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.
“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.
“The sound of an outcry from (E)Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
“Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
“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.
(G)Flee, save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
“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.
“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.
“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.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 Or dismayed
  2. Jeremiah 48:2 I.e. a city of Moab
  3. Jeremiah 48:5 Lit distresses of outcry
  4. Jeremiah 48:9 Or salt
  5. Jeremiah 48:9 Or fall in ruins
  6. Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his
  7. Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his flavor has stayed in him
  8. Jeremiah 48:12 Lit their