Jeremia 48 | New International Version

A message about Moab

1 Concerning Moab: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold* will be disgraced and shattered. 2 Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon* people will plot her downfall: “Come, let us put an end to that nation.” You, the people of Madmen,* will also be silenced; the sword will pursue you. 3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction. 4 Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out.* 5 They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard. 6 Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush* in the desert. 7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. 8 The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because the Lord has spoken. 9 Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste*; 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 from bloodshed! 11 ‘Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, 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 of Chemosh, as Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel. 14 ‘How can you say, “We are warriors, men valiant in battle”? 15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,’ declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty. 16 ‘The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly. 17 Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, “How broken is the mighty sceptre, how broken the glorious staff!” 18 ‘Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon, for the one who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities. 19 Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, “What has happened?” 20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed. 21 Judgment has come to 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; her arm is broken,’ declares the Lord. 26 ‘Make her drunk, for she has defied the Lord. Let Moab wallow in her vomit; let her be an object of ridicule. 27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule? Was she caught among thieves, that you shake your head in scorn whenever you speak of her? 28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks, you who live in Moab. Be like a dove that makes its nest at the mouth of a cave. 29 ‘We have heard of Moab’s pride – how great is her arrogance! – of her insolence, her pride, her conceit and the haughtiness of her heart. 30 I know her insolence but it is futile,’ declares the Lord, ‘and her boasts accomplish nothing. 31 Therefore I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out, I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth. 32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps, you vines of Sibmah. Your branches spread as far as the sea*; they reached as far as* 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 from the presses; no-one treads them with shouts of joy. Although there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy. 34 ‘The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up. 35 In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods,’ declares the Lord. 36 ‘So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone. 37 Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth. 38 On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning, for I have broken Moab like a jar that no-one wants,’ declares the Lord. 39 ‘How shattered she is! How they wail! How Moab turns her back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her.’ 40 This is what the Lord says: ‘Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. 41 Kerioth* will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labour. 42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord. 43 Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab,’ declares the Lord. 44 ‘Whoever flees 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 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; it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters. 46 Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed; your sons are taken into exile and your daughters into captivity. 47 ‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come,’ declares the Lord. Here ends the judgment on Moab.

English Standard Version

Judgment on Moab

1 Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriathaim 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 disaster 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 “A voice! A cry from Horonaim, ‘Desolation and great destruction!’ 4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have made a cry. 5 For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping;* for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distressed cry* of destruction. 6 Flee! Save yourselves! You will be like a juniper in the desert! 7 For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go into exile with his priests and his officials. 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 dregs; 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, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his* 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, declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction hastens swiftly. 17 Grieve for him, all you who are around 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 Aroer! 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 beside the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste. 21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, 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, declares 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, declares 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-hareseth I mourn. 32 More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached to the Sea of Jazer; on your summer fruits and your grapes 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 winepresses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy. 34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings 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-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished. 37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist 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, declares 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 around 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 birth pains; 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! declares 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 upon Moab, the year of their punishment, declares the Lord. 45 “In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stop without strength, for fire came out from Heshbon, 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 are 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, declares the Lord.” Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Jeremia 48 | New International Version English Standard Version

A message about Moab

Judgment on Moab