48Jeremiah 48

What the Says about Moab

1The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab: The town of Nebo is doomed; Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced, and even its fortress will be left in ruins.Select Jeremiah 48:1

2No one honors you, Moab. In Heshbon, enemies make plans to end your life. My sword will leave only silence in your town named “Quiet.”Select Jeremiah 48:2

3The people of Horonaim will cry for help, as their town is attacked and destroyed.Select Jeremiah 48:3

4Moab will be shattered! Your children will sobSelect Jeremiah 48:4

5and cry on their way up to the town of Luhith; on the road to Horonaim they will tell of disasters.Select Jeremiah 48:5

6Run for your lives! Head into the desert like a wild donkey.Select Jeremiah 48:6

7You thought you could be saved by your power and wealth, but you will be captured along with your god Chemosh, his priests, and officials.Select Jeremiah 48:7

8Not one of your towns will escape destruction. I have told your enemies, “Wipe out the valley and the flatlands of Moab.Select Jeremiah 48:8

9Spread salt on the ground to kill the crops. Leave its towns in ruins, with no one living there.Select Jeremiah 48:9

10I want you to kill the Moabites, and if you let them escape, I will put a curse on you.”Select Jeremiah 48:10

11Moab, you are like wine left to settle undisturbed, never poured from jar to jar. And so, your nation continues to prosper and improve.Select Jeremiah 48:11

12But now, I will send enemies to pour out the wine and smash the jars!Select Jeremiah 48:12

13Then you will be ashamed, because your god Chemosh cannot save you, just as Bethel could not help the Israelites.Select Jeremiah 48:13

14You claim that your soldiers are strong and brave.Select Jeremiah 48:14

15But I am the Lord, the all-powerful King, and I promise that enemies will overpower your towns. Even your best warriors will die in the battle.Select Jeremiah 48:15

16It won't be long now— disaster will hit Moab!Select Jeremiah 48:16

17I will order the nearby nations to mourn for you and say, “Isn't it sad? Moab ruled others, but now its glorious power has been shattered.”Select Jeremiah 48:17

18People in the town of Dibon, you will be honored no more, so have a seat in the dust. Your walls will be torn down when the enemies attack.Select Jeremiah 48:18

19You people of Aroer, go wait beside the road, and when refugees run by, ask them, “What happened?”Select Jeremiah 48:19

20They will answer, “Moab has been defeated! Weep with us in shame. Tell everyone at the Arnon River that Moab is destroyed.”Select Jeremiah 48:20

21I will punish every town that belongs to Moab, but especially Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,Select Jeremiah 48:21

22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-Diblathaim,Select Jeremiah 48:22

23Kiriathaim, Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,Select Jeremiah 48:23

24Kerioth, and Bozrah.Select Jeremiah 48:24

25My decision is final— your army will be crushed, and your power broken.Select Jeremiah 48:25

26People of Moab, you claim to be stronger than I am. Now I will tell other nations to make you drunk and to laugh while you collapse in your own vomit.Select Jeremiah 48:26

27You made fun of my people and treated them like criminals caught in the act.Select Jeremiah 48:27

28Now you must leave your towns and live like doves in the shelter of cliffs and canyons.Select Jeremiah 48:28

29I know about your pride, and how you strut and boast.Select Jeremiah 48:29

30But I also know bragging will never save you.Select Jeremiah 48:30

31So I will cry and mourn for Moab and its town of Kir-Heres.Select Jeremiah 48:31

32People of Sibmah, you were like a vineyard heavy with grapes, and with branches reaching north to the town of Jazer and west to the Dead Sea. But you have been destroyed, and so I will weep for you, as the people of Jazer weep for the vineyards.Select Jeremiah 48:32

33Harvest celebrations are gone from the orchards and farms of Moab. I have silenced the shouts of people making wine.Select Jeremiah 48:33

34Weeping from Heshbon can be heard as far as Elealeh and Jahaz; cries from Zoar are heard in Horonaim and Eglath-Shelishiyah. And Nimrim Creek has run dry.Select Jeremiah 48:34

35I will get rid of anyone who burns incense to the gods of Moab or offers sacrifices at their shrines. I, the Lord, have spoken.Select Jeremiah 48:35

36In my heart I moan for Moab, like a funeral song played on a flute. I mourn for the people of the town of Kir-Heres, because their wealth is gone. *Select Jeremiah 48:36

38The people of Moab mourn on the rooftops and in the streets. Men cut off their beards, people shave their heads; they make cuts on their hands and wear sackcloth. And it's all because I, the Lord, have shattered Moab like a jar that no one wants.Select Jeremiah 48:38

39Moab lies broken! Listen to its people cry as they turn away in shame. Other nations are horrified at what happened, but still they mock her.Select Jeremiah 48:39

40Moab, an enemy swoops down like an eagle spreading its wings over your land.Select Jeremiah 48:40

41Your cities and fortresses will be captured, and your warriors as fearful as women giving birth.Select Jeremiah 48:41

42You are finished as a nation, because you dared oppose me, the Lord.Select Jeremiah 48:42

43Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for you.Select Jeremiah 48:43

44If you are terrified and run, you will fall into a pit; and if you crawl out of the pit, you'll get caught in a trap. The time has come for you to be punished. I, the Lord, have spoken.Select Jeremiah 48:44

45Near the city of Heshbon, where Sihon once ruled, tired refugees stand in shadows cast by the flames of their burning city. Soon, the towns on other hilltops, where those warlike people live, will also go up in smoke.Select Jeremiah 48:45

46People of Moab, you worshiped Chemosh, your god, but now you are done for, and your children are prisoners in a foreign country.Select Jeremiah 48:46

47Yet someday, I will bring your people back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.Select Jeremiah 48:47