Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation
1 Send thetributelamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
2 Then, like fleeing birdsorscattered nestlings,
The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Giveusadvice, make a decision;
Cast your shadow like night at high noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
4 “Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
Oppressors have completelydisappearedfrom the land.
5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness,
And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David;
Moreover, he will seek justice
And be prompt in righteousness.
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Evenof his arrogance, pride, and fury;
His idle boasts are false.
7 Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmahas well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazerandwandered to the deserts;
Its tendrils spread themselves outandpassed over the sea.
9 Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
ForI have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my heart intones like a harp for Moab
And my inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will come about when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself uponhishigh place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the Lordspoke earlier concerning Moab.
14 But now the Lordspeaks, saying, “Within three years, as a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be degraded along with allhisgreat population, andhisremnant will be very smallandimpotent.”
—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/16-672fed220e27e74614e2487edfbbd508.mp3?version_id=100—