| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD God of Israel who rules over all spoke about Moab. "Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed, it will be destroyed! Kiriathaim will suffer disgrace. It will be captured! Its fortress will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down! | 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. |
| 2People will not praise Moab any more. The enemy will capture Heshbon and plot how to destroy Moab, saying, 'Come, let's put an end to that nation!' City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. A destructive army will march against you. | 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, too, will be silenced; the sword will follow you there. |
| 3Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim, 'Oh, the ruin and great destruction!' | 3Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction. |
| 4"Moab will be crushed. Her children will cry out in distress. | 4All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out. |
| 5Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith, weeping continually as they go. For on the road down to Horonaim they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction. | 5Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim. |
| 6They will hear, 'Run! Save yourselves! Even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the desert!' | 6Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness! |
| 7"Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials. | 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! |
| 8The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. I, the LORD, have spoken! | 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. |
| 9Set up a gravestone for Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins! Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited." | 9Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them. |
| 10A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD's work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction! | 10Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood! |
| 11"From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged. | 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 when I will send men against Moab who will empty it out. They will empty the towns of their people, then will lay those towns in ruins. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 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! |
| 13The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh. They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel. | 13At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh, as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel. |
| 14How can you men of Moab say, 'We are heroes, men who are mighty in battle?' | 14“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’ |
| 15Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded. Its finest young men will be slaughtered. I, the King, the LORD who rules over all, affirm it! | 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. |
| 16Moab's destruction is at hand. Disaster will come on it quickly. | 16“Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously. |
| 17Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame. Mourn and say, 'Alas, its powerful influence has been broken! Its glory and power have been done away!' | 17You friends of Moab, weep for him and cry! See how the strong scepter is broken, how the beautiful staff is shattered! |
| 18Come down from your place of honor; sit on the dry ground, you who live in Dibon. For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you; he will destroy your fortifications. | 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 who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping. Ask them, 'What has happened?' | 19You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’ |
| 20They will answer, 'Moab is disgraced, for it has fallen! Wail and cry out in mourning! Announce along the Arnon River that Moab has been destroyed.' | 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!’ |
| 21"Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, | 21Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau— on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath, |
| 22on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim, | 22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, |
| 23on Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon, | 23on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, |
| 24on Kerioth and Bozrah. It will come on all the towns of Moab, both far and near. | 24on Kerioth and Bozrah— all the towns of Moab, far and near. |
| 25Moab's might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 25“The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,” says the LORD. |
| 26"Moab has vaunted itself against me. So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath until he splashes around in his own vomit, until others treat him as a laughingstock. | 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. |
| 27For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them? | 27Did you not ridicule the people of Israel? Were they caught in the company of thieves that you should despise them as you do? |
| 28Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab. Go and live in the cliffs. Be like a dove that makes its nest high on the sides of a ravine. | 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. |
| 29I have heard how proud the people of Moab are, I know how haughty they are. I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are, what a high opinion they have of themselves. | 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, the LORD, affirm that I know how arrogant they are. But their pride is ill-founded. Their boastings will prove to be false. | 30I know about his insolence,” says the LORD, “but his boasts are empty— as empty as his deeds. |
| 31So I will weep with sorrow for Moab. I will cry out in sadness for all of Moab. I will moan for the people of Kir Heres. | 31So now I wail for Moab; yes, I will mourn for Moab. My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth. |
| 32I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. They reached as far as the town of Jazer. The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, and grape crops. | 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, but the destroyer has stripped you bare! He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits. |
| 33Joy and gladness will disappear from the fruitful land of Moab. I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses. No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers, not the shouts of those making wine. | 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. |
| 34Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh will be sounded as far as Jahaz. They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up. | 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. |
| 35I will put an end in Moab to those who make offerings at her places of worship. I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 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. |
| 36So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres. For the wealth they have gained will perish. | 36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. |
| 37For all of them will shave their heads in mourning. They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow. They will all make gashes in their hands. They will all put on sackcloth. | 37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. |
| 38On all the housetops in Moab and in all its public squares there will be nothing but mourning. For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 38There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. |
| 39Oh, how shattered Moab will be! Oh, how her people will wail! Oh, how she will turn away in shame! Moab will become an object of ridicule, a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her." | 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.” |
| 40For the LORD says, "Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab. | 40This is what the LORD says: “Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Moab. |
| 41Her towns will be captured. Her fortresses will be taken. At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened like a woman in labor. | 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 be destroyed and no longer be a nation, because she has vaunted herself against the LORD. | 42Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the LORD. |
| 43Terror, pits, and traps are in store for the people who live in Moab. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the LORD. |
| 44Anyone who flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For the time is coming when I will punish the people of Moab. I, the LORD, affirm it! | 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. |
| 45In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon those trying to escape will stand helpless. For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon. Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon. They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab, the skulls of those war-loving people. | 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. |
| 46Moab, you are doomed! You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed. Your sons will be taken away captive. Your daughters will be carried away into exile. | 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. |
| 47Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab's ill fortune." says the LORD. The judgment against Moab ends here. | 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. |
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