Jeremias 48

¹ Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe toThese were cities of the Moabites, which Nebuchadnezzar took before he went to fight against Nebo King of Egypt.Nebo! for it is laid waste: Kiriathaim is confounded [and] taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

² [There shall be] no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it;Thus shall the Babylonians encourage one another.come, and let us cut it off from [being] a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down,Read (Isa_25:10).O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

³ A voyce of crying shall be from Horonaim with desolation and great destruction.

⁴ Moab is destroyed: her litle ones haue caused their crie to be heard.

⁵ For in the ascent ofHoronaim and Luhith were two places by which the Moabites would flee, (Isa_15:5).Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

⁶ Flee, save your lives, and be like theHide yourselves in barren places, where the enemy will not pursue after you, (Jer_17:6).bush in the wilderness.

⁷ For because thou hast trusted in thyThat is, the idols which are the works your hands. Some read, in your possessions, for so the word may signify as in (1Sa_25:2).works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: andBoth your great idol and his maintainers will be led away captives so that they will then know that it is in vain to look for help at idols, (Isa_15:2).Chemosh shall go forth into captivity [with] his priests and his princes together.

⁸ And the destroyer shall come vpon all cities, and no citie shall escape: the valley also shall perish and the plaine shalbe destroyed as the Lord hath spoken.

⁹ Giue wings vnto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shalbe desolate, without any to dwell therein.

¹⁰ He shows that God would punish the Chaldeans if they did not destroy the Egyptians, and that with a courage, and calls this executing of his vengeance against his enemies, his work though the Chaldeans sought another end, (Isa_10:11).Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed [be] he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

¹¹ Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not beenHas not been removed as the Jews have, but have lived at ease, and as a wine that feeds itself on his lees.emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

¹² Therefore beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will send vnto him such as shall carie him away, and shall emptie his vessels, and breake their bottels.

¹³ And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed ofAs the calf of Bethel was not able to deliver the Israelites no more will Chemosh deliver the Moabites.Bethel their confidence.

¹⁴ Howe thinke you thus, We are mightie and strong men of warre?

¹⁵ Moab is destroyed, & his cities burnt vp, & his chose yong men are gone downe to slaughter, saith ye King, whose name is ye Lord of hostes.

¹⁶ The destruction of Moab is ready to come, and his plague hasteth fast.

¹⁷ All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say,How are they destroyed that put their trust in their strength and riches?How is the strong staff broken, [and] the beautiful rod!

¹⁸ Thou daughter that doest inhabite Dibon, come downe from thy glory, and sit in thirst: for the destroyer of Moab shall come vpon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holdes.

¹⁹ Thou that dwellest in Aroer, stand by the way, and beholde: aske him that fleeth and that escapeth, and say, What is done?

²⁰ Thus they who flee will answer.Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste,

²¹ And iudgement is come vpon the plaine countrey, vpon Holon and vpon Iahazah, and vpon Mephaath,

²² And vpon Dibon, and vpon Nebo, and vpon the house of Diblathaim,

²³ And vpon Kiriathaim, and vpon Beth-gamul, and vpon Beth-meon,

²⁴ And vpon Kerioth, and vpon Bozrah, & vpon all the cities of ye land of Moab farre or neere.

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

²⁶ Make ye himHe willed the Chaldeans to lay afflictions enough on them till they are like drunken men that fall down to their shame and are derided by all.drunk: for he magnified [himself] against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

²⁷ For was not Israel a derision to thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou hast spoken of him, thou didstYou rejoiced to hear of his misery, (Isa_16:6).leap for joy.

²⁸ O ye that dwell in Moab, leaue the cities, and dwell in the rockes, and be like the doue, that maketh her nest in the sides of the holes mouth.

²⁹ We haue heard the pride of Moab (hee is exceeding proude) his stoutnesse, and his arrogancie, and his pride, and the hautinesse of his heart.

³⁰ I know his wrath, saith the LORD;He will not execute his malice against his neighbours.but [it shall] not [be] so; his lies shall not so effect [it].

³¹ Read (Isa_16:7).Therefore will I wail for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; [my heart] shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

³² O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants have gone over the sea, they reach [even] to the seaWhich city was in the utmost border of Moab: and by this he signifies that the whole land would be destroyed and the people carried away.of Jazer: the spoiler hath fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

³³ And ioye, and gladnesse is taken from the plentifull fielde, and from the land of Moab: and I haue caused wine to faile from the winepresse: none shall treade with shouting: their shouting shall be no shouting.

³⁴ From the cry of Heshbon [even] to Elealeh, [and even] to Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar [even] to Horonaim, [as] an{{See Isa_15:5}}heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

³⁵ Moreouer, I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offered in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

³⁶ Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab likeTheir custom was to play on flutes or instruments, heavy and grave tunes at burials and in the time of mourning, as in (Mat_9:23).pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches [that] he hath gotten have perished.

³⁷ For euery head shalbe balde, and euery beard plucked: vpon all the handes shall be cuttings, and vpon the loynes sackecloth.

³⁸ And mourning shall be vpon all the house toppes of Moab and in all the streetes thereof: for I haue broken Moab like a vessell wherein is no pleasure, sayeth the Lord.

³⁹ They shal howle, saying, How is he destroyed? howe hath Moab turned the backe with shame? so shall Moab be a derision, and a feare to all them about him.

⁴⁰ For thus saith the LORD; Behold,That is, Nebuchadnezzar, as in (Jer_49:22).he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

⁴¹ The cities are taken, and the strong holdes are wonne, and ye mightie mens hearts in Moab at that day shalbe as ye heart of a woman in trauaile.

⁴² And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath set vp himselfe against the Lord.

⁴³ He that escapes one danger will be taken by another, (Isa_24:17).Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [shall be] upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.

⁴⁴ He that escapeth from the feare, shall fall in the pit, and he that getteth vp out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring vpon it, euen vpon Moab, the yeere of their visitation, sayeth the Lord.

⁴⁵ They that fled stood under the shadowThey fled there thinking to have comfort from the Amorites.of Heshbon because of the force: butThe Amorites had destroyed the Moabites in times past, and now because of their power the Moabites will seek them for help.a fire shall come 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.

⁴⁶ Woe be to thee, O Moab! the people ofWho vaunted themselves of their idol as though he could have defended them.Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

⁴⁷ Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in theThat is, they will be restored by the Messiah.latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far [is] the judgment of Moab.