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Prophecies against Moab
48 About Moab,(A) this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo,(B) because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame;(C) it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2 There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:(D)
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen,[a] you will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim,(E)
“devastation and great disaster!”
4 Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5 For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually,[b]
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:(F)
6 Flee! Save your lives!
Be like a juniper bush[c](G) in the wilderness.
7 Because you trust in your works[d] and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh(H) will go into exile
with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated,(I)
as the Lord has said.
9 Make Moab a salt marsh,[e](J)
for she will run away;[f]
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant.
10 The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully[g] is cursed,(K)
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11 Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs.(L)
He hasn’t been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn’t changed.
12 Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13 Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel(M) that they trusted in.
14 How can you say, “We are warriors—
mighty men ready for battle”?
15 The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up,[h]
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(N)
16 Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17 Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say: How the mighty scepter(O) is shattered,
the glorious staff!
18 Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,(P)
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19 Stand by the highway and look,
resident of Aroer!(Q)
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping:(R)
What happened?
20 Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21 “Judgment has come to the land of the plateau(S)—to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,(T) 24 Kerioth,(U) Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. 25 Moab’s horn is chopped off;(V) his arm is shattered.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
26 “Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(W) Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. 27 Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?(X) Was he ever found among thieves?(Y) For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”
28 Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave.(Z)
29 We have heard of Moab’s pride,
great pride, indeed—
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30 I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31 Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
with more than the weeping for Jazer.
Your tendrils have extended to the sea;
they have reached to the sea and to Jazer.[i]
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33 Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy.(AA)
34 “There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz(AB)—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate. 35 In Moab, I will stop”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.(AC) 36 Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab,(AD) and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. 37 Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped;(AE) on every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist. 38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.”(AF) This is the Lord’s declaration. 39 “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”(AG)
40 For this is what the Lord says:
He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.(AH)
41 The towns have[j] been captured,
and the strongholds seized.
In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.(AI)
42 Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(AJ)
43 Panic, pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
44 He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(AK)
45 Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow
because fire has come out from Heshbon
and a flame from within Sihon.
It will devour Moab’s forehead
and the skull of the noisemakers.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity.(AL)
47 Yet, I will restore the fortunes[k] of Moab in the last days.(AM)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
Prophecies against Ammon
49 About the Ammonites,(AN) this is what the Lord says:
Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has Milcom[l][m] dispossessed Gad(AO)
and his people settled in their cities?
2 Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will make the shout of battle(AP) heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned down.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the Lord.
3 Wail, Heshbon,(AQ) for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth,(AR) and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,[n]
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.(AS)
4 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your flowing valley,[o]
you faithless daughter?
You who trust in your treasures
and boast, “Who can attack me?”
5 Look, I am about to bring terror on you(AT)—
this is the declaration of
the Lord God of Hosts—
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each man headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
6 But after that, I will restore the fortunes[p] of the Ammonites.(AU)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Prophecies against Edom
7 About Edom, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?[q]
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?(AV)
8 Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,(AW)
for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him
at the time I punish him.(AX)
9 If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some gleanings?(AY)
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.(AZ)
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.(BA)
He will try to hide himself, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.
11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;
let your widows trust in Me.(BB)
12 “For this is what the Lord says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. 13 For by Myself I have sworn”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“Bozrah[r] will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will become ruins forever.”(BC)
14 I have heard a message from the Lord;
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
Assemble yourselves to come against her.
Rise up for war!
15 Look, I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,
despised among humanity.
16 As to the terror you cause,[s]
your presumptuous heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,[t]
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagle,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(BD)
17 “Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds.(BE) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,”(BF) says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.(BG)
19 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[u] of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me?(BH) Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”
20 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman:(BI) The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away,(BJ) and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.(BK) 22 Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.(BL)
Fulfill Your Ministry
4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge(A) the living and the dead,(B) and because of His appearing and His kingdom:(C) 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine,(D) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.[a] 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.(E) 5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,(F) fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,(G) and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me in the future the crown(H) of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,(I) will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.(J)
Final Instructions
9 Make every effort to come to me soon,(K) 10 for Demas(L) has deserted me,(M) because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica.(N) Crescens has gone to Galatia,(O) Titus(P) to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke(Q) is with me. Bring Mark(R) with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus(S) to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas(T) with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments. 14 Alexander(U) the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 15 Watch out(V) for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.
16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me.(W) May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the proclamation might be fully made through me and all the Gentiles might hear. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom.(X) To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Benediction
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila,(Y) and the household of Onesiphorus.(Z) 20 Erastus(AA) has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus(AB) sick at Miletus.(AC) 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!(A)
2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.(B)
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.(C)
4 The depths of the earth are in His hand,
and the mountain peaks are His.(D)
5 The sea is His; He made it.
His hands formed the dry land.(E)
6 Come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.(F)
7 For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
the sheep under His care.[a](G)
Today, if you hear His voice:(H)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness(I)
9 where your fathers tested Me;
they tried Me, though they had seen what I did.(J)
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know My ways.”(K)
11 So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.”(L)
Psalm 96(M)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(N)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(O)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(P)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(Q)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(R)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(S)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(T)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(U)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(V)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(W)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(X)
10 Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.(Y)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(Z)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(AA)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(AB)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(AC)
13 before the Lord, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(AD)
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a stick with thorns,
brandished by[a] the hand of a drunkard.
10 The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by
is like an archer who wounds everyone.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.(A)
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?(B)
There is more hope for a fool than for him.(C)
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