Word Against Moab
Concerning aMoab. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Woe to bNebo, for it has been destroyed;
cKiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered.
2 There is praise for Moab no longer;
In aHeshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
3 The sound of an outcry from aHoronaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is broken;
Her little ones have made their cry of distress heard.
5 For by the ascent of aLuhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6 aFlee, escape with your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7 For because of your atrust in your own works and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And bChemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
8 A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will perish,
And the aplateau will be destroyed,
As Yahweh has said.
9 Give awings to Moab,
For she will flee away;
And her cities will become a bdesolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 aCursed be the one who does the work of Yahweh bwith a slack hand,
And cursed be the one who restrains his csword from blood.
11 “Moab has been aat ease since his youth;
He has also had bquiet, like wine on its dregs,
And he has not been cemptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 And Moab will be aashamed of bChemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of cBethel, their trust.
14 How can you say, ‘We are amighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
15 Moab has been destroyed, and men have gone up to his cities;
His choicest ayoung men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the bKing, whose name is Yahweh of hosts.
16 “The disaster of Moab will asoon come,
And his calamity has quickly hastened.
17 Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the strong ascepter been broken,
A staff of beauty!’
18 aCome down from your glory
And inhabit the parched ground,
O inhabitant of the bdaughter of cDibon;
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and keep watch,
O inhabitant of aAroer;
bAsk him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the aArnon
That Moab has been destroyed.
21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, upon aJahzah, and against bMephaath, 22 and against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and aBeth-meon, 24 and against aKerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The ahorn of Moab has been cut in pieces and his barm broken,” declares Yahweh. 26 “aMake him drunk, for he has bmagnified himself against Yahweh; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a alaughingstock to you? Or was he bcaught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you cshake your head in scorn.
28 Leave the cities and dwell among the acrags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a bdove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29 aWe have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his bpride, his arrogance, and the exaltedness of his heart.
30 I know his afury,” declares Yahweh,
“But it is nothing;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 Therefore I will awail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
I will moan for the men of bKir‑heres.
32 More than the aweeping for bJazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
33 So agladness and joy are gathered up
From the fruitful orchard, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to bcease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34 aFrom the outcry at Heshbon even to bElealeh, even to Jahaz they have given forth their voice, from cZoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make Moab cease,” declares Yahweh, “the one who offers offerings on the ahigh place and the one who boffers offerings in smoke to his gods.
36 “Therefore My aheart moans for Moab like flutes; My heart also moans like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have blost the abundance it produced. 37 For aevery head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and bsackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the arooftops of Moab and in its open squares there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable bvessel,” declares Yahweh. 39 “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an aobject of terror to all around him.”
40 For thus says Yahweh:
“Behold, one will aswoop like an eagle
And bspread out his wings against Moab.
41 Kerioth has been captured,
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the ahearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a bwoman in labor.
42 Moab will be adestroyed from being a people
Because he has bmagnified himself against Yahweh.
43 aPanic and pit and pitfall are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares Yahweh.
44 “The one who aflees from the panic
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the pitfall;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their bpunishment,” declares Yahweh.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
Those who flee stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a aflame from the midst of bSihon,
And it has devoured the ctop of the head of Moab
And the scalps of those who rumble.
46 aWoe to you, Moab!
The people of bChemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will areturn the fortunes of Moab
In the last days,” declares Yahweh.
Thus far the judgment on Moab.
Word Against Ammon
Concerning the sons of aAmmon. Thus says Yahweh:
“Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no one who can take possession?
Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad
And his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh,
“That I will cause a atrumpet blast of war to be heard
Against bRabbah of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her ctowns will be set on fire.
Then Israel will take dpossession of his possessors,”
Says Yahweh.
3 “Wail, O aHeshbon, for bAi has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
cGird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,
And rush back and forth inside the walls;
For Malcam will dgo into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
4 How aboastful you are about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
O bfaithless daughter
Who trusts in her ctreasures, saying,
‘dWho will come against me?’
5 Behold, I am going to bring adread upon you,”
Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“From all around you;
And each of you will be bbanished headlong,
With no one to gather the cone who flees.
6 But afterward I will areturn
The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”
Declares Yahweh.
Word Against Edom
7 Concerning aEdom.
Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Is there no longer any bwisdom in cTeman?
Has counsel been lost to the understanding?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Flee away, turn back, inhabit the depths,
O inhabitants of aDedan,
For I will bring the bdisaster of Esau upon him
At the time I punish him.
9 aIf grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not have gleanings remain?
If thieves came by night,
They would ruin only until they had enough.
10 But I have astripped Esau bare;
I have uncovered his hiding places,
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His seed has been destroyed along with his relatives
And his neighbors, and bhe is no more.
11 Leave your aorphans behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your bwidows trust in Me.”
12 For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, those who are not under judgment to drink the acup will certainly drink it, but are you the one who will go bcompletely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you will certainly drink it. 13 For I have asworn by Myself,” declares Yahweh, “that bBozrah will become an cobject of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and an imprecation; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.”
14 I have aheard a message from Yahweh,
And an benvoy is sent among the nations, saying,
“cGather yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!”
15 “For behold, I have made you small among the nations,
Despised among men.
16 As for the terror of you,
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the arock,
Who seize the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as bhigh as an eagle’s,
I will cbring you down from there,” declares Yahweh.
17 “Edom will become an aobject of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will bhiss at all its wounds. 18 Like the aoverthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says Yahweh, “bno one will live there, nor will a son of man sojourn in it. 19 aBehold, one will come up like a lion from the bthickets of the Jordan against an enduring pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is cchosen I shall appoint over it. For who is dlike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd ewho can stand against Me?”
20 Therefore hear the acounsel of Yahweh which He has counseled against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture bdesolate because of them. 21 The aearth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, He will mount up and aswoop like an eagle and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the bhearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Word Against Damascus
23 Concerning aDamascus.
“bHamath and cArpad are put to shame,
For they have heard a bad report;
They are dmelting away.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It ecannot be quieted.
24 Damascus has become limp in their hands;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has taken hold of her;
aDistress and pangs have seized her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25 How the acity of praise has not been forsaken,
The town of My joy!
26 Therefore, her ayoung men will fall in her open squares,
And all the men of war will be silenced in that day,” declares Yahweh of hosts.
27 “I will aset fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the fortified towers of bBen‑hadad.”
Word Against Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning aKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down. Thus says Yahweh,
“Arise, go up to Kedar
And destroy the bmen of the east.
29 They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent acurtains, all their goods, and their bcamels,
And they will call out to one another, ‘cTerror on every side!’
30 Run away, flee earnestly! Inhabit the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares Yahweh;
“For aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you
And purposed a purpose against you.
31 Arise, go up against a nation which is aat ease,
Which inhabits its land securely,” declares Yahweh.
“It has bno gates or bars;
They cdwell alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
And their many cattle for spoil,
And I will ascatter to all the winds those who bcut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares Yahweh.
33 “Hazor will become a ahaunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will inhabit there,
Nor will a son of man sojourn in it.”
Word Against Elam
34 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet concerning aElam, bin the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to abreak the bow of Elam,
The finest of their might.
36 I will bring upon Elam the afour winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And I will bscatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the banished ones of Elam will not go.
37 So I will shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will abring calamity upon them,
Even My bburning anger,’ declares Yahweh,
‘And I will csend out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 Then I will set My throne in Elam
And cause king and princes from there to perish,’
Declares Yahweh.
39 ‘But it will be in the last days
That I will areturn the fortunes of Elam,’”
Declares Yahweh.