48
Prophecy against Moab
1 Concerning
AMoab. Thus says the Loʀᴅ 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
1shattered.
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,
1Madmen, 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 sounded out a cry of distress.
5 “For by the ascent of
ALuhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the
1anguished cry of destruction.
6 “
AFlee, save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7 “For because of your
Atrust in your own achievements 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 be ruined
And the
Aplateau will be destroyed,
As the Loʀᴅ has said.
And her cities will become a
Bdesolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 “
ACursed be the one who does the Loʀᴅ’s work
Bnegligently,
And cursed be the one who restrains his
Csword from blood.
11 “Moab has been
Aat ease since his youth;
He has also been
Bundisturbed,
like wine on
1its dregs,
And he has not been
Cemptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore
2he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Loʀᴅ, “when I will send to him those who tip
vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter
1his jars.
13 “And Moab will be
Aashamed of
BChemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of
CBethel, their confidence.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are
Amighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
15 “Moab has been destroyed and
1men have gone up to
2his cities;
His choicest
3Ayoung men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the
BKing, whose name is the Loʀᴅ of hosts.
16 “The disaster of Moab will
Asoon come,
And his calamity has swiftly hastened.
17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the mighty
1Ascepter been broken,
A staff of splendor!’
18 “
ACome down from your glory
And sit
1on the parched ground,
O
Bdaughter dwelling in
CDibon,
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19 “Stand by the road and keep watch,
BAsk him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been
1shattered.
Wail and cry out;
That Moab has been destroyed.
21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon,
AJahzah and against
BMephaath,
22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and
ABeth-meon,
24 against
AKerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25 “The
Ahorn of Moab has been cut off and his
Barm broken,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
26 “
AMake him drunk, for he has
1become
Barrogant toward the Loʀᴅ; so Moab will
2wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.
27 “Now was not Israel a
Alaughingstock to you? Or was he
1Bcaught 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
1his self-exaltation.
30 “I know his
Afury,” declares the Loʀᴅ,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 “Therefore I will
Awail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
1I 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 tendrils 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 taken away
From the fruitful field, 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
1raised their voice, from
CZoar even to Horonaim
and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.
35 “I will make an end of Moab,” declares the Loʀᴅ, “the one who offers
sacrifice on the
Ahigh place and the one who
1Bburns incense to his gods.
36 “Therefore My
Aheart
1wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also
1wails 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
Ahousetops of Moab and in its streets
1there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable
Bvessel,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
39 “How
1shattered 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 the Loʀᴅ:
“Behold, one will
Afly swiftly 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
1become
Barrogant toward the Loʀᴅ.
43 “
ATerror, pit and snare are
coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
44 “The one who
Aflees from the terror
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the snare;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their
Bpunishment,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
The fugitives stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a
Aflame from the midst of
BSihon,
And it has devoured the
Cforehead of Moab
And the scalps of the
1riotous revelers.
The people of
BChemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will
Arestore the
1fortunes of Moab
In the
2latter days,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
Thus far the judgment on Moab.