48This 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.H4124H559H3068H6635H430H3478H1945H5015H7703H7156H3001H3920H4869H3001H28652No 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.H8416H4124H2809H2803H7451H3212H3772H1471H1826H4086H2719H3212H3103Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction.H6963H6818H2773H7701H1419H76674All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out.H4124H7665H6810H2201H80855Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim.H4608H3872H1065H1065H5927H4174H2773H6862H8085H6818H76676Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness!H5127H4422H5315H1961H6176H40577Because 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!H982H4639H214H3920H3645H3318H1473H3548H8269H31628“All the towns will be destroyed, and no one will escape—either on the plateaus or in the valleys, for the Lord has spoken.H7703H935H5892H5892H4422H6010H6H4334H8045H3068H5599Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them.H5414H6731H4124H5323H3318H5892H8047H3427H200410Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!H779H6213H4399H3068H7423H779H4513H2719H181811“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.H4124H7599H5271H8252H8105H7324H3627H3627H1980H1473H2940H5975H7381H417112But 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!H3117H935H5002H3068H7971H6808H6808H7324H3627H5310H503513At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh, as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.H4124H954H3645H1004H3478H954H1008H400914“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’H559H1368H2428H582H442115But 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.H4124H7703H5927H5892H4005H970H3381H2874H5002H4428H8034H3068H663516“Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously.H343H4124H7138H935H7451H4116H396617You friends of Moab, weep for him and cry! See how the strong scepter is broken, how the beautiful staff is shattered!H5439H5110H3045H8034H559H5797H4294H7665H8597H473118“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.H1323H3427H1769H3381H3519H3427H6772H7703H4124H5927H7843H401319You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’H3427H6177H5975H1870H6822H7592H5127H4422H559H196120“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!’H4124H3001H2865H3213H2199H5046H769H4124H770321Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,H4941H935H4334H776H2473H3096H415822on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,H1769H5015H101523on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,H7156H1014H101024on Kerioth and Bozrah—all the towns of Moab, far and near.H7152H1224H5892H776H4124H7350H713825“The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,” says the Lord.H7161H4124H1438H2220H7665H5002H306826“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.H7937H1431H3068H4124H5606H6892H781427Did you not ridicule the people of Israel? Were they caught in the company of thieves that you should despise them as you do?H3478H7814H4672H1590H1767H1697H511028“You people of Moab, flee from your towns and live in the caves. Hide like doves that nest in the clefts of the rocks.H3427H4124H5800H5892H7931H5553H3123H7077H5676H6354H631029We 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.H8085H1347H4124H3966H1343H1363H1346H1347H7312H382030I know about his insolence,” says the Lord, “but his boasts are empty—as empty as his deeds.H3045H5678H5002H3068H907H621331So now I wail for Moab; yes, I will mourn for Moab. My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.H3213H4124H2199H4124H1897H582H702532“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.H1612H7643H1058H1065H3270H5189H5674H3220H5060H3220H3270H7703H5307H7019H121033Joy 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.H8057H1524H622H3759H776H4124H3196H7673H3342H1869H1959H1959H195934“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.H2201H2809H500H3096H5414H6963H6820H2773H5697H7992H4325H5249H492335“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.H7673H4124H5002H3068H5927H1116H6999H43036My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.H3820H1993H4124H2485H3820H1993H2485H582H7025H3502H6213H637The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap.H7218H7144H2206H1639H3027H1417H4975H824238There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar.H4553H1406H4124H7339H7665H4124H3627H2656H5002H306839How 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.”H3213H2865H4124H6437H6203H954H4124H7814H4288H543940This is what the Lord says. “Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Moab.H559H3068H1675H5404H6566H3671H412441Its cities will fall, and its strongholds will be seized. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor.H7152H3920H4679H8610H1368H3820H4124H3117H3820H802H688742Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the Lord.H4124H8045H5971H1431H306843“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the Lord.H6343H6354H6341H3427H4124H5002H306844“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.H5127H5211H6440H6343H5307H6354H5927H6354H3920H6341H935H4124H8141H6486H5002H306845“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.H5127H5975H6738H2809H3581H784H3318H2809H3852H996H5511H398H6285H4124H6936H7588H112146“O Moab, they weep for you! The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed! Your sons and your daughters have been taken away as captives.H188H4124H5971H3645H6H1121H3947H7628H1323H763347But 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.H7725H7622H4124H319H3117H5002H3068H2008H4941H4124
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, too, will be silenced; the sword will follow you there.H8416
