aSend the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from bSela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at athe fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
amake your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let athe outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 athen a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 aWe have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
bof his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
alet everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the braisin cakes of cKir‑hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and athe vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore aI weep with bthe weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over cyour summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 aAnd joy and gladness are taken away from bthe fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no csongs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no dtreader treads out wine ein the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore amy inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir‑hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when ahe wearies himself on bthe high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab ain the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, alike the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be bvery few and feeble.”