New Living Translation

Holman Christian Standard 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.

1About Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed; Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive. The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!

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; they plan harm against her in Heshbon: Come, let's cut her off from nationhood. Also, Madmen, you 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 disaster!"

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 will be weeping continually, and on the descent to Horonaim will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:

6Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness!

6Flee! Save your lives! Be like a juniper bush 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!

7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you will be captured also. 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 town; not one town will escape. The valley will perish, and the plain will be annihilated, 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.

9Make Moab a salt marsh, for she will run away; her towns will become a desolation, without inhabitant.

10Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!

10The one who does the LORD's business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed.

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 left quiet since his youth, settled like wine on its dregs. He hasn't been poured from one container to another or gone into exile. So his taste has remained the same, and his aroma hasn't changed.

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 look, the days are coming-- this is the LORD's declaration-- when I will send those to him, who will pour him out. They will empty his containers and smash 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.

13Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was put to shame because of Bethel that they trusted in.

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.

15The destroyer of Moab and its towns has come up, and the best of its young men have gone down to slaughter. This is the King's declaration; Yahweh of Hosts is His name.

16“Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously.

16Moab's calamity is near at hand; his disaster 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 surrounding nations, everyone who knows his name. Say: 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 glory; sit on parched ground, resident of the daughter of 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 highway and look, resident of Aroer! Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping: What 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, indeed dismayed. 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,

21"Judgment has come to the land of the plateau--to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,

22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,

22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,

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

23Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,

24on Kerioth and Bozrah— all the towns of Moab, far and near.

24Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near.

25“The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,” says the LORD.

25Moab's horn is chopped off; his arm is shattered." This is the LORD's declaration.

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 exalted himself against the LORD. 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?

27Wasn't Israel a laughingstock to you? 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! Live in the cliffs, residents of Moab! Be like a dove that nests inside 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 pride, great pride, indeed-- his insolence, arrogance, pride, and haughty heart.

30I know about his insolence,” says the LORD, “but his boasts are empty— as empty as his deeds.

30I know his outburst. This is the LORD's declaration. It is empty. His boast is empty.

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 over Moab. I will cry out for Moab, all of it; he 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, vine of Sibmah, with more than the weeping for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. The destroyer has fallen 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 celebration are taken from the fertile field and from the land of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses; no one will tread with shouts of joy. The shouting is not a shout 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.

34"There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz--from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah--because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

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, I will stop"--this is the LORD's declaration--"the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.

36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.

36Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab, and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.

37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap.

37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped; on every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.

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 her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants." This is the LORD's declaration.

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 broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock 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: He will swoop down like an eagle and spread 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.

41The towns have been captured, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab's warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.

42Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the LORD.

42Moab will be destroyed as a people because he has exalted himself against the LORD.

43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the LORD.

43Panic, pit, and trap await you, resident of Moab. This is the LORD's declaration.

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.

44He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit, and he who climbs from the pit will be captured in the trap, for I will bring against Moab the year of their punishment. This is the LORD's declaration.

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.

45Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon's shadow because fire has come out from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It will devour Moab's forehead and the skull of the noisemakers.

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, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished because your sons have been taken captive 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, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days. This is the LORD's declaration. The judgment on Moab ends here.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.