English Standard Version

Jeremiah 48:4-18 English Standard Version (ESV)

4. Moab is destroyed;her little ones have made a cry.

5. For at the ascent of Luhiththey go up weeping;for at the descent of Horonaimthey have heard the distressed cry of destruction.

6. Flee! Save yourselves!You will be like a juniper in the desert!

7. For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,you also shall be taken;and Chemosh shall go into exilewith his priests and his officials.

8. The destroyer shall come upon every city,and no city shall escape;the valley shall perish,and the plain shall be destroyed,as the Lord has spoken.

9. “Give wings to Moab,for she would fly away;her cities shall become a desolation,with no inhabitant in them.

10. “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11. “Moab has been at ease from his youthand has settled on his dregs;he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,nor has he gone into exile;so his taste remains in him,and his scent is not changed.

12. “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces.

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

14. “How do you say, ‘We are heroesand mighty men of war’?

15. The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16. The calamity of Moab is near at hand,and his affliction hastens swiftly.

17. Grieve for him, all you who are around him,and all who know his name;say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,the glorious staff.’

18. “Come down from your glory,and sit on the parched ground,O inhabitant of Dibon!For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;he has destroyed your strongholds.