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An Oracle Concerning Moab

15 The [a]oracle concerning (A)Moab.

Surely in a night (B)Ar of Moab is destroyed and ruined;
Surely in a night Kir of Moab is destroyed and ruined.
They have gone up to the [b]temple and to (C)Dibon, even to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba;
Everyone’s head is (D)bald and every beard is cut off.
In their streets they have girded themselves with (E)sackcloth;
(F)On their rooftops and in their squares
Everyone is wailing, [c](G)dissolved in weeping.
(H)Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out,
Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz;
Therefore [d]the armed men of Moab make a loud shout;
His soul trembles within him.
My heart cries out for Moab;
Those who flee from her are as far as (I)Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah,
For they go up the (J)ascent of Luhith weeping;
Surely on the road to Horonaim they keep awake with crying in distress (K)over their destruction.
For the (L)waters of Nimrim are [e]desolate.
Surely the grass is dried up, the tender grass has [f]completely ceased,
There is (M)no green thing.
Therefore the (N)abundance they have made and stored up
They carry off over the brook of [g]Arabim.
For the cry has gone around the territory of Moab,
Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim.
For the waters of Dimon are full of [h]blood;
Surely I will put added woes upon Dimon,
A (O)lion upon those of Moab who have escaped and upon the remnant of the land.

16 (P)Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From [i](Q)Sela by way of the wilderness to the (R)mountain of the daughter of Zion.
Then, like [j](S)fleeing birds or scattered [k]nestlings,
The daughters of (T)Moab will be at the fords of the (U)Arnon.
“Bring us counsel, make a decision;
[l]Cast your (V)shadow like night [m]at high noon;
(W)Hide those banished, do not reveal the one who flees.
Let the [n]banished of Moab sojourn with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
(X)Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.
And a (Y)throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of (Z)David;
Moreover, he will seek justice
And be prompt in righteousness.

(AA)We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his lofty pride, pride, and fury;
(AB)His idle boasts are [o]false.
Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the (AC)raisin cakes of (AD)Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
For the fields of (AE)Heshbon have languished, the vines of (AF)Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;
(AG)Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
Therefore I will (AH)weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O (AI)Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your (AJ)summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10 (AK)Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful orchard;
In the (AL)vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or shouts of jubilation,
No (AM)treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my [p](AN)inner being moans like a harp for Moab
And my [q]inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will be when Moab (AO)appears,
When he (AP)wearies himself upon his (AQ)high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which Yahweh spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14 But now Yahweh speaks, saying, “Within three years, as [r](AR)a hired man would count them, the glory of (AS)Moab will be dishonored along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and not mighty.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:1 Or burden of
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Lit house
  3. Isaiah 15:3 Lit going down in weeping
  4. Isaiah 15:4 Or the loins of
  5. Isaiah 15:6 Lit desolations
  6. Isaiah 15:6 Lit come to an end
  7. Isaiah 15:7 Or the poplars
  8. Isaiah 15:9 Heb dam (a wordplay)
  9. Isaiah 16:1 Petra in Edom
  10. Isaiah 16:2 Or fluttering
  11. Isaiah 16:2 Lit nest
  12. Isaiah 16:3 Lit Set
  13. Isaiah 16:3 Lit in the midst of the noon
  14. Isaiah 16:4 As in the versions; M.T. My banished ones, as for Moab
  15. Isaiah 16:6 Lit not so
  16. Isaiah 16:11 Lit entrails murmur
  17. Isaiah 16:11 Lit inward part
  18. Isaiah 16:14 Lit the years of a hireling

10 For the hand of Yahweh will rest on this mountain,
And (A)Moab will be trodden down in his place
As straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile.
11 And he will (B)spread out his hands in the middle of it
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But Yahweh will (C)lay low his lofty pride together with the trickery of his hands.
12 The (D)unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.

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Word Against Moab

48 Concerning (A)Moab. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,

“Woe to (B)Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
(C)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and [a]shattered.
There is praise for Moab no longer;
In (D)Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, [b]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
The sound of an outcry from (E)Horonaim,
[c]Devastation and great destruction!’
Moab is broken;
Her little ones have made their cry of distress heard.
For by the ascent of (F)Luhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
(G)Flee, escape with your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
For because of your (H)trust in your own works and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And (I)Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will perish,
And the (J)plateau will be destroyed,
As Yahweh has said.
Give [d](K)wings to Moab,
For she will [e]flee away;
And her cities will become a (L)desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 (M)Cursed be the one who does the work of Yahweh (N)with a slack hand,
And cursed be the one who restrains his (O)sword from blood.

11 “Moab has been (P)at ease since his youth;
He has also had (Q)quiet, like wine on [f]its dregs,
And he has not been (R)emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore [g]he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.

12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter [h]his jars. 13 And Moab will be (S)ashamed of (T)Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of (U)Bethel, their trust.

14 How can you say, ‘We are (V)mighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
15 Moab has been destroyed, and [i]men have gone up to [j]his cities;
His choicest [k](W)young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the (X)King, whose name is Yahweh of hosts.
16 “The disaster of Moab will (Y)soon come,
And his calamity has quickly hastened.
17 Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the strong [l](Z)scepter been broken,
A staff of beauty!’
18 (AA)Come down from your glory
And inhabit [m]the parched ground,
O inhabitant of the (AB)daughter of (AC)Dibon;
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and keep watch,
O inhabitant of (AD)Aroer;
(AE)Ask him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab has been put to shame, for it has been [n]shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the (AF)Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.

21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, upon (AG)Jahzah, and against (AH)Mephaath, 22 and against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and (AI)Beth-meon, 24 and against (AJ)Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The (AK)horn of Moab has been cut in pieces and his (AL)arm broken,” declares Yahweh. 26 (AM)Make him drunk, for he has (AN)magnified himself against Yahweh; so Moab will [o]wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a (AO)laughingstock to you? Or was he [p](AP)caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you (AQ)shake your head in scorn.

28 Leave the cities and dwell among the (AR)crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a (AS)dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29 (AT)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his (AU)pride, his arrogance, and the exaltedness of his heart.
30 I know his (AV)fury,” declares Yahweh,
“But it is nothing;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 Therefore I will (AW)wail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
[q]I will moan for the men of (AX)Kir-heres.
32 More than the (AY)weeping for (AZ)Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches 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 (BA)gladness and joy are gathered up
From the fruitful orchard, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to (BB)cease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

34 (BC)From the outcry at Heshbon even to (BD)Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have given forth their voice, from (BE)Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make Moab cease,” declares Yahweh, “the one who offers offerings on the (BF)high place and the one who (BG)offers offerings in smoke to his gods.

36 “Therefore My (BH)heart moans for Moab like flutes; My heart also moans like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have (BI)lost the abundance it produced. 37 For (BJ)every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and (BK)sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the (BL)rooftops of Moab and in its open squares [r]there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable (BM)vessel,” declares Yahweh. 39 “How [s]shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an (BN)object of terror to all around him.”

40 For thus says Yahweh:

“Behold, one will (BO)swoop like an eagle
And (BP)spread out his wings against Moab.
41 Kerioth has been captured,
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the (BQ)hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a (BR)woman in labor.
42 Moab will be (BS)destroyed from being a people
Because he has (BT)magnified himself against Yahweh.
43 (BU)Panic and pit and pitfall are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares Yahweh.
44 “The one who (BV)flees from the panic
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the pitfall;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their (BW)punishment,” declares Yahweh.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
Those who flee stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a (BX)flame from the midst of (BY)Sihon,
And it has devoured the (BZ)top of the head of Moab
And the scalps of [t]those who rumble.
46 (CA)Woe to you, Moab!
The people of (CB)Chemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will [u](CC)return the [v]fortunes of Moab
In the last days,” declares Yahweh.

Thus far the judgment on Moab.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 Or dismayed
  2. Jeremiah 48:2 A city of Moab
  3. Jeremiah 48:3 Or destruction, cf. 48:1
  4. Jeremiah 48:9 Or salt
  5. Jeremiah 48:9 Or fall in ruins
  6. Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his
  7. Jeremiah 48:11 Lit his flavor has stayed in him
  8. Jeremiah 48:12 Lit their
  9. Jeremiah 48:15 Lit one has
  10. Jeremiah 48:15 Lit her
  11. Jeremiah 48:15 Warriors
  12. Jeremiah 48:17 Or rod
  13. Jeremiah 48:18 Lit in thirst
  14. Jeremiah 48:20 Or dismayed
  15. Jeremiah 48:26 Or splash into
  16. Jeremiah 48:27 Or found
  17. Jeremiah 48:31 Or He
  18. Jeremiah 48:38 Lit all of it is lamentation
  19. Jeremiah 48:39 Or dismayed
  20. Jeremiah 48:45 Lit sons of tumult
  21. Jeremiah 48:47 Or restore
  22. Jeremiah 48:47 Or captivity

Prophesy Against Moab

‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because (A)Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ therefore, behold, I am going to open the flank of Moab by its cities, by its cities which are on its [a]frontiers, the glory of the land, (B)Beth-jeshimoth, (C)Baal-meon, and (D)Kiriathaim, 10 and I will give it for a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the (E)sons of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. 11 Thus I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 25:9 Lit end

“I have heard the (A)reproach of Moab
And the (B)revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people
And (C)magnified themselves against their territory.
Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Surely (D)Moab will be like (E)Sodom
And the sons of (F)Ammon like (G)Gomorrah—
A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will (H)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

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