Jeremiah 48

Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

1The LORD of All Armies, the God of Israel, sends a message about Moab. Moab was a nation living next to Israel. He says, "How sad for the town of Nebo! It will be wrecked. The town of Kiriathaim will be captured and shamed. The strong fort will be smashed and pulled down."

NoteIn 1611 English, "spoiled" meant wrecked or robbed, not gone bad like old food. A "spoiler" is a destroyer.

2There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

2No one will praise Moab anymore. In the town of Heshbon, enemies make plans to hurt her. They say, "Come, let's stop Moab from being a country." You too, town of Madmen, will be made quiet. Swords will chase after you.

3A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

3A voice cries out from the town of Horonaim. It shouts, "Everything is ruined! Everything is broken!"

4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

4Moab is smashed to pieces. Her little children cry out loud.

5For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

5People weep and weep as they climb the hill to Luhith. They cry about the ruin as they walk down to Horonaim.

6Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

6Run away! Save your lives! Be like a lonely bush out in the desert.

7For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

7You trusted the things you made and the money you saved. So you will be captured too. Chemosh, the god Moab worshiped, will be carried away. His priests and his leaders will be carried away with him.

8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.

8The destroyer will come to every city. Not one town will get away. The valley will be ruined. The flat high land will be destroyed. The LORD has said it.

9Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

9Give Moab wings so she can fly away. Her cities will be left empty. No one will live in them.

10Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

10Anyone who does the LORD's work in a lazy way is cursed. Anyone who keeps his sword back from killing is cursed.

Note"Deceitfully" here does not mean lying. It means doing the job in a slack, careless way.

11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

11Moab has had an easy life since he was young. He is like wine that sits still in one jar. He was never poured from jar to jar. He was never taken away from his land. So his taste stayed the same, and his smell did not change.

12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

12The LORD says, "But the days are coming. I will send men who will pour Moab out. They will empty his jars and smash them to bits."

13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

13Then Moab will be ashamed of his god Chemosh. The people of Israel felt that same shame. They had trusted the idol at Bethel, and it did not help them.

14How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

14How can you say, "We are strong fighters, ready for war"?

15Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

15Moab is destroyed. Enemies have come up into her towns. Her best young men have gone down to be killed. The King says this. His name is the LORD of All Armies.

16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

16Trouble for Moab is very close now. His sad day is rushing toward him fast.

17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

17All of you who live near him, cry for him. All of you who know his name, say this: "The strong king's staff is broken! The beautiful staff is snapped in two!"

18Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

18You who live in the town of Dibon, come down. Leave your proud seat and sit on dry ground. The one who destroys Moab is coming for you. He has knocked down your strong walls.

19O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

19You who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Ask the man who is running away. Ask the woman who is escaping. Say to them, "What happened?"

20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

20Moab is shamed, because it is broken down. Cry out loud! Tell it by the Arnon River: Moab is ruined.

21And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

21Punishment has come to the flat high land. It came to Holon, to Jahzah, and to Mephaath.

22And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

22It came to Dibon, to Nebo, and to Beth-diblathaim.

23And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

23It came to Kiriathaim, to Beth-gamul, and to Beth-meon.

24And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

24It came to Kerioth and to Bozrah. It came to every town in Moab, near ones and far ones.

25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.

25The LORD says, "Moab's strength is gone, like a horn cut off an animal. His arm is broken."

26Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

26Make Moab drunk, because he made himself big against the LORD. Moab will roll around in his own vomit. People will laugh at him.

27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

27Didn't you laugh at Israel? Was Israel ever caught stealing? Yet every time you talked about him, you shook your head and made fun.

28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.

28You who live in Moab, leave your towns. Go live among the rocks instead. Be like a dove that builds her nest in a cave opening.

29We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

29We have heard how proud Moab is. He is very, very proud. He looks down on everyone and thinks he is great.

30I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

30The LORD says, "I know how rude and angry he is. But his big talk will come to nothing. His boasting is as empty as the things he does."

31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

31So I will cry out loud for Moab. I will cry for all of Moab. My heart is sad for the men of Kir-heres.

32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

32Grapevines of Sibmah, I will cry for you. I will cry more than Jazer ever cried. Your vines spread all the way to the sea. They reached as far as Jazer. The destroyer took your summer fruit and your grapes.

33And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

33Happy songs are gone from the fruit trees and fields of Moab. I stopped the wine from flowing where grapes are squeezed. No one stomps the grapes with happy shouts now. The shouting they make is not happy shouting.

34From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

34People cry out from Heshbon to Elealeh and on to Jahaz. Their cries go from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the water at Nimrim has dried up.

NoteThe KJV says "as an heifer of three years old." Those Hebrew words are most likely a place name, Eglath-shelishiyah.

35Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

35The LORD says, "I will put an end to Moab's worship. No one will bring gifts at the altars on the hills. No one will burn sweet-smelling smoke to their gods."

36Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

36So my heart makes a sad sound, like a flute played at a funeral. It sounds that way for Moab and for the men of Kir-heres. All the riches they gathered are gone.

37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

37Every head is shaved bald. Every beard is cut short. Every hand has a cut on it. Everyone wears rough, scratchy cloth. People did all this to show how sad they were.

38There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.

38People are crying on every rooftop in Moab. They are crying in the streets too. The LORD says, "I broke Moab like a jar that nobody wants."

39They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

39They cry out, "Moab is smashed! Moab turned and ran away in shame!" Everyone around him will laugh at him and be scared of what happened.

40For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

40This is what the LORD says: "Look! An enemy swoops down like an eagle. He spreads his wings over Moab."

41Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

41The town of Kerioth is taken. The strong forts are grabbed. On that day Moab's brave soldiers will be very afraid. Their hearts will hurt like a woman having a baby.

42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.

42Moab will stop being a nation at all. This is because he made himself big against the LORD.

43Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.

43The LORD says, "People of Moab, fear is coming for you. A deep pit is waiting. A trap is set."

44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

44Whoever runs from the fear will fall into the pit. Whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The LORD says, "I am bringing Moab the year when I punish them."

45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

45People running away stop in the shadow of Heshbon, worn out. But fire comes out of Heshbon. Flames come from the town of Sihon. They burn up the foreheads of Moab's people. They burn the heads of the loud, boastful ones.

46Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

46How sad for you, Moab! The people of Chemosh are gone. Your sons have been taken away. Your daughters have been taken away too.

47Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

47The LORD says, "But later on, I will bring Moab's people back home." This is the end of the message about Moab.