A message about Moab
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1 This is a message about Moab. The Commander of the armies of angels said:“Terrible things will happen to the town of Nebo;
it will soon be ruined.
The city of Kiriathaim will be captured and all its people will be humiliated;
the high wall around their city will be ruined, and its people will become ashamed.
2 No one will boast about Moab again;
the enemies of Moab will plan to destroy the capital city, Heshbon.
They will say, ‘Come, let's cause Moab to no longer be a nation.’
You people in the town of Madmen, you also will be silenced;
enemy armies will pursue you.
3 Listen to the people of the town of Horonaim screaming;
they will be wailing because their town will have been devastated and destroyed.
4 All of Moab will be ruined;
even the little children will cry loudly.
5 They will cry bitterly
as they climb up Luhith hill.
Others will wail on the road down to Horonaim,
being very sad because of their town being destroyed.
6 Someone will say to them, ‘Flee!
Hide in the desert!’
7 But you trusted that because you were rich and powerful, you would be safe;
so you will be captured.
T>he statue os our god Chemosh and all his priests and officials
will be taken away to distant lands.
8 All the towns in Moab will be destroyed;
none of them will escape.
Towns in the valleys and on the plateau will all be destroyed,
because I, Yahweh, have said that is what will happen.
9 Spread salt on the ground
in order that it will become a wasteland withnothing growing there anymore,
and no one will be living in it!”
10 Yahweh will curse anyone who will not eagerly do what he desires,
anyone who refrains from using his sword to kill others in Moab.
11 The people of Moab have always felt secure;
they have never been exiled to other countries.
They are like wine that has been left undisturbed in a container for many days to give it good flavor,
so now it smells good,
and it tastes good.
12 But Yahweh says that there will be a time when he will send enemies to attack them;
they will get rid of the people of Moab like people pour out wine on the ground
and then smash the wine jar.
13 Then the people of Moab will be ashamed of their idol Chemosh because it did not help them,
like the Israeli people were ashamed because their gold statue of a calf was smashed at Bethel.
14 The soldiers of Moab previously said, “We are warriors;
we have fought bravely in battles!”
15 But now our King, who is Yahweh, who is called 'the Commander of the armies of angels,' says that the country of Moab and all the towns in it will be destroyed.
Their fine young men will all be slaughtered.
16 Moab will very soon be destroyed.
They will soon experience disaster.
17 You people who live in nations near Moab,
who know that it is very famous,
should mourn for Moab,
and say, “Its glorious power is completely ended.”
18 You people of the city of Dibon, stop being proud because of being honored,
and sit in the dirt,
because those who will destroy other places in Moab will attack your city
and destroy your high walls.
19 You people of the town of Aroer,
stand along the road and watch.
Shout to the men and women who will be fleeing from Moab,
“What has happened there?”
20 They will reply,
“Moab is ruined and we are disgraced!”
So weep and wail.
Proclaim at the Aroer River that Moab has been destroyed.
21 Yahweh will have punished the towns of Moab that are on the plateau:
Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
22 Dibon and Nebo and Beth-Diblathaim,
23 Kiriathaim and Beth-Gamul and Beth-Meon,
24 Kerioth and Bozrah,
cities that are near each other and towns that are far away from each other.
25 Yahweh says, “The power of Moab will be finished;
it is as though it will have a broken arm.
26 You people of Moab have rebelled against me, Yahweh;
so now I will cause you all to stagger like drunken people.
You people of Moab will wallow in your own vomit
and be ridiculed.
27 You people of Moab ridiculed the people of Israel.
You treated them as though they were thieves.
You shook your head at them scornfully and despised them.
28 You people who live in Moab,
you should abandon your towns and go and live in caves.
Be like doves that make their nests in the entrances of caves.”
29 We have all heard that the people of Moab are very proud;
they are extremely proud and conceited.
30 But Yahweh says, “I know about that,
but it is useless for them to boast
because it will accomplish nothing.
31 So now I will wail for Moab;
I will cry about all its people.
I will moan for the men of the city of Kir-Hareseth, the old capital of Moab.
32 You people of the city of Sibmah, you have many vineyards.
It is as though the branches of your vines extend across the Dead Sea to the city of Jazer.
33 But no one will be joyful or happy in Moab now;
your fruit and grapes that ripen in the summer will soon be destroyed.
There will be no grape juice coming from the winepresses,
so there will be no wine.
People will not shout joyfully
as they tread on the grapes;
people will shout,
but they will not be shouting joyfully.
34 Instead, the sound of their wailing will rise from the city of Heshbon to the town of Elealeh and the village of Jahaz,
from the city of Zoar as far as the town of Horonaim and the village of Eglath-Shelishiyah.
Even the water in the Nimrim Stream will be dried up.
35 I, Yahweh, say that I will get rid of the people who offer sacrifices on the hilltops,
and burn incense to their gods.
36 I moan for the people of Moab and Kir-Hareseth
like someone playing a funeral song on a flute,
because all their wealth will disappear.
37 The men will shave their heads and their beards to show that they are mourning.
They all will slash their hands and wear rough cloth around their waists.
38 In every home and in the town plazas in Moab there will be people who are mourning,
because I will have destroyed Moab
like someone smashes an old jar that no one wants anymore.
39 Moab will be completely shattered!
And you will hear the people wailing loudly!
They will be disgraced.
Moab will become a nation that people ridicule.
The people in nearby countries will be horrified about what has happened there.
40 This is what I, Yahweh, say:
‘Look! Their enemies will be rushing down over Moab
like an eagle swoops down to seize an animal.
41 Its cities will be captured,
its fortresses will be seized.
Even their warriors will be afraid,
like a woman who is about to give birth.
42 Moab boasted against me, Yahweh,
so it will be destroyed.
43 I, Yahweh, say that you people of Moab will be terrified, and fall into pits and traps.
44 Those who are terrified and try to run away will fall into deep pits.
Whoever climbs out of a pit will be caught in a trap,
because I will punish them at the time that I have appointed.’
45 The people will flee as far as the city of Heshbon,
but they will not be able to go any further,
because a fire will burn in Heshbon,
which is the city where King Sihon lived long ago,
and it will burn up all the people in Moab
who loudly boasted very much.
46 You people of Moab, terrible things will happen to you!
You people who worship your god Chemosh, you will be destroyed.
Your sons and your daughters will be captured and taken away to other countries.
47 But some day, I will enable the people of Moab to return to their land again.
That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it.”
That is the end of what Jeremiah prophesied about Moab.