A Message about Moab

1This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:

“What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo;

it will soon lie in ruins.

The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured;

the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.

2No one will ever brag about Moab again,

for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her.

‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’

The town of Madmen,a too, will be silenced;

the sword will follow you there.

3Listen to the cries from Horonaim,

cries of devastation and great destruction.

4All Moab is destroyed.

Her little ones will cry out.b

5Her refugees weep bitterly,

climbing the slope to Luhith.

They cry out in terror,

descending the slope to Horonaim.

6Flee for your lives!

Hidec in the wilderness!

7Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill,

you will be taken captive.

Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials,

will be hauled off to distant lands!

8“All the towns will be destroyed,

and no one will escape—

either on the plateaus or in the valleys,

for the LORD has spoken.

9Oh, that Moab had wings

so she could fly away,d

for her towns will be left empty,

with no one living in them.

10Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD’s work,

who hold back their swords from shedding blood!

11“From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace,

never going into exile.

He is like wine that has been allowed to settle.

He has not been poured from flask to flask,

and he is now fragrant and smooth.

12But the time is coming soon,” says the LORD,

“when I will send men to pour him from his jar.

They will pour him out,

then shatter the jar!

13At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh,

as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.e

14“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes,

mighty men of war.’

15But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed.

His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,”

says the King, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

16“Destruction is coming fast for Moab;

calamity threatens ominously.

17You friends of Moab,

weep for him and cry!

See how the strong scepter is broken,

how the beautiful staff is shattered!

18“Come down from your glory

and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon,

for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too.

They will tear down all your towers.

19You people of Aroer,

stand beside the road and watch.

Shout to those who flee from Moab,

‘What has happened there?’

20“And the reply comes back,

‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced;

weep and wail!

Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River:

Moab has been destroyed!’

21Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—

on Holon and Jahazf and Mephaath,

22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,

23on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,

24on Kerioth and Bozrah—

all the towns of Moab, far and near.

25“The strength of Moab has ended.

His arm has been broken,” says the LORD.

26“Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard,

for he has rebelled against the LORD.

Moab will wallow in his own vomit,

ridiculed by all.

27Did you not ridicule the people of Israel?

Were they caught in the company of thieves

that you should despise them as you do?

28“You people of Moab,

flee from your towns and live in the caves.

Hide like doves that nest

in the clefts of the rocks.

29We have all heard of the pride of Moab,

for his pride is very great.

We know of his lofty pride,

his arrogance, and his haughty heart.

30I know about his insolence,”

says the LORD,

“but his boasts are empty—

as empty as his deeds.

31So now I wail for Moab;

yes, I will mourn for Moab.

My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.g

32“You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards,

I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer.

Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea,h

but the destroyer has stripped you bare!

He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.

33Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab.

The presses yield no wine.

No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy.

There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.

34“Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.

35“I will put an end to Moab,” says the LORD, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. 36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. 37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. 38There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. 39How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.”

40This is what the LORD says:

“Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,

spreading his wings over Moab.

41Its cities will fall,

and its strongholds will be seized.

Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish

like a woman in labor.

42Moab will no longer be a nation,

for it has boasted against the LORD.

43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,

O Moab,” says the LORD.

44“Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,

and those who escape the trap will step into a snare.

I will see to it that you do not get away,

for the time of your judgment has come,”

says the LORD.

45“The people flee as far as Heshbon

but are unable to go on.

For a fire comes from Heshbon,

King Sihon’s ancient home,

to devour the entire land

with all its rebellious people.

46“What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!

The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed!

Your sons and your daughters

have been taken away as captives.

47But I will restore the fortunes of Moab

in days to come.

I, the LORD, have spoken!”

This is the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Moab.