Judgment on Moab
aConcerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to bNebo, for it is laid waste!
cKiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame dand broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In aHeshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off bfrom being a nation!’
You also, O cMadmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from aHoronaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 aFor at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
for aat the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like aa juniper in the desert!
7 For, abecause you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and bChemosh cshall go into exile
with dhis priests and his officials.
8 aThe destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and bthe 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 a“Cursed is he who does bthe 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 youth
and has asettled 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 aMoab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as bthe house of Israel was ashamed of cBethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of aMoab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have bgone down to slaughter,
declares cthe King, cwhose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 aGrieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, b‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 a“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of bDibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 aStand by the way aand watch,
O inhabitant of bAroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
awail and cry!
Tell it beside bthe Arnon,
that cMoab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon athe tableland, upon Holon, and bJahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and aDibon, and bNebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and aKiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and bBeth-meon, 24 and aKerioth, and bBozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 aThe horn of Moab is cut off, and bhis arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 a“Make him drunk, bbecause he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall awallow in his vomit, cand he too shall be held in derision. 27 aWas not Israel a derision to you? bWas he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him cyou wagged your head?
28 a“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be blike the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 aWe have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
ahis boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 aTherefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of bKir‑hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for aJazer I weep for you,
bO vine of cSibmah!
dYour branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of aJazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 aGladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 a“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to bHoronaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in athe high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of aKir-hareseth. bTherefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 a“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. bOn all the hands are gashes, and caround the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like aa vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! aHow Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab bhas become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, aone shall fly swiftly like an eagle
band spread his wings against Moab;
41 athe cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
bThe heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of ca woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be adestroyed and be no longer a people,
because bhe magnified himself against the Lord.
43 aTerror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
aFor I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed athe forehead of Moab,
the crown of athe sons of tumult.
46 aWoe to you, O Moab!
The people of bChemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 aYet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.