Judgment on Moab

15 The pronouncement concerning (A)Moab:

Certainly in a night (B)Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined;
Certainly in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.
[a]The people have gone up to the [b]temple and to (C)Dibon, 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 put on (E)sackcloth;
(F)On their housetops and in their public squares
Everyone is wailing, [c](G)overcome with weeping.
(H)Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out,
Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz;
Therefore the [d]armed men of Moab cry aloud;
His soul trembles within him.
My heart cries out for Moab;
His fugitives are as far as (I)Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah,
For they go up the (J)ascent of Luhith weeping;
Indeed, on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress (K)over their collapse.
For the (L)waters of Nimrim are [e]desolate.
Indeed, the grass is withered, the new growth has died,
There is (M)no greenery.
Therefore the (N)abundance which they have acquired and stored up,
They carry it off over the brook of [f]Arabim.
For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab,
Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its howling to Beer-elim.
For the waters of Dimon are full of [g]blood;
I will certainly bring added woes upon Dimon,
A (O)lion upon the fugitives of Moab and the remnant of the land.

Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation

16 (P)Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From [h](Q)Sela by way of the wilderness to the (R)mountain of the daughter of Zion.
Then, like (S)fluttering birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of (T)Moab will be at the crossing places of the (U)Arnon.
[i]Give us advice, make a decision;
[j]Cast your (V)shadow like night [k]at high noon;
(W)Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
Let the [l]outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the oppressor has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
(X)Oppressors have been removed from the land.
A (Y)throne will be established in faithfulness,
And a judge will sit on it in trustworthiness 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 arrogance, pride, and fury;
(AB)His idle boasts are [m]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 [n]withered, 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 [o]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, (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 field;
In the (AL)vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No (AM)treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my [p](AN)inner being sounds like a harp for Moab.
And my [q]heart for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will come about when Moab (AO)presents himself,
When he (AP)tires himself upon his (AQ)high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as [r](AR)a hired worker would count them, the glory of (AS)Moab will become contemptible along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and [s]impotent.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:2 Lit He has gone; i.e., Moab, meaning the people of Moab
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Lit house
  3. Isaiah 15:3 Lit going down in weeping
  4. Isaiah 15:4 Another reading is the loins of
  5. Isaiah 15:6 Lit desolations
  6. Isaiah 15:7 Or the poplars
  7. Isaiah 15:9 Heb dam (a wordplay)
  8. Isaiah 16:1 I.e., Petra in Edom
  9. Isaiah 16:3 Lit Bring
  10. Isaiah 16:3 Lit Set
  11. Isaiah 16:3 Lit in the midst of the noon
  12. Isaiah 16:4 As in most ancient versions; MT My outcasts, as for Moab
  13. Isaiah 16:6 Lit not so
  14. Isaiah 16:8 Or dried out
  15. Isaiah 16:8 I.e., parts of a climbing plant that attach to its support
  16. Isaiah 16:11 Lit entrails murmur
  17. Isaiah 16:11 Lit inward parts
  18. Isaiah 16:14 Lit the years of a hired
  19. Isaiah 16:14 Lit not mighty

10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
And (A)Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled 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 the Lord will (C)lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.
12 The (D)unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.

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Prophecy against Moab

48 Concerning (A)Moab. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:

“Woe to (B)Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
(C)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The high stronghold has been put to shame and [a]shattered.
There is no longer praise for Moab;
In (D)Heshbon they have devised disaster against her:
‘Come and let’s cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, [b]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow you.
The sound of an outcry from (E)Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
For they will go up by the ascent of (F)Luhith
With continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the [c]anguished cry of destruction.
(G)Flee, save yourselves,
So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
For because of your (H)trust in your own achievements and treasures,
You yourself will also be captured;
And (I)Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his leaders.
A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the (J)plateau will be destroyed,
As the Lord 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 is the one who does the Lords work (N)negligently,
And cursed is the one who restrains his (O)sword from blood.

11 “Moab has been (P)at ease since his youth;
He has also been (Q)peaceful, like wine on [f]its dregs,
And he has not been (R)poured 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 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 [h]his jars. 13 And Moab will be (S)ashamed of (T)Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of (U)Bethel, their confidence.

14 How can you say, ‘We are (V)warriors,
And men competent 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 the Lord of armies.
16 “The disaster of Moab will (Y)soon come,
And his catastrophe has hurried quickly.
17 Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
And all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How the mighty [l](Z)scepter has been broken,
A staff of splendor!’
18 (AA)Come down from your glory
And sit on the parched ground,
O (AB)daughter living in (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,
You 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 [m]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, (AG)Jahzah, and against (AH)Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and (AI)Beth-meon, 24 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 off, and his (AL)arm broken,” declares the Lord. 26 (AM)Make him drunk, for he has [n]become (AN)arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will [o]vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was Israel not a (AO)laughingstock to you? Or was he [p](AP)caught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you (AQ)shake your head in scorn.

28 Leave the cities and live among the (AR)rocky cliffs,
You 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 [q]his self-exaltation.
30 I know his (AV)fury,” declares the Lord,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 Therefore I will (AW)wail for Moab,
For all of Moab I will cry out;
[r]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 tendrils 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)joy and rejoicing are removed
From the fruitful field, and from the land of Moab.
And I have (BB)eliminated the wine 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 to (BD)Elealeh, to Jahaz they have [s]raised their voice, from (BE)Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 And I will put an end to Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the (BF)high place and the one who [t](BG)burns incense to his gods.

36 “Therefore My (BH)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 (BI)lost the abundance it produced. 37 For (BJ)every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and (BK)sackcloth around the waists. 38 On all the (BL)housetops of Moab and in its public squares [u]there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable (BM)vessel,” declares the Lord. 39 “How [v]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 this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, one will (BO)fly swiftly 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 warriors of Moab on 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 [w]become (BT)arrogant toward the Lord.
43 (BU)Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you,
Inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.
44 “The one who (BV)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 (BW)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 (BX)flame from the midst of (BY)Sihon,
And it has devoured the (BZ)forehead of Moab
And the scalps of the [x]loud revelers.
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 (CC)restore the fortunes of Moab
In the [y]latter days,” declares the Lord.

This is the extent of the judgment on Moab.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 Or dismayed
  2. Jeremiah 48:2 Heb Madmen; i.e., a city of Moab
  3. Jeremiah 48:5 Lit distresses of outcry
  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 I.e., warriors
  12. Jeremiah 48:17 Or rod
  13. Jeremiah 48:20 Or dismayed
  14. Jeremiah 48:26 Or magnified himself against
  15. Jeremiah 48:26 Lit vomit in his vomit
  16. Jeremiah 48:27 Or found
  17. Jeremiah 48:29 Lit elevation of his heart
  18. Jeremiah 48:31 Another reading is He
  19. Jeremiah 48:34 Lit given forth
  20. Jeremiah 48:35 Or offers up in smoke
  21. Jeremiah 48:38 Lit all of it is mourning
  22. Jeremiah 48:39 Or terrified
  23. Jeremiah 48:42 Or magnified himself against
  24. Jeremiah 48:45 Lit sons of uproar
  25. Jeremiah 48:47 Lit end of the days

Moab

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

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 25:9 Lit open
  2. Ezekiel 25:9 Lit from its end
  3. Ezekiel 25:10 Lit sons

“I have heard the (A)taunting of Moab
And the (B)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And (C)boasted against their territory.
Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel,
(D)Moab will assuredly be like (E)Sodom,
And the sons of (F)Ammon like (G)Gomorrah—
Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
And a permanent desolation.
The remnant of My people will (H)plunder them,
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

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