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Jeremiah 48
Good News Translation
Jeremiah 48
Good News Translation
The Destruction of Moab
48 (A)This is what the Lord Almighty said about Moab:
“Pity the people of Nebo—
their town is destroyed!
Kiriathaim is captured,
its mighty fortress torn down,
and its people put to shame;
2 the splendor of Moab is gone.
The enemy have captured Heshbon
and plot to destroy the nation of Moab.
The town of Madmen will be silenced;
armies will march against it.
3 The people of Horonaim cry out,
‘Violence! Destruction!’
4 “Moab has been destroyed;
listen to the children crying.
5 Hear the sound of their sobs
along the road up to Luhith,
the cries of distress
on the way down to Horonaim.
6 ‘Quick, run for your lives!’ they say.
‘Run like a wild desert donkey!’
7 “Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth,
but now even you will be conquered;
your god Chemosh will go into exile,
along with his princes and priests.
8 Not a town will escape the destruction;
both valley and plain will be ruined.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
9 Set up a tombstone for Moab;
it will soon be destroyed.
Its towns will be left in ruins,
and no one will live there again.”
(10 Curse those who do not do the Lord's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)
The Cities of Moab Are Destroyed
11 The Lord said, “Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavor has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.
12 “So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces. 13 Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.
14 “Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes,
brave soldiers tested in war?
15 Moab and its cities are destroyed;
its finest young men have been slaughtered.
I am the king, the Lord Almighty,
and I have spoken.
16 Moab's doom approaches;
its ruin is coming soon.
17 “Mourn for that nation, you that live nearby,
all of you that know its fame.
Say, ‘Its powerful rule has been broken;
its glory and might are no more.’
18 You that live in Dibon,
come down from your place of honor
and sit on the ground in the dust;
Moab's destroyer is here
and has left its forts in ruins.
19 You that live in Aroer,
stand by the road and wait;
ask those who are running away,
find out from them what has happened.
20 ‘Moab has fallen,’ they will answer,
‘weep for it; it is disgraced.
Announce along the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed!’
21 “Judgment has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon, 24 Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgment has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near. 25 Moab's might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Moab Will Be Humbled
26 The Lord said, “Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh. 27 Moab, remember how you made fun of the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.
28 “You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine. 29 Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves. 30 I, the Lord, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last. 31 And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres. 32 I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed. 33 Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the wine presses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.
34 “The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,[a] and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even Nimrim Brook has dried up. 35 I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the Lord, have spoken.
36 “So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone. 37 All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants. 39 Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations make fun of it. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
No Escape for Moab
40 The Lord has promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings, 41 and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor. 42 Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me. 43 Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. The Lord has spoken. 44 Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because the Lord has set the time for Moab's destruction. 45 Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames.[b] Fire has burned up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab. 46 Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshiped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.
47 But in days to come the Lord will make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what the Lord has said will happen to Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:34 Probable text Heshbon … cry out; Hebrew unclear.
- Jeremiah 48:45 Heshbon, the city … flames; or the city of Heshbon, but it is in flames and the palace of King Sihon is burning.
Jeremiah 48
New International Version
Jeremiah 48
New International Version
A Message About Moab(A)
48 Concerning Moab:(B)
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe to Nebo,(C) for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim(D) will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold[a] will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praised(E) no more;
in Heshbon[b](F) people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’(G)
You, the people of Madmen,[c] will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(H)
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.[d]
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,(I)
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim(J)
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee!(K) Run for your lives;
become like a bush[e] in the desert.(L)
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,(M)
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh(N) will go into exile,(O)
together with his priests and officials.(P)
8 The destroyer(Q) will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau(R) destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt(S) on Moab,
for she will be laid waste[f];(T)
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(U) from bloodshed!(V)
11 “Moab has been at rest(W) from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,(X)
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(Y) of Chemosh,(Z)
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.(AA)
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,(AB)
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men(AC) will go down in the slaughter,(AD)”
declares the King,(AE) whose name is the Lord Almighty.(AF)
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;(AG)
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;(AH)
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,(AI)
how broken the glorious staff!’
18 “Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,(AJ)
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,(AK)
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.(AL)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.(AM)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail(AN) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon(AO)
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau(AP)—
to Holon,(AQ) Jahzah(AR) and Mephaath,(AS)
22 to Dibon,(AT) Nebo(AU) and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim,(AV) Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,(AW)
24 to Kerioth(AX) and Bozrah(AY)—
to all the towns(AZ) of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[g](BA) is cut off;
her arm(BB) is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make her drunk,(BC)
for she has defied(BD) the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;(BE)
let her be an object of ridicule.(BF)
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?(BG)
Was she caught among thieves,(BH)
that you shake your head(BI) in scorn(BJ)
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove(BK) that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.(BL)
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride(BM)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness(BN) of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts(BO) accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail(BP) over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.(BQ)
32 I weep for you, as Jazer(BR) weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.(BS)
Your branches spread as far as the sea[h];
they reached as far as[i] 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(BT) from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.(BU)
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon(BV) to Elealeh(BW) and Jahaz,(BX)
from Zoar(BY) as far as Horonaim(BZ) and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.(CA)
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places(CB)
and burn incense(CC) to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments(CD) for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.(CE)
The wealth they acquired(CF) is gone.
37 Every head is shaved(CG)
and every beard(CH) cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.(CI)
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares(CJ)
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar(CK) that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered(CL) she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,(CM)
an object of horror to all those around her.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is swooping(CN) down,
spreading its wings(CO) over Moab.
41 Kerioth[j](CP) will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors(CQ)
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(CR)
42 Moab will be destroyed(CS) as a nation(CT)
because she defied(CU) the Lord.
43 Terror(CV) and pit and snare(CW) await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees(CX) 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(CY) 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;(CZ)
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls(DA) of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!(DB)
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore(DC) the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
- Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
- Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
- Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
- Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
- Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
- Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
- Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities
Good News Translation (GNT) 
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