Jeremiah 48
New American Standard Bible 1995
Prophecy against Moab
48 Concerning (A)Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Woe to (B)Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
(C)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and [a]shattered.
2 “There is praise for Moab no longer;
In (D)Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, [b]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
3 “The sound of an outcry from (E)Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 “Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
5 “For by the ascent of (F)Luhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the [c]anguished cry of destruction.
6 “(G)Flee, save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7 “For because of your (H)trust in your own achievements and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And (I)Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
8 “A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the (J)plateau will be destroyed,
As the Lord has said.
9 “Give [d](K)wings to Moab,
For she will [e]flee away;
And her cities will become a (L)desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 “(M)Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work (N)negligently,
And cursed be the one who restrains his (O)sword from blood.
11 “Moab has been (P)at ease since his youth;
He has also been (Q)undisturbed, like wine on [f]its dregs,
And he has not been (R)emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore [g]he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter [h]his jars. 13 And Moab will be (S)ashamed of (T)Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of (U)Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are (V)mighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
15 “Moab has been destroyed and [i]men have gone up to [j]his cities;
His choicest [k](W)young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the (X)King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 “The disaster of Moab will (Y)soon come,
And his calamity has swiftly hastened.
17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the mighty [l](Z)scepter been broken,
A staff of splendor!’
18 “(AA)Come down from your glory
And sit [m]on the parched ground,
O (AB)daughter dwelling in (AC)Dibon,
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19 “Stand by the road and keep watch,
O inhabitant of (AD)Aroer;
(AE)Ask him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been [n]shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the (AF)Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.
21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, (AG)Jahzah and against (AH)Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and (AI)Beth-meon, 24 against (AJ)Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The (AK)horn of Moab has been cut off and his (AL)arm broken,” declares the Lord. 26 “(AM)Make him drunk, for he has [o]become (AN)arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will [p]wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a (AO)laughingstock to you? Or was he [q](AP)caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you (AQ)shake your head in scorn.
28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the (AR)crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a (AS)dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29 “(AT)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his (AU)pride, his arrogance and [r]his self-exaltation.
30 “I know his (AV)fury,” declares the Lord,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 “Therefore I will (AW)wail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
[s]I will moan for the men of (AX)Kir-heres.
32 “More than the (AY)weeping for (AZ)Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your tendrils stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
33 “So (BA)gladness and joy are taken away
From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to (BB)cease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34 (BC)From the outcry at Heshbon even to (BD)Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have [t]raised their voice, from (BE)Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make an end of Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the (BF)high place and the one who [u](BG)burns incense to his gods.
36 “Therefore My (BH)heart [v]wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also [w]wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have (BI)lost the abundance it produced. 37 For (BJ)every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and (BK)sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the (BL)housetops of Moab and in its streets [x]there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable (BM)vessel,” declares the Lord. 39 “How [y]shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an (BN)object of terror to all around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, one will (BO)fly swiftly like an eagle
And (BP)spread out his wings against Moab.
41 “Kerioth has been captured
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the (BQ)hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a (BR)woman in labor.
42 “Moab will be (BS)destroyed from being a people
Because he has [z]become (BT)arrogant toward the Lord.
43 “(BU)Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.
44 “The one who (BV)flees from the terror
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the snare;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their (BW)punishment,” declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
The fugitives stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a (BX)flame from the midst of (BY)Sihon,
And it has devoured the (BZ)forehead of Moab
And the scalps of the [aa]riotous revelers.
46 “(CA)Woe to you, Moab!
The people of (CB)Chemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will (CC)restore the [ab]fortunes of Moab
In the [ac]latter days,” declares the Lord.
Thus far the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:1 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:2 I.e. a city of Moab
- Jeremiah 48:5 Lit distresses of outcry
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or salt
- Jeremiah 48:9 Or fall in ruins
- Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his
- Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his flavor has stayed in him
- Jeremiah 48:12 Lit their
- Jeremiah 48:15 Lit one has
- Jeremiah 48:15 Lit her
- Jeremiah 48:15 I.e. warriors
- Jeremiah 48:17 Or rod
- Jeremiah 48:18 Lit in thirst
- Jeremiah 48:20 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:26 Or magnified himself against
- Jeremiah 48:26 Or splash into
- Jeremiah 48:27 Or found
- Jeremiah 48:29 Lit elevation of his heart
- Jeremiah 48:31 Another reading is He
- Jeremiah 48:34 Lit given forth
- Jeremiah 48:35 Or offers up in smoke
- Jeremiah 48:36 Lit sounds
- Jeremiah 48:36 Lit sounds
- Jeremiah 48:38 Lit all of it is lamentation
- Jeremiah 48:39 Or dismayed
- Jeremiah 48:42 Or magnified himself against
- Jeremiah 48:45 Lit sons of tumult
- Jeremiah 48:47 Or captivity
- Jeremiah 48:47 Lit end of the days
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
