Do not seek a treaty(A) of friendship with them as long as you live.(B)

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Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

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A Prophecy Against Moab(A)

15 A prophecy(B) against Moab:(C)

Ar(D) in Moab is ruined,(E)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(F) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(G) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(H) to weep;
    Moab wails(I) over Nebo(J) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(K)
    and every beard cut off.(L)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(M)
    on the roofs(N) and in the public squares(O)
they all wail,(P)
    prostrate with weeping.(Q)
Heshbon(R) and Elealeh(S) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(T)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(U) over Moab;(V)
    her fugitives(W) flee as far as Zoar,(X)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(Y)
    they lament their destruction.(Z)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(AA)
    and the grass is withered;(AB)
the vegetation is gone(AC)
    and nothing green is left.(AD)
So the wealth they have acquired(AE) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(AF) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]
a lion(AG) upon the fugitives of Moab(AH)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs(AI) as tribute(AJ)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(AK) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(AL)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(AM)
so are the women of Moab(AN)
    at the fords(AO) of the Arnon.(AP)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(AQ)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(AR) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(AS) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(AT)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(AU) will be established;(AV)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[c] of David(AW)
one who in judging seeks justice(AX)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(AY) pride(AZ)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(BA)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(BB) of Kir Hareseth.(BC)
The fields of Heshbon(BD) wither,(BE)
    the vines of Sibmah(BF) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(BG)
which once reached Jazer(BH)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(BI)
    and went as far as the sea.[d](BJ)
So I weep,(BK) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(BL)
    I drench you with tears!(BM)
The shouts of joy(BN) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(BO) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(BP)
    no one sings or shouts(BQ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(BR) out wine at the presses,(BS)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(BT) like a harp,(BU)
    my inmost being(BV) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(BW)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(BX) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(BY)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(BZ) as a servant bound by contract(CA) would count them,(CB) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(CC) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(CD)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  2. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  3. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  4. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea

15 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;

He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.

For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.

For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.

For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

16 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.

10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.

11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

A Message About Moab(A)

48 Concerning Moab:(B)

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Woe to Nebo,(C) for it will be ruined.
    Kiriathaim(D) will be disgraced and captured;
    the stronghold[a] will be disgraced and shattered.
Moab will be praised(E) no more;
    in Heshbon[b](F) people will plot her downfall:
    ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’(G)
You, the people of Madmen,[c] will also be silenced;
    the sword will pursue you.
Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(H)
    cries of great havoc and destruction.
Moab will be broken;
    her little ones will cry out.[d]
They go up the hill to Luhith,(I)
    weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim(J)
    anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
Flee!(K) Run for your lives;
    become like a bush[e] in the desert.(L)
Since you trust in your deeds and riches,(M)
    you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh(N) will go into exile,(O)
    together with his priests and officials.(P)
The destroyer(Q) will come against every town,
    and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
    and the plateau(R) destroyed,
    because the Lord has spoken.
Put salt(S) on Moab,
    for she will be laid waste[f];(T)
her towns will become desolate,
    with no one to live in them.

10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
    A curse on anyone who keeps their sword(U) from bloodshed!(V)

11 “Moab has been at rest(W) from youth,
    like wine left on its dregs,(X)
not poured from one jar to another—
    she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
    and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
    and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
    and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed(Y) of Chemosh,(Z)
    as Israel was ashamed
    when they trusted in Bethel.(AA)

14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,(AB)
    men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
    her finest young men(AC) will go down in the slaughter,(AD)
    declares the King,(AE) whose name is the Lord Almighty.(AF)
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;(AG)
    her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
    all who know her fame;(AH)
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,(AI)
    how broken the glorious staff!’

18 “Come down from your glory
    and sit on the parched ground,(AJ)
    you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,(AK)
for the one who destroys Moab
    will come up against you
    and ruin your fortified cities.(AL)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
    you who live in Aroer.(AM)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
    ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
    Wail(AN) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon(AO)
    that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau(AP)
    to Holon,(AQ) Jahzah(AR) and Mephaath,(AS)
22     to Dibon,(AT) Nebo(AU) and Beth Diblathaim,
23     to Kiriathaim,(AV) Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,(AW)
24     to Kerioth(AX) and Bozrah(AY)
    to all the towns(AZ) of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[g](BA) is cut off;
    her arm(BB) is broken,”
declares the Lord.

26 “Make her drunk,(BC)
    for she has defied(BD) the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;(BE)
    let her be an object of ridicule.(BF)
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?(BG)
    Was she caught among thieves,(BH)
that you shake your head(BI) in scorn(BJ)
    whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
    you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove(BK) that makes its nest
    at the mouth of a cave.(BL)

29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride(BM)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
    and the haughtiness(BN) of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
    “and her boasts(BO) accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail(BP) over Moab,
    for all Moab I cry out,
    I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.(BQ)
32 I weep for you, as Jazer(BR) weeps,
    you vines of Sibmah.(BS)
Your branches spread as far as the sea[h];
    they reached as far as[i] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
    on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
    from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine(BT) from the presses;
    no one treads them with shouts of joy.(BU)
Although there are shouts,
    they are not shouts of joy.

34 “The sound of their cry rises
    from Heshbon(BV) to Elealeh(BW) and Jahaz,(BX)
from Zoar(BY) as far as Horonaim(BZ) and Eglath Shelishiyah,
    for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.(CA)
35 In Moab I will put an end
    to those who make offerings on the high places(CB)
    and burn incense(CC) to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments(CD) for Moab like the music of a pipe;
    it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.(CE)
    The wealth they acquired(CF) is gone.
37 Every head is shaved(CG)
    and every beard(CH) cut off;
every hand is slashed
    and every waist is covered with sackcloth.(CI)
38 On all the roofs in Moab
    and in the public squares(CJ)
there is nothing but mourning,
    for I have broken Moab
    like a jar(CK) that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered(CL) she is! How they wail!
    How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,(CM)
    an object of horror to all those around her.”

40 This is what the Lord says:

“Look! An eagle is swooping(CN) down,
    spreading its wings(CO) over Moab.
41 Kerioth[j](CP) will be captured
    and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors(CQ)
    will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(CR)
42 Moab will be destroyed(CS) as a nation(CT)
    because she defied(CU) the Lord.
43 Terror(CV) and pit and snare(CW) await you,
    you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees(CX) from the terror
    will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
    the year(CY) of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
    the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
    a blaze from the midst of Sihon;(CZ)
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls(DA) of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!(DB)
    The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
    and your daughters into captivity.

47 “Yet I will restore(DC) the fortunes of Moab
    in days to come,”
declares the Lord.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
  2. Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
  3. Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
  4. Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
  5. Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
  6. Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
  7. Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  8. Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
  9. Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
  10. Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities

48 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken.

Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord.

39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

40 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.

44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

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A Prophecy Against Moab

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab(A) and Seir(B) said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth(C), Baal Meon(D) and Kiriathaim(E)—the glory of that land. 10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered(F) among the nations; 11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”(G)

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Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;

Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,

10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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