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Chapter 48

Against Moab.[a] Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

Ah, Nebo! it is ravaged;
    Kiriathaim is disgraced, captured;
Disgraced and overthrown is the stronghold:
    Moab’s glory is no more.
In Heshbon they plot evil against her:
    “Come! We will put an end to her as a nation.”
You, too, Madmen,[b] shall be silenced;
    you the sword stalks!
Listen! an outcry from Horonaim,(A)
    “Ruin and great destruction!”
“Moab is crushed!”
    their outcry is heard in Zoar.
Up the ascent of Luhith
    they go weeping;
At the descent to Horonaim
    they hear cries of anguish:
“Flee, save your lives!
    Be like a wild donkey in the wilderness!”
Because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
    you also shall be captured.
Chemosh[c] shall go into exile,
    his priests and princes with him.(B)
The destroyer comes upon every city,
    not a city escapes;
Ruined is the valley,
    wasted the plateau—oracle of the Lord.
Set up a tombstone for Moab;
    it will soon become a complete wasteland,
Its cities turned into ruins
    where no one dwells.
10 Cursed are they who do the Lord’s work carelessly,
    cursed those who keep their sword from shedding blood.
11 [d]Moab has been resting from its youth,
    suspended above its dregs,
Never poured from flask to flask,
    never driven into exile.
Thus it retained its flavor,
    its bouquet is not lost.(C)

12 Be assured! The days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will send him wine-makers to decant the wine; they shall empty its flasks and smash its jars. 13 Chemosh shall disappoint Moab, just as the house of Israel was disappointed by Bethel, in which they trusted.(D)

14 How can you say, “We are heroes,
    mighty warriors”?
15 The one who ravages Moab and its cities comes up,
    the best of its youth go down to slaughter—
    oracle of the King, whose name is Lord of hosts.
16 Moab’s ruin is near at hand,
    its disaster approaches swiftly.
17 Mourn, all you neighbors,
    all you who know its name!
Say: How the mighty scepter is broken,
    the glorious staff!
18 Come down from glory, sit on the parched ground,
    enthroned daughter Dibon;[e]
Moab’s destroyer has fallen upon you,
    has shattered your strongholds.(E)
19 Stand along the road, keep watch,
    enthroned Aroer;
Ask the fleeing man, the escaping woman:
    ask them what has happened.(F)
20 “Moab is put to shame, destroyed.”
    Wail and cry out,
Proclaim it at the Arnon:
    “Moab is destroyed!”(G)

21 Judgment has come upon the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,(H) 22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 on Kerioth and on Bozrah: on all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off,
    its arm is broken—oracle of the Lord.

26 Make him drunk because he set himself over against the Lord; let Moab swim in his vomit and become a laughingstock. 27 Has Israel not been a laughingstock to you? Was he caught among thieves that you wag your heads whenever you speak of him?(I)

28 Abandon the cities, take shelter in the crags,
    inhabitants of Moab.
Be like the dove that nests
    in the walls of a gorge.
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab,(J)
    pride beyond bounds:
His loftiness, his pride, his scorn,
    his insolent heart.
30 I myself know his arrogance—oracle of the Lord
    liar in word, liar in deed.
31 And so I wail over Moab,
    over all Moab I cry,
    over the people of Kir-heres I moan.(K)
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
    vine of Sibmah.
Your tendrils trailed down to the sea,
    as far as Jazer they stretched.
Upon your summer harvest and your vintage,
    the destroyer has fallen.(L)
33 Joy and gladness are taken away
    from the garden land, the land of Moab.
I dry up the wine from the wine vats,
    the treader treads no more,
    the vintage shout is stilled.

34 The cry of Heshbon and Elealeh is heard as far as Jahaz; they call from Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; even the waters of Nimrim turn into a wasteland.(M) 35 I will leave no one in Moab—oracle of the Lord—to offer burnt offerings on the high place or to make sacrifices to their gods. 36 Hence my heart wails like a flute for Moab; my heart wails like a flute for the people of Kir-heres: the wealth they accumulated has perished.(N) 37 Every head has been shaved bald, every beard cut off; every hand gashed, and all their loins are draped in sackcloth.(O) 38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in all its squares there is mourning. I have shattered Moab like a pot that no one wants—oracle of the Lord. 39 How terrified they are, how they wail! How Moab turns its back in shame! Moab has become a laughingstock and a horror to all its neighbors!

40 For thus says the Lord:
Look there! Like an eagle he swoops,
    spreading his wings over Moab.(P)
41 Cities are captured,
    strongholds seized:
On that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
    become like the heart of a woman in labor.(Q)
42 Moab shall be wiped out, a people no more,
    because it set itself over against the Lord.(R)
43 Terror, pit, and trap be upon you,
    enthroned Moab—oracle of the Lord.(S)
44 Those fleeing the terror
    fall into the pit;
Those climbing out of the pit
    are caught in the trap;
Ah, yes! I will bring these things upon Moab
    in the year of their punishment—oracle of the Lord.
45 In Heshbon’s shadow the fugitives
    stop short, exhausted;
For fire blazes up from Heshbon,
    and flames up from the house of Sihon:
It consumes the forehead of Moab,
    the scalp of the noisemakers.(T)
46 Woe to you, Moab!
    You are finished, people of Chemosh!
Your sons are taken into exile,
    your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
    in the days to come—oracle of the Lord.(U)

Thus far the judgment on Moab.

Footnotes

  1. 48:1–47 Moab, located east of the Dead Sea, was one of Israel’s bitter enemies (cf., e.g., Is 15–16; Am 2:1–3). According to Flavius Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Moab and Ammon in his twenty-third year (582 B.C.), five years after the destruction of Jerusalem. This chapter is full of local place names in Moab.
  2. 48:2 Madmen: a place name, not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament.
  3. 48:7 Chemosh: chief god of Moab (cf. Nm 21:29).
  4. 48:11–12 Moabite wine was known for its high quality. Here the wine is a metaphor for Moab’s complacency.
  5. 48:18 Dibon, the capital of Moab at that time, is situated on a height. The prophet here offers a personification of the city, pictured as a confident ruler.

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.
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.
Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(H)
    cries of great havoc and destruction.
Moab will be broken;
    her little ones will cry out.[d]
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.
Flee!(K) Run for your lives;
    become like a bush[e] in the desert.(L)
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)
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.
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

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
  2. Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
  3. Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
  4. Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
  5. Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
  6. Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
  7. Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  8. Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
  9. Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
  10. Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities

48 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken.

Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

11 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 remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord.

39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

40 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith 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 it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.