Jeremiah 48
1 Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Moab: Disaster is coming to the town of Nebo, because it will be destroyed. The town of Kiriathaim will be captured and humiliated; the fortress will be torn down and its people shamed.
2 Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from [being] a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee.
No one praises Moab anymore. People in Heshbon are plotting, “We will destroy Moab as a nation. People of the town of Madmen, we will silence you too—you will be attacked by swords and chased down.”
3 A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction!
Listen to the cries from Horonaim: “Violence and terrible destruction!”
4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
Moab will be smashed. Hear the little ones crying for help.
5 For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction.
People weep as they go up to Luhith; and as they come down to Horonaim their sad cries at the destruction echo around.
6 Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness.
Run away! Save yourselves! Be like a scrawny tamarisk tree in the desert!
7 For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
It's because you put your confidence in what you do and what you own that you too will be captured. Your god Chemosh will be taken into exile along with his priests and leaders.
8 And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.
The invaders will attack every town; not a single one will escape destruction. The valley will be ruined, and the plain will be destroyed, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant.
Put up gravestones in Moab, because the country will become a wasteland. Its towns will be turned into ruins where no one lives.
10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!
A curse on those who don't do the Lord's work properly. A curse on those who don't use their swords to kill.
11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
The people of Moab have been living comfortably since the country was founded. They're like wine that hasn't been disturbed, not poured from one container to another. So the taste and fragrance remains the same. They haven't experienced exile.
12 Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons.
But watch out, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will send them “winemakers” who will pour them out like wine. They will empty out the Moabites, and smash them like jars.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
Then the Moabites will feel let down by Chemosh, just as the people of Israel felt let down when they trusted in the golden calf idol at Bethel.
14 How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?
How on earth can you Moabites say, “We're heroes, strong men ready to fight in battle”?
15 Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up [in smoke], and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
Moab is going to be destroyed and its towns conquered. Its finest young men will be killed, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
Moab's doom is about to happen; destruction is rushing down on them.
17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
Mourn for them, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows them! Let others know how the great scepter has been smashed, the rod that once proudly ruled!
18 Come down from [thy] glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed.
Come down from your glory and sit on the dusty ground, you who live in Dibon, for Moab's destroyer will come and attack you, destroying your fortresses.
19 Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done?
Stand at the roadside and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the men and women who are running away to escape, “What's happened?”
20 Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
Moab has been humiliated because it has been defeated. Weep and wail! Shout out beside the River Arnon that Moab has been destroyed!
21 And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath;
Punishment has arrived on the towns of the high plain—on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim;
on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon;
on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
on Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the towns of Moab, whether far away or nearby.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
Moab's strength is gone; their power has been broken, declares the Lord.
26 Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
Make the people of Moab drunk, because they defied the Lord. Then they will roll around in their own vomit, as people laugh at them.
27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head?
Didn't you Moabites used to ridicule the Israelites? But they weren't ever found to be thieves, were they? Yet whenever you talk about them, you shake your heads in contempt.
28 Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth.
You people living in Moab, run from your towns, go and live among the rocks. Be like a dove nesting on the cliffs at the entrance to a ravine.
29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, — [he is] very proud; — his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
We know all about how pompous Moabites are, how extremely proud and conceited they are, arrogantly thinking so highly of themselves.
30 I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as [they say].
I'm well aware of how disrespectful they are, declares the Lord, but it doesn't matter. They make empty boasts, and what they do is just as empty.
31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning.
So I will weep for Moab; I will cry out for all the Moabites; I will mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
will weep for you, people of the town of Sibmah with its vineyards, more than I weep for the town of Jazer. Your vines have spread to the sea, and all the way to Jazer. But the destroyer has stolen your harvest of summer fruit and grapes.
33 And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
There's no more celebration and happiness in Moab's orchards and fields. I have stopped the grape juice flowing from the winepresses. No one shouts for joy as they tread out the grapes. No, their shouts now are not because of joy!
34 Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, [unto] Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations.
Cries for help reach from Heshbon to Elealeh and all the way to Jahaz. They're shouting out from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the water in the Nimrim Brook has dried up.
35 And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
I'm going to finish off those in Moab who sacrifice on the pagan high places and burn incense to their gods, declares the Lord.
36 Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
So I mourn inside like a flute playing a sad song for Moab; like a flute playing a funeral tune for the people of Kir-heres, because they've lost everything of value that they worked for.
37 For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
As signs of their mourning, every head is shaved, every beard is trimmed, every hand has a gash, and every waist is wearing sackcloth.
38 It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah.
Everyone is mourning on all the flat roofs and streets of Moab, because I have smashed the country like a jar nobody wants, declares the Lord.
39 They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.
Moab is completely shattered! Listen to them cry! See how the Moabites turn away in shame! All the surrounding nations are horrified at what's happened to the country, and ridicule its people.
40 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab.
This is what the Lord says: Watch as an enemy like an eagle swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Moab.
41 Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Kirioth has been conquered, and the fortresses captured. At that time Moab's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.
Moab will cease to exist as a nation because they defied the Lord.
43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
You people living in Moab, what's waiting for you are terror, traps, and snares, declares the Lord.
44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
You will run away in terror and fall into a trap, and when you climb out of the trap, you'll be caught in a snare. I will do this to the Moabites at the time when they're punished, declares the Lord.
45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult.
Those who run away will be left defenseless in Heshbon where they went for protection, because fire blazes out from Heshbon, a fire from where Sihon once reigned. It burns up the whole country of Moab and its defiant people.
46 Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives.
What a disaster has come to you Moabites! The people of Chemosh have been wiped out. Your sons and daughters have been taken prisoner and have gone into exile.
47 But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.
But even so, later on, I will bring the people of Moab back from exile, declares the Lord. This is the end of the description of the judgment on Moab.
