Jeremiah 48

NIV — New International Version Bible (NIV)

NIVUK — New International Version - UK Bible (NIVUK)

Verse 1

Concerning Moab:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold^[a] will be disgraced and shattered.

Concerning Moab:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

‘Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold^[a] will be disgraced and shattered.

Verse 2

Moab will be praised no more;
    in Heshbon^[b] people will plot her downfall:
    ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
You, the people of Madmen,^[c] will also be silenced;
    the sword will pursue you.

Moab will be praised no more;
    in Heshbon^[b] people will plot her downfall:
    “Come, let us put an end to that nation.”
You, the people of Madmen,^[c] will also be silenced;
    the sword will pursue you.

Verse 3

Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,
cries of great havoc and destruction.

Verse 4

Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.^[d]

Verse 5

They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.

Verse 6

Flee! Run for your lives;
become like a bush^[e] in the desert.

Verse 7

Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.

Verse 8

The destroyer will come against every town,
    and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
    and the plateau destroyed,
    because the Lord has spoken.

Verse 9

Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste^[f];
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.

Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste;^[f]
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.

Verse 10

“A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!

‘A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!

Verse 11

“Moab has been at rest from youth,
    like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another—
    she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
    and her aroma is unchanged.

‘Moab has been at rest from youth,
    like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another –
    she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
    and her aroma is unchanged.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 13

Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.

Verse 14

“How can you say, ‘We are warriors,
men valiant in battle’?

‘How can you say, “We are warriors,
men valiant in battle”?

Verse 15

Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,”
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,’
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

Verse 16

“The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly.

‘The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly.

Verse 17

Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,
how broken the glorious staff!’

Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;
say, “How broken is the mighty sceptre,
how broken the glorious staff!”

Verse 18

“Come down from your glory
    and sit on the parched ground,
    you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for the one who destroys Moab
    will come up against you
    and ruin your fortified cities.

‘Come down from your glory
    and sit on the parched ground,
    you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for the one who destroys Moab
    will come up against you
    and ruin your fortified cities.

Verse 19

Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’

Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, “What has happened?”

Verse 20

Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.

Verse 21

Judgment has come to the plateau—
to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,

Judgment has come to the plateau –
to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,

Verse 22

to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,

Verse 23

to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,

Verse 24

to Kerioth and Bozrah—
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

to Kerioth and Bozrah –
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

Verse 25

Moab’s horn^[g] is cut off;
her arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.

Moab’s horn^[g] is cut off;
her arm is broken,’
declares the Lord.

Verse 26

“Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.

‘Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.

Verse 27

Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?
Was she caught among thieves,
that you shake your head in scorn
whenever you speak of her?

Verse 28

Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.

Verse 29

“We have heard of Moab’s pride—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.

‘We have heard of Moab’s pride –
how great is her arrogance! –
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.

Verse 30

I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts accomplish nothing.

I know her insolence but it is futile,’
declares the Lord,
‘and her boasts accomplish nothing.

Verse 31

Therefore I wail over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.

Verse 32

I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,
    you vines of Sibmah.
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.

Verse 33

Joy and gladness are gone
    from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;
    no one treads them with shouts of joy.
Although there are shouts,
    they are not shouts of joy.

Verse 34

“The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

‘The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

Verse 35

In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,”
declares the Lord.

In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,’
declares the Lord.

Verse 36

“So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.

‘So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.

Verse 37

Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.

Verse 38

On all the roofs in Moab
    and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
    for I have broken Moab
    like a jar that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.

On all the roofs in Moab
    and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
    for I have broken Moab
    like a jar that no one wants,’
declares the Lord.

Verse 39

“How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.”

‘How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.’

Verse 40

This is what the Lord says:

“Look! An eagle is swooping down,
spreading its wings over Moab.

This is what the Lord says:

‘Look! An eagle is swooping down,
spreading its wings over Moab.

Verse 41

Kerioth^[j] will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Kerioth^[j] will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labour.

Verse 42

Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord.

Verse 43

Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.

Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,’
declares the Lord.

Verse 44

“Whoever flees 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 of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.

‘Whoever flees 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 of her punishment,’
declares the Lord.

Verse 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;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls of the noisy boasters.

‘In the shadow of Heshbon
    the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
    a blaze from the midst of Sihon;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls of the noisy boasters.

Verse 46

Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.

Verse 47

“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.

‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,’
declares the Lord.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.