| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 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. | 1Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled. |
| 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. | 2There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you. |
| 3Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction. | 3A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ |
| 4All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out. | 4Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out. |
| 5Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim. | 5For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction: |
| 6Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness! | 6‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’ |
| 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! | 7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials. |
| 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. | 8The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said. |
| 9Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them. | 9Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them. |
| 10Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood! | 10Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed. |
| 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. | 11Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged. |
| 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! | 12Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. |
| 13At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh, as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel. | 13Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel. |
| 14“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’ | 14How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’? |
| 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. | 15Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts. |
| 16“Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously. | 16Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly. |
| 17You friends of Moab, weep for him and cry! See how the strong scepter is broken, how the beautiful staff is shattered! | 17Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff! |
| 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. | 18Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses. |
| 19You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’ | 19Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’ |
| 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!’ | 20Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed. |
| 21Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau— on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath, | 21Judgment has come upon the high plain—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, |
| 22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, | 22upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, |
| 23on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, | 23upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, |
| 24on Kerioth and Bozrah— all the towns of Moab, far and near. | 24upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near. |
| 25“The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,” says the LORD. | 25The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,” declares 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. | 26“Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. |
| 27Did you not ridicule the people of Israel? Were they caught in the company of thieves that you should despise them as you do? | 27Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head. |
| 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. | 28Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave. |
| 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. | 29We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his proud arrogance and haughtiness of heart. |
| 30I know about his insolence,” says the LORD, “but his boasts are empty— as empty as his deeds. | 30I know his insolence,” declares the LORD, “but it is futile. His boasting is 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. | 31Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. |
| 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. | 32I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest. |
| 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. | 33Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts are not for 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. | 34There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up. |
| 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. | 35In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods. |
| 36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. | 36Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished. |
| 37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. | 37For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth. |
| 38There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. | 38On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD. |
| 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.” | 39“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.” |
| 40This is what the LORD says: “Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Moab. | 40For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab. |
| 41Its cities will fall, and its strongholds will be seized. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor. | 41Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. |
| 42Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the LORD. | 42Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD. |
| 43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the LORD. | 43Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,” declares 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. | 44“Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,” declares 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. | 45“Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult. |
| 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. | 46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity. |
| 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. | 47Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab. |
|
