JeremiahChapter 48

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¹This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Moab:
"How terrible for Nebo, for it will be ruined!
Kiriathaim will be captured and put to shame.
Its fortress will be smashed and torn down. ²No one praises Moab anymore.
In Heshbon they plan evil against her.
They say, 'Come, let's wipe her out as a nation.'
You people of Madmen will also be silenced.
The sword will chase you. ³Listen to the cry from Horonaim:
'Ruin and great destruction!' ⁴Moab will be smashed.
Her little ones will cry out. ⁵They go up the road to Luhith,
weeping bitterly as they go.
On the road down to Horonaim
they cry out in pain over the destruction. ⁶'Run away! Run for your lives!
Be like a bush in the desert.'a ⁷You trust in what you have done and in your treasures.
So you too will be captured.
Your god Chemosh will be taken away as a captive,
along with his priests and officials. ⁸The destroyer will attack every city.
Not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined.
The high plain will be destroyed,
just as the LORD has said. ⁹Put salt on Moab,
for she will be wiped out.
Her towns will become empty ruins,
with no one living in them.b ¹⁰A curse on anyone who is lazy in doing the LORD's work!
A curse on anyone who keeps his sword from killing! ¹¹Moab has been at ease since he was young.
He is like wine left to settle on its dregs.
He has not been poured from jar to jar.
He has never been taken away as a captive.
So his taste is still the same.
His smell has not changed. ¹²So look, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will send wanderers to pour him out.
They will empty his jars
and smash his jugs. ¹³Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh.
In the same way the people of Israel were ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel. ¹⁴How can you say, 'We are soldiers,
strong men ready for battle'? ¹⁵Moab has been destroyed.
Enemies have invaded its towns.
Its best young men have gone down to be killed,
says the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts. ¹⁶Moab's disaster is near.
His suffering is rushing toward him. ¹⁷Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
all who know his name.
Say, 'How the strong scepter is broken,
the glorious rod!' ¹⁸Come down from your glory.
Sit on the dry ground,
you daughter living in Dibon.
For the destroyer of Moab has come against you.
He has torn down your fortresses. ¹⁹Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer!
Ask the man running away and the woman escaping,
'What has happened?' ²⁰Moab is put to shame, for it has been smashed.
Wail and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed. ²¹Judgment has come on the high plain.
It has come on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, ²²on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, ²³on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, ²⁴on Kerioth and Bozrah.
It has come on all the towns of Moab, far and near. ²⁵Moab's horn has been cut off.
His arm is broken," says the LORD.c ²⁶"Make him drunk,
for he has set himself up against the LORD.
Moab will roll around in his own vomit.
People will laugh at him too. ²⁷Didn't you make fun of Israel?
Was he ever caught with thieves?
Every time you talk about him,
you shake your head at him. ²⁸Leave your towns and live among the rocks,
you people of Moab!
Be like a dove
that makes its nest at the opening of a cave. ²⁹We have heard about Moab's pride.
He is very proud and stuck-up.
He is full of pride and thinks he is better than others.
His heart is lifted high. ³⁰I know how proud and bold he is," says the LORD,
"but it is useless.
His bragging is as empty as his deeds. ³¹So I will wail for Moab.
I will cry out for all of Moab.
I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. ³²I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
more than I weep for Jazer.
Your branches reached out to the sea.
They reached as far as Jazer.
The destroyer has come down
on your summer fruit and your grape harvest. ³³Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and the fields of Moab.
I have stopped the wine from flowing out of the presses.
No one stomps the grapes with shouts of joy.
The shouts they hear are not shouts of joy. ³⁴A cry goes up from Heshbon to Elealeh.
They raise their voices all the way to Jahaz.
They cry from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah.
For even the waters of Nimrim have dried up. ³⁵In Moab, says the LORD,
I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places.
I will stop those who burn incense to their gods. ³⁶So my heart moans for Moab like a sad flute.
It moans like a flute for the men of Kir-heres.
For the riches they gained are gone. ³⁷Every head is shaved.
Every beard is cut off.
Every hand has a cut on it.
Every waist is wrapped in sackcloth. ³⁸On all the rooftops of Moab
and in the town squares, everyone is mourning.
For I have smashed Moab
like a jar no one wants," says the LORD. ³⁹"How broken it is! How they wail!
Moab turns his back in shame!
All those around Moab
laugh at him and are horrified." ⁴⁰For this is what the LORD says:
"Look, an eagle swoops down.
It spreads its wings over Moab. ⁴¹Kirioth has been taken.
The forts have been captured.
On that day the hearts of Moab's soldiers
will be like the heart of a woman giving birth. ⁴²Moab will be destroyed as a nation,
because he bragged against the LORD. ⁴³Terror, a pit, and a trap are waiting for you,
you people of Moab," says the LORD. ⁴⁴"Whoever runs from the terror
will fall into the pit.
Whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
For I will bring on Moab
the year of their punishment," says the LORD. ⁴⁵"Those who run away will stand helpless
in the shadow of Heshbon.
For a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It burns up the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of the noisy people. ⁴⁶How terrible for you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed.
For your sons have been taken away as prisoners.
Your daughters have been taken captive. ⁴⁷Yet in the last days
I will bring Moab back from captivity," says the LORD.
This is the end of the judgment on Moab.