Judgment on Moab
1 xConcerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to yNebo, for it is laid waste!
zKiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame aand broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In bHeshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off cfrom being a nation!’
You also, O dMadmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from eHoronaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 eFor at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;1
for eat the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry2 of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like fa juniper in the desert!
7 For, gbecause you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and hChemosh ishall go into exile
with jhis priests and his officials.
8 kThe destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and lthe 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 m“Cursed is he who does nthe 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 osettled 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 his3 jars in pieces. 13 Then pMoab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as qthe house of Israel was ashamed of rBethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of sMoab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have tgone down to slaughter,
declares uthe King, uwhose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 vGrieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, w‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 x“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of yDibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 zStand by the way zand watch,
O inhabitant of aAroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
vwail and cry!
Tell it beside bthe Arnon,
that sMoab is laid waste.
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, none shall fly swiftly like an eagle
oand spread his wings against Moab;
41 pthe cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
qThe heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of ra woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be sdestroyed and be no longer a people,
because the magnified himself against the Lord.
43 uTerror, 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.
vFor 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 wthe forehead of Moab,
the crown of wthe sons of tumult.
46 xWoe to you, O Moab!
The people of yChemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 zYet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
