Aa
Prophecy against Moab
1Concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:
“Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The high stronghold has been put to shame and Or dismayedshattered.
2There is no longer praise for Moab;
In Heshbon they have devised disaster against her:
‘Come and let’s cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, Heb Madmen; i.e., a city of MoabMadmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow you.
3The sound of an outcry from Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
5For they will go up by the ascent of Luhith
With continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the Lit distresses of outcryanguished cry of destruction.
6Flee, save yourselves,
So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures,
You yourself will also be captured;
And Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his leaders.
8A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the plateau will be destroyed,
As the Lord has said.
9Give Or saltwings to Moab,
For she will Or fall in ruinsflee away;
And her cities will become a desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10Cursed is the one who does the Lords work negligently,
And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood.
11“Moab has been at ease since his youth;
He has also been peaceful, like wine on Lit hisits dregs,
And he has not been poured from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore Lit his flavor has stayed in himhe retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will pour out his vessels and smash Lit theirhis jars.
13And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14How can you say, ‘We are warriors,
And men competent for battle’?
15Moab has been destroyed and Lit one hasmen have gone up to Lit herhis cities;
His choicest I.e., warriorsyoung men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.
16“The disaster of Moab will soon come,
And his catastrophe has hurried quickly.
17Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
And all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How the mighty Or rodscepter has been broken,
A staff of splendor!’
18Come down from your glory
And sit on the parched ground,
O daughter living in Dibon,
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19Stand by the road and keep watch,
You inhabitant of Aroer;
Ask him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab has been put to shame, for it has been Or dismayedshattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.
21“Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah, and against Mephaath,
22against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24against Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm broken,” declares the Lord.
26“Make him drunk, for he has Or magnified himself againstbecome arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will Lit vomit in his vomitvomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.
27Now was Israel not a laughingstock to you? Or was he Or foundcaught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.
28Leave the cities and live among the rocky cliffs,
You inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance, and Lit elevation of his hearthis self-exaltation.
30I know his fury,” declares the Lord,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31Therefore I will wail for Moab,
For all of Moab I will cry out;
Another reading is He I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32More than the weeping for Jazer
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.
33So joy and rejoicing are removed
From the fruitful field, and from the land of Moab.
And I have eliminated the wine from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34From the outcry at Heshbon to Elealeh, to Jahaz they have Lit given forthraised their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.
35And I will put an end to Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who Or offers up in smokeburns incense to his gods.
36“Therefore My heart makes a sound like flutes for Moab; My heart also makes a sound like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced.
37For every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and sackcloth around the waists.
38On all the housetops of Moab and in its public squares Lit all of it is mourningthere is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord.
39“How Or terrifiedshattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.”
40For this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle
And spread out his wings against Moab.
41Kerioth has been captured
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the hearts of the warriors of Moab on that day
Will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42Moab will be destroyed from being a people
Because he has Or magnified himself againstbecome arrogant toward the Lord.
43Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you,
Inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.
44“The one who flees 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 will bring upon her, upon Moab,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
45“In the shadow of Heshbon
The fugitives stand without strength;
For a fire has spread out from Heshbon
And a flame from the midst of Sihon,
And it has devoured the forehead of Moab
And the scalps of the Lit sons of uproarloud revelers.
46Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive,
And your daughters into captivity.
47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
In the Lit end of the dayslatter days,” declares the Lord.
This is the extent of the judgment on Moab.