Prophecy against Moab

¹Concerning Moab:

The LORD of heavenly forces,

the God of Israel, proclaims:

How awful for Nebo;

it lies in ruins.

Kirathaim is captured and shamed;

the fortress is disgraced,

²No one sings Moab’s praise any longer!

In Heshbon they are hatching

“Come, let’s bring down the nation!”

You too, Madmen, will be silenced;

³Listen to the cries for help from Horonaim:

“Destruction and massive devastation!”

⁴Moab is shattered;

its young cry for help.

⁵On the way up to Luhith,

On the way down to Horonaim,

⁶Run for your lives!

Be like Aroer in the desert.

⁷Because you have relied

you also will be captured.

Chemosh will go into exile,

together with his priests and officials.

⁸The destroyer will sweep through every town;

no town will escape.

The valleys will be ravaged;

the plateaus will be destroyed,

⁹Give wings to Moab,

and it would fly away

¹⁰Cursed is the one who is halfhearted

in doing the LORD ’s work.

Cursed is the one who restrains

the sword from bloodshed.

¹¹From early on Moab has been at ease,

It hasn’t been poured into jars;

Therefore, its taste is still pleasant,

¹²But the time is coming, declares the LORD , when I will send to him someone to spill it—to pour out his wine and to smash his jars.

¹³And Moab will be put to shame on account of Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were put to shame on account of Bethel, in which they trusted.[#48.13 Or And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh just as the people of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.]

¹⁴How can you claim,

“We’re soldiers; we’re war heroes”?

¹⁵Moab is doomed;

its towns will surrender;

its elite forces will go down in defeat,

¹⁶Moab’s destruction is near;

its downfall approaches rapidly.

¹⁷Grieve for this nation,

you neighbors of Moab,

all you who know his name.

Proclaim how its mighty scepter

and magnificent staff are shattered!

¹⁸Come down from your lofty place

you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon;

¹⁹Stand by the roads and watch,

you inhabitants of Aroer.

Ask the men who flee

and the women who run off,

²⁰Moab is shamed and shocked;

weep and wail!

Tell it by the Arnon River:

Moab’s been destroyed!

²¹Judgment has come to the towns of the plateau—

to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

²⁵Moab’s horn is cut off;

its arm is broken,

²⁶Get Moab drunk,

because it has exalted itself above the LORD .

Moab will collapse in its vomit

and become the butt of every joke.

²⁷Wasn’t Israel the butt of your jokes?

Didn’t you shake your head

²⁸Leave your towns, head for the cliffs,

Hide like a dove

that nests in the mouth of a cave.

²⁹We have heard of Moab’s pride:

arrogant, puffed up, exalted,

³⁰I myself know about its arrogance,

declares the LORD ,

³¹But I’ll still wail for Moab;

I’ll cry out for all Moab;

Though your branches extended to the sea

and reached the coast of Jazer,

³³Joy and gladness have been taken

from the orchards and farms of Moab.

I have stopped making wine in the presses.

No one shouts with joy

Though there are shouts,

they are not shouts of joy!

³⁴Screams are heard from Heshbon

to Elealeh and Jahaz;

Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

³⁵I’ll put an end to Moab,

³⁶Therefore, my heart wails for Moab

my heart wails for the people of Kir-heres,

³⁷Every head is shaved,

every beard is cut off,

every hand is slashed,

and everyone wears mourning clothes.

³⁸On every housetop of Moab

and in all its streets,

I have shattered Moab

like a pottery vessel no one wants,

³⁹How it’s shattered! Go wail!

How Moab turns away!

What shame!

Moab has become the butt of every joke,

horrific to all its neighbors.

⁴⁰The LORD proclaims:

Look! One who soars like an eagle

⁴¹The towns will be captured;

the strongholds will be seized.

On that day, the heart of every soldier from Moab

will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.

⁴²Moab will be destroyed once and for all

because it has exalted itself above the LORD .

⁴³Terror, traps, and trackers[#48.43 Or terror, pit, and trap]

are upon you, people of Moab,

⁴⁴Those who flee from terror

those who escape the pit

I will bring upon Moab

the year of its punishment,

⁴⁵In Heshbon tired refugees seek shelter.

But fire is raging in Heshbon,

It has burned up part of Moab,

including the leader of this rebellious nation.

⁴⁶How terrible for you, Moab;

the people of Chemosh have perished.

Your sons have been carried off;

your daughters have been taken captive.

⁴⁷But in the days to come

I’ll bring back Moab from captivity,

Such is the judgment on Moab.