction.
6 Run for your lives! Save yourselves!
Live in the desert like a juniper bush, alone and forsaken.
7 You depended on your own works and your own wealth,
and now you will be humbled and taken captive.
Your so-called god, Chemosh, will go with you into exile
along with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer is coming to each of your towns; none of them will escape.
The valley will be ruined;
The plateau will be destroyed
because I, the Eternal One, have spoken.
9 Give Moab wings so she can fly away.
Her cities will be a wasteland with no one living in them.
10 A curse on any who do not finish the work I, the Eternal One, have given you! A curse on anyone who holds back his sword and refuses to shed blood.
11 Moab has been at rest since his early days—
like wine that is carefully left to age,
Not poured from jar to jar,
not going from nation to nation in exile.
And so his flavor has remained; his aroma has not faded.
12 But all of that will change. Look, in the coming days, I, the Eternal One, declare that I will send those who will upend him, stirring him up and pouring him out until his jars have nothing left. They will empty his jars and smash the empty jugs.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of his powerless god, Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were ashamed of Bethel when they trusted in their false gods.
14 Eternal One: How can you still boast,
“We are mighty warriors, brave in battle?”
15 Because Moab is destroyed;
invaders have laid waste his towns.
His best young men have gone down to slaughter.
So say I, the King whose name is the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
16 The fall of Moab is at hand;
his disaster is coming quickly.
17 Grieve for him, you neighbors of Moab,
all who know his name.
Say, “Look how his mighty scepter is broken,
how the splendor of his staff is gone!”
18 You people of Dibon, come down from your glory on the hills
and sit on the dry, dusty ground and wait,
For the same one who destroyed Moab
is coming against you and will tear down your strongholds as well.
19 Stand by the road and watch closely,
you people of Aroer.
Call out to the refugees running from Moab.
Ask them what happened!
20 And they will answer: “Moab has been humiliated and crushed.
Weep for him, and cry out.
Go down to the Arnon River and
proclaim that Moab has been destroyed.”
21 Judgment has come to the cities of the plain: 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 cities of Moab, far and near, judgment has come.
Eternal One: 25 The symbols of his strength are gone; the horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm broken.
26 Make Moab drink deeply from this cup until he is drunk, for he has exalted himself above the Eternal. Make him drink until he wallows in his own vomit; then he will be ridiculed by all who see him. 27 Did you not ridicule Israel? Was he guilty of a crime? Was he caught among thieves? Is that why you, Moab, shake your head in contempt every time you speak of him?
28 Eternal One: Run from your towns and live in the wilderness,
you citizens of Moab;
Hide among the rocks
like doves who nest among the cliffs.
29 We have all heard about the pride of Moab—
so vain and so smug.
We have all heard about her pride and arrogance
and her overconfident heart.
30 I, too, know of the arrogant outbursts, but they are pointless;
empty boasts accomplish nothing.
31 This is why I will mourn for Moab; for all her people, I will cry aloud;
for the men of Kir-heres, I will moan.
32 You who tend the prolific vineyards in Sibmah,
I will cry for you more than I did for Jazer.
Your vines once spread as far as the sea, as far as the sea of Jazer.
But now the destroyer has spoiled your summer harvest and sweet grapes.
33 The joy of the harvest is gone from Moab’s orchards and vineyards.
For I have stopped the flow of wine; no one treads the grapes.
The land is full of shouting, but they are not shouts of joy.
34 The anguish of their cries rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will dry up.
Eternal One: 35 I will put an end to idol worship in Moab, to those who make offerings on shrines in high places and burn incense to so-called gods.
36 Like the somber sound of a flute, my heart mourns for Moab. My heart mourns for the men of Kir-heres, for everything they had is gone.
37 For every head is shaved, and every beard is cut short;
every hand is cut, and every waist is wrapped in sackcloth.
38 Eternal One: On every rooftop in Moab and on every street corner,
there is nothing but mourning
Because I have smashed Moab like a jar that no one wants.
39 How broken he is! How the people wail!
How the once-proud Moab turns away in shame!
See how Moab has become a laughingstock
and a horror to all his neighbors.
40 Eternal One: Look in the distance: an eagle will swoop down
and spread his wings over Moab, his prey.
41 The cities will be captured and the strongholds seized.
On that day the heart of Moab’s warriors
Will be like the heart of a woman in labor—helpless and vulnerable.
42 The nation of Moab will be no more
because he dares to defy the Eternal.
43 Terror and traps and snares lie ahead, O citizens of Moab.
44 Eternal One: If you run from the terror, you will fall into a pit.
If you climb out of the pit, you will be caught in a trap.
There is no escape, for I will bring these disasters against Moab;
the year of their judgment has come at last.
45 Run if you will, but in Heshbon’s shadow the refugees are helpless.
Look! A fire rages from Heshbon; destroying flames leap from Sihon;
They consume the northern regions of Moab
and destroy his clamoring rebels.
46 Woe to you, O Moab! Worshipers of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are sent away, your daughters taken captive.
47 But even so, in latter times the day will come
when I will restore the fortunes of Moab.
This is the end of Jeremiah’s oracle of judgment against Moab.
49 Now concerning the Ammonites. This is what the Eternal has to say:
Long is the history between Ammon and Israel, and many are the conflicts between them. In Jeremiah’s day, Ammonite raiders have taken land originally meant for Israel, specifically the tribe of Gad. Along with other nations, the Ammonites have conspired against Babylon. After the fall of Jerusalem, the king of Ammon hires the assassin, Ishmael, to kill Gedaliah at a pivotal moment in the relationship between Judah and Babylon. Time and again, this proud nation defies the God of Israel and His people. They put their trust in their god, Malcam, and they find security in the mountainous region where they live.
Eternal One: Does Israel have no sons?
Is there no one to inherit the land I gave her?
Is that why Ammon’s god, Malcam, has taken the land of Gad?
Why would his people be living in her cities?
2 I, the Eternal, tell you the days are coming
when you will hear the shout of war raised against Rabbah, Ammon’s capital.
On that day it will be reduced to a pile of ruins,
and the villages surrounding the city will be burned.
Then Israel will take back what was taken from her.
3 Weep, O Heshbon, for the town of Ai is destroyed!
Cry out, O citizens of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth and mourn your losses.
Run back and forth inside your city walls
Because your so-called god, Malcam, will be carried into exile
along with his priests and officials.
4 You boast of your abundant valleys, you faithless daughter,
but they are fading away.
You trusted in your own wealth and thought,
“Who could ever attack me?”
5 Watch! I will surround you with terror.
I, the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies, declare this.
You will be driven out of the land in single file,
with no one to keep your exiles together.
6 But after this, there will come a day
when I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.
So says the Eternal.
Like the relationship between Esau and Isaac—the twin ancestors from whom Edom and Israel descend—relations are often stormy between these two peoples. It is no secret that the Edomites hate the Israelites and often rejoice in their troubles. But it is pride that ultimately is Edom’s undoing, for they cannot imagine any enemy penetrating their mountain fortresses. They, too, are part of the council of nations that consider standing against Babylon (Jeremiah 27). As always, Jeremiah instructs that such resistance is an affront to the God of Israel who is using Babylon to accomplish His purposes in history.
7 Here now is the oracle concerning Edom, the descendants of Esau, spoken by the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
Eternal One: What happened to the wise men of Teman?
Has their insight failed them?
Has their wisdom merely vanished into thin air?
8 You who live in Dedan,
run and hide deep in the caves,
For I will bring a disaster on Esau’s descendants
when I come to punish him.
9 When workers harvest the grapes,
do they not leave some on the vine for those who are poor?
Even when thieves enter your home in the middle of the night,
do they not destroy and steal only what they need?
10 But I will treat Esau’s descendants differently:
I will strip them bare, exposing their secret places—no place to hide.
Their children, their families, and even their neighbors will die,
and this nation will be no more.
11 Leave your orphans to Me, for I will protect them.
Leave your widows as well, for they can trust Me.
12 This is what I, the Eternal, have to say: “If the innocent must drink of this cup of wrath, why do you think you should escape punishment? You will not escape, for you will surely drink from this cup! 13 I swear by My own name, the Eternal, that Bozrah, Edom’s capital, will become a wasteland, an object of horror, of scorn and cursing; Edom’s towns will forever lie in ruins.”
14 I have heard a message from the Eternal.
An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Assemble your troops to attack Edom!
Rise up, and prepare for battle!”
15 Eternal One (to Edom): Look! I will humiliate you among the nations,
make you small and insignificant, despised by all.
16 The terror you inspire in others
and your ingrained arrogance have deceived you!
You think you are safe in your mountain hideaways;
you hold the high ground above your enemies.
You may build your fortress as high as an eagle’s nest,
but I can still bring you down from there.
17 Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by and see what I have done will shudder and gasp at all of his wounds. 18 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and all their neighbors were destroyed, never to rise again, I, the Eternal One, declare that no one will live there; no one will dare to make Edom their home. 19 Like a lion that suddenly emerges from the dense undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack a flock feeding in the lush pasture, so in an instant I will arrive and chase the people of Edom from their land. Then I will put in place a leader of My choosing. For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?
20 That is why you must hear the plan that the Eternal has for Edom, and what He intends to do to those who live in the city of Teman.
Eternal One: The little ones will be dragged away from the flock.
All will scatter when their pasture is left desolate.
21 The sound of Edom’s fall will cause the earth to shake.
Their anguished cry will echo to the Red Sea.[a]
22 Look, an eagle is rising, spreading its wings!
Soon it will swoop down and attack Bozrah.
On that day, the heart of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor—helpless and vulnerable.
Damascus has long been at odds with Israel and Judah, and she controls caravan routes in the region. But she must also submit to the sovereign power of the Eternal.
23 Here now is an oracle concerning Damascus.
Eternal One: The towns of Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
for they have heard bad news: doom is coming!
They are distressed, troubled, and unsettled like the swirling sea.
24 Damascus is weak and helpless; she has turned and run away.
Panic grips her heart;
Torment and pain have grabbed her
like a woman giving birth.
Citizens of Damascus: 25 Why is this glorious city—this city that gives us so much joy—not already deserted?
26 Eternal One: Her young men will fall in the streets,
and her warriors will fall silent on that day.
So says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
27 Eternal One: I will set fire to the walls of Damascus,
a fire that will spread and burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28 Here is an oracle from the Eternal concerning Kedar and the nomadic tribes of Arabia known as the kingdoms of Hazor, all defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Eternal One: Rise up and attack Kedar.
Destroy the tribes of the east.
29 They will take away their tents and their flocks,
their curtains, their camels, and all their possessions.
They will shout to one another,
“Terror is everywhere we turn!”
30 Run away quickly while there is time!
Hide deep in the earth, people of Hazor.
For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has schemed against you.
He has a plan for your defeat.
31 So I tell you to rise up and attack this complacent nation,
which assumes it is secure—
A nation without walls or gates
that lives alone in the desert.
32 Their camels and livestock will be the spoils of war.
I will scatter to the wind these people who cut the corners of their hair
And surround them with disaster on every side,
so I, the Eternal, declare.
33 Hazor will become a haunt for jackals,
a place of desolation for all time.
Certainly no one will live there ever again.
No one will make it his home.
34 Here is an oracle concerning Elam. The word of the Eternal came to the prophet Jeremiah early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. 35 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies has to say:
Eternal One: I will break the bows of Elam’s archers—the very best of their military might. 36 I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven to blow against Elam. I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where her exiles will not go. 37 I will shatter Elam right in front of her enemies, before those who want her dead. I will bring disaster upon these people, for My violent anger burns against them. I will pursue them in war until they are no more. 38 I will destroy her wicked king and officials and set the king I want on the throne over Elam. 39 But even so, in the latter times, the day will come when I will restore the fortunes of Elam.
So says the Eternal.
7 In the Book of Genesis, we read about when Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from defeating King Chedorlaomer and his allies. Melchizedek blessed our ancestor, and 2 Abraham gave him a tenth of everything captured in the battle.[a]
Let’s look more closely at Melchizedek. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; and his title, king of Salem, means “king of peace.” 3 The Scriptures don’t name his mother or father or descendants, and they don’t record his birth or his death. We could say he’s like the Son of God: eternal, a priest forever.
4 And just imagine how great this man was, that even our great and honorable patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils. 5 Compare him to the priests who serve in our temple, the descendants of Levi, who were given a commandment in the law of Moses to collect one-tenth of the income of the tribes of Israel. The priests took that tithe from their own people, even though they were also descended from Abraham. 6 But this man, Melchizedek, who did not belong to that Levite ancestry, collected a tenth part of Abraham’s income; and although Abraham had received the promises, it was Melchizedek who blessed Abraham. 7 Now I don’t have to tell you that it is the lesser one who receives a blessing from the greater. 8 In the case of the priests descended from Levi, they are mortal men who receive a tithe of one-tenth; but the Scriptures record no death of Melchizedek, the one who received Abraham’s tithe. 9 I guess you could even say that Levi, who receives our tithes, originally paid tithes through Abraham 10 because he was still unborn and only a part of his ancestor when Abraham met Melchizedek.
So Melchizedek must be considered superior even to the patriarch Abraham.
11 If a perfect method of reconciling with God—a perfect priesthood—had been found in the sons of Levi (a priesthood that communicated God’s law to the people), then why would the Scriptures speak of another priest, a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, instead of, say, from the order of Aaron? What would be the need for it? It would reflect a new way of relating to God 12 because when there is a change in the priesthood there must be a corresponding change in the law as well. 13 We’re talking about someone who comes from another tribe, from which no member has ever served at God’s altar. 14 It’s clear that Jesus, our Lord, descended from the tribe of Judah; but Moses never spoke about priests from that tribe. 15 Doesn’t it seem obvious? Jesus is a priest who resembles Melchizedek in so many ways; 16 He is someone who has become a priest, not because of some requirement about human lineage, but because of the power of a life without end. 17 Remember, the psalmist says,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.[b]
18 Because the earlier commandment was weak and did not reconcile us to God effectively, it was set aside— 19 after all, the law could not make anyone or anything perfect. God has now introduced a new and better hope, through which we may draw near to Him, 20 and confirmed it by swearing to it. 21 The Levite order of priests took office without an oath, but this man Jesus became a priest through God’s oath:
The Eternal One has sworn an oath
and cannot change His mind:
You are a priest forever.[c]
22 So we can see that Jesus has become the guarantee of a new and better covenant. 23 Further, the prior priesthood of the sons of Levi has included many priests because death cut short their service, 24 but Jesus holds His priesthood permanently because He lives His resurrected life forever. 25 From such a vantage, He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God.
26 It is only fitting that we should have a High Priest who is devoted to God, blameless, pure, compassionate toward but separate from sinners, and exalted by God to the highest place of honor. 27 Unlike other high priests, He does not first need to make atonement every day for His own sins, and only then for His people’s, because He already made atonement, reconciling us with God once and forever when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. 28 The law made imperfect men high priests; but after that law was given, God swore an oath that made His perfected Son a high priest for all time.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.