“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[c](S)

² Raise a banner^(E) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates^(F) of the nobles.
³ I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors^(G) to carry out my wrath^(H)—
    those who rejoice^(I) in my triumph.

⁴ Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!^(J)
Listen, an uproar^(K) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty^(L) is mustering^(M)
    an army for war.
⁵ They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens^(N)—
the Lord and the weapons^(O) of his wrath^(P)—
    to destroy^(Q) the whole country.

⁶ Wail,^(R) for the day^(S) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction^(T) from the Almighty.^[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,^(V)
    every heart will melt with fear.^(W)
8 Terror^(X) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip^(Y) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.^(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.^(AA)

⁹ See, the day^(AB) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel^(AC) day, with wrath^(AD) and fierce anger^(AE)—
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.^(AF)
The rising sun^(AG) will be darkened^(AH)
    and the moon will not give its light.^(AI)
11 I will punish^(AJ) the world for its evil,
    the wicked^(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty^(AL)
    and will humble^(AM) the pride of the ruthless.^(AN)
12 I will make people^(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.^(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;^(AQ)
    and the earth will shake^(AR) from its place
at the wrath^(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.^(AT)

¹⁴ Like a hunted^(AU) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,^(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee^(AW) to their native land.^(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall^(AY) by the sword.^(AZ)
16 Their infants^(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.^(BB)

¹⁷ See, I will stir up^(BC) against them the Medes,^(BD)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.^(BE)
18 Their bows^(BF) will strike down the young men;^(BG)
    they will have no mercy^(BH) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.^(BI)
19 Babylon,^(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,^(BK)
    the pride and glory^(BL) of the Babylonians,^[b]
will be overthrown^(BM) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.^(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited^(BO)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads^(BP) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
²¹ But desert creatures^(BQ) will lie there,
    jackals^(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls^(BS) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats^(BT) will leap about.
²² Hyenas^(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,^(BV)
    jackals^(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(BX)
    and her days will not be prolonged.^(BY)

14 The Lord will have compassion^(BZ) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose^(CA) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.^(CB)
Foreigners^(CC) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
² Nations will take them
    and bring^(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations^(CE)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives^(CF) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.^(CG)

How the oppressor^(CM) has come to an end!
    How his fury^[c] has ended!
⁵ The Lord has broken the rod^(CN) of the wicked,^(CO)
    the scepter^(CP) of the rulers,
⁶ which in anger struck down peoples^(CQ)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued^(CR) nations
    with relentless aggression.^(CS)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;^(CT)
    they break into singing.^(CU)
8 Even the junipers^(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”^(CW)

⁹ The realm of the dead^(CX) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed^(CY) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders^(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.^(DA)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”^(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,^(DC)
    along with the noise of your harps;^(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms^(DE) cover you.^(DF)

¹² How you have fallen^(DG) from heaven,
    morning star,^(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!^(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend^(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne^(DK)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,^(DL)
    on the utmost heights^(DM) of Mount Zaphon.^[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;^(DN)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”^(DO)
15 But you are brought down^(DP) to the realm of the dead,^(DQ)
    to the depths^(DR) of the pit.^(DS)

¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:^(DT)
“Is this the man who shook^(DU) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
¹⁷ the man who made the world a wilderness,^(DV)
    who overthrew^(DW) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”^(DX)

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.^(DY)
19 But you are cast out^(DZ) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,^(EA)
    with those pierced by the sword,^(EB)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.^(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
²⁰     you will not join them in burial,^(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring^(EE) of the wicked^(EF)
    never be mentioned^(EG) again.
²¹ Prepare a place to slaughter his children^(EH)
    for the sins of their ancestors;^(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

²² “I will rise up^(EJ) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name^(EK) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,^(EL)”
declares the Lord.
²³ “I will turn her into a place for owls^(EM)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^(EN)”
    declares the Lord Almighty.^(EO)

“Surely, as I have planned,^(EQ) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.^(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian^(ES) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke^(ET) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.^(EU)”

²⁶ This is the plan^(EV) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand^(EW) stretched out over all nations.
²⁷ For the Lord Almighty has purposed,^(EX) and who can thwart him?
    His hand^(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?^(EZ)

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,^(FD)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,^(FE)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.^(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy^(FG) will lie down in safety.^(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;^(FI)
    it will slay^(FJ) your survivors.^(FK)

³¹ Wail,^(FL) you gate!^(FM) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!^(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,^(FO)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.^(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys^(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,^(FR)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.^(FS)”

Ar^(FW) in Moab is ruined,^(FX)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir^(FY) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
² Dibon^(FZ) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places^(GA) to weep;
    Moab wails^(GB) over Nebo^(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved^(GD)
    and every beard cut off.^(GE)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;^(GF)
    on the roofs^(GG) and in the public squares^(GH)
they all wail,^(GI)
    prostrate with weeping.^(GJ)
4 Heshbon^(GK) and Elealeh^(GL) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.^(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

⁵ My heart cries out^(GN) over Moab;^(GO)
    her fugitives^(GP) flee as far as Zoar,^(GQ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim^(GR)
    they lament their destruction.^(GS)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up^(GT)
    and the grass is withered;^(GU)
the vegetation is gone^(GV)
    and nothing green is left.^(GW)
7 So the wealth they have acquired^(GX) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
⁸ Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer^(GY) Elim.
⁹ The waters of Dimon^[e] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon^[f]—
a lion^(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab^(HA)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs^(HB) as tribute^(HC)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,^(HD) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.^(HE)
2 Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,^(HF)
so are the women of Moab^(HG)
    at the fords^(HH) of the Arnon.^(HI)

³ “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,^(HJ)
    do not betray the refugees.
⁴ Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter^(HK) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^(HL) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;^(HM)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
⁵ In love a throne^(HN) will be established;^(HO)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house^[g] of David^(HP)—
one who in judging seeks justice^(HQ)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

⁶ We have heard of Moab’s^(HR) pride^(HS)—
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
⁷ Therefore the Moabites wail,^(HT)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes^(HU) of Kir Hareseth.^(HV)
8 The fields of Heshbon^(HW) wither,^(HX)
    the vines of Sibmah^(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,^(HZ)
which once reached Jazer^(IA)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out^(IB)
    and went as far as the sea.^[h](IC)
9 So I weep,^(ID) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,^(IE)
    I drench you with tears!^(IF)
The shouts of joy^(IG) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests^(IH) have been stilled.
¹⁰ Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^(II)
    no one sings or shouts^(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads^(IK) out wine at the presses,^(IL)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
¹¹ My heart laments for Moab^(IM) like a harp,^(IN)
    my inmost being^(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
¹² When Moab appears at her high place,^(IP)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine^(IQ) to pray,
    it is to no avail.^(IR)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.^(IZ)
2 The cities of Aroer^(JA) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,^(JB) which will lie down,^(JC)
    with no one to make them afraid.^(JD)
3 The fortified^(JE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory^(JF) of the Israelites,”^(JG)
declares the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “In that day^(JH) the glory^(JI) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste^(JJ) away.
⁵ It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering^(JK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain^(JL)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.^(JM)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,^(JN)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,^(JO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁷ In that day^(JP) people will look^(JQ) to their Maker^(JR)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One^(JS) of Israel.
⁸ They will not look to the altars,^(JT)
    the work of their hands,^(JU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles^[i](JV)
    and the incense altars their fingers^(JW) have made.

¹⁰ You have forgotten^(JY) God your Savior;^(JZ)
    you have not remembered the Rock,^(KA) your fortress.^(KB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,^(KC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning^(KD) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest^(KE) will be as nothing^(KF)
    in the day of disease and incurable^(KG) pain.^(KH)

¹² Woe to the many nations that rage^(KI)—
    they rage like the raging sea!^(KJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar^(KK)—
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!^(KL)
13 Although the peoples roar^(KM) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes^(KN) them they flee^(KO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff^(KP) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.^(KQ)
14 In the evening, sudden^(KR) terror!^(KS)
    Before the morning, they are gone!^(KT)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

⁴ Your foes roared^(K) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(L) as signs.
⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(M)
6 They smashed all the carved^(N) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(O) the dwelling place^(P) of your Name.^(Q)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(R) them completely!”
    They burned^(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no signs from God;^(T)
    no prophets^(U) are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
¹⁰ How long^(V) will the enemy mock^(W) you, God?
    Will the foe revile^(X) your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?^(Y)
    Take it from the folds of your garment^(Z) and destroy them!

¹² But God is my King^(AA) from long ago;
    he brings salvation^(AB) on the earth.

¹³ It was you who split open the sea^(AC) by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster^(AD) in the waters.
¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan^(AE)
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.^(AF)
15 It was you who opened up springs^(AG) and streams;
    you dried up^(AH) the ever-flowing rivers.
¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.^(AI)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries^(AJ) of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.^(AK)

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people^(AL) have reviled your name.
¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove^(AM) to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted^(AN) people forever.
²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,^(AO)
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places^(AP) of the land.
²¹ Do not let the oppressed^(AQ) retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy^(AR) praise your name.
²² Rise up,^(AS) O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools^(AT) mock you all day long.
²³ Do not ignore the clamor^(AU) of your adversaries,^(AV)
    the uproar^(AW) of your enemies,^(AX) which rises continually.