Jeremiah 48
1 This is a message about Moab. The Commander of the armies of angels said: “Terrible things will happen to Nebo [town]; it will [soon] be ruined. Kiriathaim [city] will be captured and [all its people will be] humiliated; the high wall around their city will be ruined, and [its people] will become ashamed.
Of Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down.
2 No one will boast about Moab again; the [enemies of Moab] will plan to destroy [the capital city, ] Heshbon. [They will say, ] ‘Come, let’s cause Moab to no longer be a nation.’ You people in Madmen [town], you also will be silenced; enemy armies [MTY] will pursue you.
The praise of Moab 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 brought to silence; the sword shall pursue thee.
3 Listen to the people of Horonaim [town] screaming; [they will be wailing because their town will have been] devastated and destroyed [DOU].
The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!
4 [All of] Moab will be ruined; [even] the little children will cry [loudly].
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5 They will cry bitterly as they climb up Luhith [Hill]. [Others will wail] on the road down to Horonaim, being very sad because of [their town being] destroyed.
For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
6 [Someone will say to them], ‘Flee! Hide in the desert!’
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
7 But you trusted that because you were rich and powerful, [you would be safe]; so you will be captured. [The statue of your god] Chemosh and all his priests and officials will be taken away to distant lands.
For, because thou hast trusted 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.
8 All the towns [in Moab] will be destroyed; none of them will escape. [Towns in] the valleys and on the plateau will [all] be destroyed, because [I, ] Yahweh, have said that is what will happen.
And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken.
9 Spread salt on the ground in order that it will become a wasteland with [nothing growing there any more], and no one will be living in it!”
Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
10 Yahweh will curse anyone who will not eagerly do what he desires, anyone who refrains from using his sword to kill [MTY] others [in Moab].
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
11 [The people of] Moab have always felt secure; they have never been (exiled/forced [by their enemies] to go to other countries). They are like [MET] wine that has been left undisturbed [in a container for many days to give it good flavor], so now it smells good, and it tastes good.
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed.
12 But Yahweh says that there will be a time when he will send [enemies to attack them]; they will get rid of the people of Moab like people pour out wine [on the ground] and then smash the wine jar.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him them that pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
13 Then [the people of] Moab will be ashamed of [their god/idol] Chemosh [because it did not help them], like the Israeli people were ashamed because their gold statue of a calf [was smashed] at Bethel.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
14 [The soldiers of Moab previously] said, “We are warriors; we have fought bravely in battles!”
How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
15 But now our King, who is Yahweh, who is called ‘the Commander of the armies of angels’, says that [the country of] Moab and all the towns in it will be destroyed. Their fine young men will [all] be slaughtered.
Moab is laid waste, and they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
16 Moab will very soon be destroyed. It will soon experience disaster.
The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17 You [people who live in nations] near Moab, who know that it is very famous, should mourn for Moab, and say, “Its glorious power [MTY, DOU] is [completely] ended/broken.”
All ye that are round about him, bemoan him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
18 You people of Dibon [city], stop being proud because of being honored, and sit in the dust/dirt, because those who will destroy other places in Moab will attack your [city] and destroy your high walls.
O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds.
19 You people of Aroer [town], stand along the road and watch. Shout to the men and women who will be fleeing [from Moab], “What has happened [there]?”
O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done?
20 [They will reply], “Moab is ruined and [we are] disgraced!” [So] weep and wail [DOU]. Proclaim at the Aroer [River] that Moab has been destroyed.
Moab is put to shame; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21 [Yahweh] will have punished [the towns in Moab that are on] the (plateau/high level): Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22 Dibon and Nebo and Beth-Diblathaim,
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
23 Kiriathaim and Beth-Gamul and Beth-Meon,
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24 Kerioth and Bozrah, cities that are near [each other] and towns that are far away [from each other].
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25 Yahweh says, “The power [MTY] of Moab will be ended; [it is as though] [MET] Moab will have a broken arm.
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
26 [You people of] Moab have rebelled against [me, ] Yahweh; so [now] I will cause you all to [stagger like] [SIM] drunken people. [You people of] will wallow in your own vomit and be ridiculed.
Make ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against Jehovah: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27 You [people of Moab] ridiculed [the people of] Israel [RHQ]. You treated them as though they were thieves [RHQ]. You shook your head at them scornfully and despised them [RHQ].
For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head.
28 You people who live in Moab, you should abandon your towns and go and live in caves. Be like [SIM] doves that make their nests in the entrances of caves.”
O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
29 We have [all] heard that [the people of] are very proud; they are extremely proud and conceited/arrogant. [IDM, DOU]
We have heard of the pride of Moab, [that] he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 But Yahweh says, “I know about that, but it is useless for them to boast [because] it will accomplish nothing.
I know his wrath, saith Jehovah, that it is nought; his boastings have wrought nothing.
31 So [now] I will wail for Moab; I will cry about all its people. I will moan for the men of Kir-Hareseth [city], [the old capital of Moab].
Therefore will I wail for Moab; yea, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall they mourn.
32 You people of Sibmah [city], you have many vineyards. [It is as though] the branches of your vines extend across the [Dead] Sea to Jazer [city].
With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah: thy branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the destroyer is fallen.
33 But no one will be joyful or happy in Moab now; your fruit and grapes that ripen in the (summer/hot season) will soon be destroyed. There will be no grape juice coming from the winepresses, [so] there will be no wine. People will not shout joyfully as they tread on the grapes; people will shout, but they will not be shouting joyfully.
And gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
34 Instead, the sound of their wailing will rise from Heshbon [city] to Elealeh [town] and Jahaz [village], from Zoar [city] as far as Horonaim [town] and Eglath-Shelishiyah [village]. Even the water in Nimrim [Stream] will be dried up.
From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate.
35 [I, ] Yahweh, say that I will get rid of the people who offer sacrifices on the hilltops, and burn incense to their gods.
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36 I [SYN] moan for the people of Moab and Kir-Hareseth like [SIM] [someone playing a funeral song on] a flute, because [all] their wealth will disappear.
Therefore my heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and my heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: therefore the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
37 The men will shave their heads and their beards [to show that they are mourning]. They all will slash their hands and wear (rough cloth/sackcloth) around their waists.
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
38 In every home and in the town plazas/centers in Moab there will be [people who are] mourning, because I will have destroyed Moab like [SIM] someone smashes an [old] jar that no one wants [any more].
On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein none delighteth, saith Jehovah.
39 Moab will be completely shattered! And you will hear the people wailing loudly! They will be disgraced. Moab will become a nation that people ridicule. The people in nearby [countries] will be horrified [about what has happened there].
How is it broken down! [how] do they wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.
40 This is what [I, ] Yahweh, say: ‘Look! Their enemies will be swooping/rushing down over Moab like an eagle [SIM] swoops down [to seize an animal].
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against Moab.
41 Its cities will be captured, its fortresses will be seized. [Even] their warriors will be [afraid], like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth.
Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42 [The leaders of] Moab boasted against [me, ] Yahweh, so Moab will be destroyed.
And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.
43 [I, ] Yahweh, say that you people of Moab will be terrified, and fall into pits and traps.
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
44 Those who are terrified and try to run away will fall into deep pits. Whoever climbs out of a pit will be caught in a trap, because I will punish them at the time that I have chosen.’
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 him, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
45 The people will flee as far as Heshbon [city], but they will not be able to go any further, because a fire will burn in Heshbon, [which is the city] where [King] Sihon lived [long ago], and it will burn up all the people [SYN] in Moab who noisily/loudly boasted very much.
They that fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46 [You people of] Moab, terrible things will happen to you! You people who worship [your god] Chemosh, you will be destroyed. Your sons and your daughters will be captured and taken away [to other countries].
Woe unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away captive, and thy daughters into captivity.
47 But some day, I will enable the people of Moab to return to their land again. [That will surely happen because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.” That is the end of what I prophesied about Moab.
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
