Jeremiah 48
1 Of Moab, —Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, —Alas for Nebo, for it is laid waste, put to shame—captured, is Kiriathaim, put to shame is Misgab, and dismayed.
Against Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe upon Nebo! For it has been devastated and confounded. Kiriathaim has been seized; the strong one has been confounded and has trembled.
2 No more, is the praise of Moab, In Heshbon, have they devised against her, calamity, Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation, —Even thou, Madmen also, shalt be silenced, After thee, shall march the sword.
There is no longer any rejoicing in Moab over Heshbon. They have devised evil. ‘Come and let us destroy it as a nation.’ Then you will be utterly silenced, and the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice of outcry, from Horonaim, —Wasting and great destruction!
A voice of clamor from Horonaim: devastation and great destruction!
4 Moab is broken: Her little ones, have caused to be heard an outcry.
Moab has been crushed. Announce an outcry for her little ones.
5 For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping, one ascendeth—with weeping, —For in the descent of Horonaim, the distress of the outcry of destruction, have they heard:
For, along the ascent of Luhith, the mourner will ascend with weeping. For, on the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard the wailing of devastation.
6 Flee deliver your own lives, —Then shall the women be as a shrub in the desert.
Flee, save your lives! And you shall be like a saltcedar tree in the desert.
7 For seeing thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, Thou too, shalt be captured, —Then shall Chemosh go forth into captivity, His priests and his princes together.
For because you have had faith in your fortifications and in your storehouses, you too will be seized. And Chemosh will go into captivity: his priests and his leaders together.
8 And the spoiler shall enter into every city, And not, a city, shall escape, Then shall perish the vale Then be destroyed the table-land, —As Yahweh hath said.
And the despoiler will overwhelm every city, and not a single city will be saved. And the valleys will perish, and the fields will be destroyed. For the Lord has spoken.
9 Give wing to Moab, For she must, fly away; And her cities To desolation, shall be turned, With no inhabitant therein.
Give a blossom to Moab. For it will depart when it is blossoming. And its cities will become desolate and uninhabited.
10 Accursed be he that doeth the business of Yahweh carelessly; And, accursed be he that withholdeth his sword, from blood!
Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully. And cursed is he who prohibits his sword from blood.
11 Moab, hath been at ease from his youth, And settled is he upon his lees, And hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, Nor into captivity, hath gone, —For this cause, hath his flavour stood still within him, And his scent is unchanged.
Moab has been fertile from his youth, and he has rested amid his brood. And he has not been transferred from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into the transmigration. Therefore, his taste has remained with him, and his scent has not changed.
12 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will send to him tilters and they shall tilt him, —And his vessels, shall they empty, And their jars, shall they dash in pieces.
Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will send to him those who will line up and knock down his bottles, and they will knock him down and empty his vessels, and they will break their bottles against one another.
13 Then shall Moab, be ashamed, of, Chemosh, —Just as, the sons of Israel, were ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
And Moab will be confounded by Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was shamed by Bethel, in which they had faith.
14 How can ye say, Heroes, are we? and Men of might for the war?
How can you say: ‘We are strong and robust men of battle?’
15 Spoiled is Moab And her cities, hath he ascended, And the choice of his young men, have gone down to the slaughter, —Declareth The King, Yahweh of hosts, is his Name.
Moab has been devastated, and they have cut down her cities. And her elect young men have descended to slaughter. So says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 Near is the doom of Moab, to come, —And, his calamity, hasteth greatly.
The passing away of Moab draws near and arrives. Its evil will rush forward with great speed.
17 Lament ye for him—All that are round about him, and All that know his name, —Say, How is broken—The staff of strength! The rod of beauty!
Console him, all you who surround him and all you who know his name. Say: ‘How has the strong staff become broken, the glorious staff?’
18 Come down from glory, and sit in thirst, O inhabitress daughter of Dibon; For the spoiler of Moab, hath come up against thee, He hath laid in ruins thy strongholds.
Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst, O habitation of the daughter of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has ascended to you; he has dissipated your fortifications.
19 Near the way, take thy stand and keep outlook, O inhabitress of Aroer: Ask—him that fleeth, and Her that hath escaped, Say, What hath happened?
Stand in the way, and gaze out, O habitation of Aroer! Question him who is fleeing, and say to him who has escaped: ‘What has happened?’
20 Confounded is Moab! For it is broken down! Howl and make outcry, —Tell ye in Arnon, That Moab is spoiled;
Moab has been confounded, because he has been conquered. Wail and cry out! Announce it in Arnon: Moab has been devastated,
21 And, judgment, hath come Upon the country of the table-land, —Upon Holon, and Upon Jazer and Upon Mephaath;
and judgment has arrived upon the land of the plains: upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22 and Upon Dibon, and Upon Nebo, and Upon Beth-diblathaim;
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
23 and Upon Kiriathaim, and Upon Beth-gamul, and Upon Beth-meon;
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon the house of Gamul, and upon the house of Meon,
24 and Upon Kerioth, and Upon Bozrah, —Yea, upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those far away and those nearby.
25 Cut off is the horn of Moab, Yea, his arm, is broken, —Declareth Yahweh.
The horn of Moab has been cut away, and his arm has been crushed, says the Lord.
26 Make ye him drunken, Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself; So shall, Moab, stagger, into his own vomit, And shall become a derision, even he!
Inebriate him, for he has lifted himself up against the Lord. And Moab will thrust his hand into his own vomit, and also now he himself will become a derision.
27 And was it not, a derision, that Israel became to thee? And was it not among thieves, he was found? For, as often as thou didst speak of him, thou didst wag the head!
For Israel had been a derision to them. It was as if you had discovered him among thieves. Because of your own words, then, which you have spoken against him, you will be led away captive.
28 Leave ye the cities and dwell in the cliff, Ye inhabitants of Moab; And become ye as a dove, that maketh her nest in the further-side of the fissure’s mouth.
Relinquish the cities, and live upon a rock, O inhabitants of Moab, and be like a dove nesting at the mouth of an opening at the summit.
29 We have heard the arrogance of Moab—proud exceedingly: His loftiness and his arrogance and his majesty, and his elevation of heart!
We have listened to the arrogance of Moab; he is very proud: his exaltation, and arrogance, and pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
30 I know—Declareth Yahweh His passion—that’tis Unjust! His boastings, that Untrue have they made [them]!
I myself know, says the Lord, his boasting, and that his ability is not in accord with it, nor is it in accord with what he has been striving to do.
31 For this cause over Moab, will I howl, And for all Moab, will I make outcry, —For the men of Kir-heres, must one moan!
For this reason, I will wail over Moab, and I will cry out to all of Moab, to the men on the brick wall who are lamenting.
32 Beyond the weeping of Jazer, will I weep for thee O vine of Sibmah, Thy tendrils, have gone over the sea, Unto the sea of Jazer, have they reached, Upon thy summer fruits And upon thy vintage, the spoiler, hath fallen.
O vineyard of Sibmah, I will weep for you, with the mourning of Jazer. Your offshoots have crossed over the sea. They have reached even to the sea of Jazer. The despoiler has rushed over your harvest and your vintage.
33 So shall be withdrawn gladness and exultation—From the fruitful field and From the land of Moab, —And wine from the vats, have I caused to fail, They shall not tread with shouting, The shouting shall be no shouting!
Rejoicing and exultation has been taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. And I have taken the wine from the winepresses. The treader of grapes will no longer sing the usual rhythmic chant.
34 From the outcry of Heshbon, Even unto Elealeh Even unto Jahaz, have they given forth their voice, From Zoar even unto Horonaim, the third Eglath, —For, even the waters of Nimrim, to utter desolation, have been turned:
From the outcry of Heshbon, even to Elealeh and Jahzah, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar, even to Horonaim, like a three year old calf. So too, the waters of Nimrim will be very bad.
35 Then will I cause to cease, from Moab, Declareth Yahweh, —him that offereth at a high-place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
And I will take away from Moab, says the Lord, the one who makes offerings in exalted places, and the one who sacrifices to his gods.
36 For this cause, my heart, for Moab, like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Yea my heart for the men of Kir-heres! like flutes, shall make plaintive sounds, Because, the abundance he hath gotten is lost!
Because of this, my heart will resound for Moab, like the pipes, and my heart will make a sound like the pipes for the men on the brick wall. For he has done more than he was able, yet still they have perished.
37 For, every head, is baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, And upon the loins, sackcloth
For every head will be bald, and every beard will be shaved. All the hands will be bound together, and there will be haircloth on every back.
38 Upon all the housetops of Moab And in her broadways, it is all lamentation, —For I have broken Moab—Like a vessel wherein is no pleasure Declareth Yahweh.
Over all the rooftops of Moab, and in its streets, everyone will mourn. For I have crushed Moab like a useless vessel, says the Lord.
39 How it is broken down! They have howled, How hath Moab turned the back, for shame, —So shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all round about him.
How was it conquered, so that they would wail? How is it that Moab has cast down his neck and been confounded? And Moab will be a derision and an example to everyone around him.”
40 For, thus, saith Yahweh, Lo! as an eagle, shall one dart along, —And shall spread out his wings towards Moab.
Thus says the Lord: “Behold, he will fly like the eagle, and he will extend his wings to Moab.
41 Captured is Kerioth, And the fortresses, are seized, —Then shall the heart of the heroes of Moab become in that day, As the heart of a woman in her pains.
Kerioth has been captured, and the fortifications have been taken. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Moab will be like the heart of a woman giving birth.
42 Then shall, Moab, be destroyed from being a people, —Because against Yahweh, hath he magnified himself.
And Moab will cease to be a people. For he has been glorified against the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare are upon thee O inhabitant of Moab Declareth Yahweh:
Terror and the pit and the snare will overwhelm you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord.
44 He that fleeth from the face of the terror, Shall fall into the pit, And, he that getteth up out of the pit, Shall be captured by the snare, —For I will bring against her—against Moab, The year of their visitation, Declareth Yahweh.
Whoever flees from the terror will fall into the pit. And whoever climbs out of the pit will be seized by the snare. For I will lead over Moab the year of their visitation, says the Lord.
45 In the shadow of Heshbon, stand strengthless, the fugitives, —For, a fire, hath gone forth out of Heshbon And shall flame out of the midst of Sihon, And shall devour the beard of Moab, And the crown of the head of the proudly tumultuous.
Those fleeing from the snare stood in the shadow of Heshbon. For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it will devour the portion of Moab, and the top of the head of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to thee Moab! Lost are the people of Chemosh, —For thy sons have been taken, into captivity, And thy daughters into captivity.
Woe to you, O Moab! You have been ruined, O people of Chemosh! For your sons and your daughters have been taken into captivity.
47 Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab, In the afterpart of the days, Declareth Yahweh, Thus far, is the sentence of Moab.
But I will convert the captivity of Moab in the last days, says the Lord.” Such are the judgments of Moab thus far.
