Old/New Testament

The cruel king who ruled us is finished.
    His rule is finished!
⁵ The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers.
    He takes away their power.
⁶ The king of Babylon beat people in anger.
    He beat them again and again.
He ruled the people in anger.
    He kept on doing terrible things to the people.
⁷ But now, the whole land rests and is quiet.
    Now the people begin to sing.
⁸ Even the pine trees are happy.
    And the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king has fallen.
    No one will ever cut us down again.”

⁹ The place of the dead is excited
    to meet you when you come.
It wakes the spirits of the dead to greet you.
    They were the leaders of the world.
It makes dead kings stand up from their thrones to greet you.
    They were rulers of nations.
¹⁰ All these leaders will make fun of you.
    They will say,
“Now you are weak, as we are.
    Now you are just like us.”
¹¹ Your pride has been sent down to where the dead are.
    The music from your harps goes with it.
Flies are spread out like your bed beneath you.
    And worms cover your body like a blanket.

¹² King of Babylon, morning star, you have fallen from heaven,
    even though you were as bright as the rising sun!
In the past all the nations on earth bowed down before you.
    But now you have been cut down.
¹³ You told yourself,
    “I will go up to heaven.
I will put my throne
    above God’s stars.
I will sit on the mountain of the gods.
    I will sit on the slopes of the sacred mountain.
¹⁴ I will go up above the tops of the clouds.
    I will be like God Most High.”
¹⁵ But you were brought down to the grave.
    You were brought down to the deep places where the dead are.

¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you.
    They think about what has happened to you.
They say, “Is this the same man who caused great fear on earth?
    Is he the one who shook the kingdoms?
¹⁷ Is this the man who turned the land into a desert?
    Is he the one who destroyed its cities?
Is he the one who captured people in war
    and would not let them go home?”

¹⁸ Every king of the earth has been buried with honor.
    Every king has his own grave.
¹⁹ But you are thrown out of your grave,
    like an unwanted branch is cut from a tree and thrown away.
You are covered by bodies
    that died in battle.
You have been thrown into a rocky pit.
    And other soldiers walk on you.
²⁰     You will not be buried like other people.
This is because you ruined your own country.
    And you killed your own people.
So your children will never
    be mentioned again.

²¹ Prepare to kill his children.
    Kill them because their father is guilty.
They will never again take control of the earth.
    They will never again fill the world with their cities.

²² The Lord of heaven’s armies says this:
    “I will fight against those people.
I will destroy Babylon and its people.
    I will destroy its people and their descendants,” says the Lord.
²³ “I will make Babylon fit only for owls.
    It will become a swamp.
I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction,”
    says the Lord of heaven’s armies.

“These things will happen exactly as I planned them.
    These things will happen exactly as I set them up.
²⁵ I will destroy the king of Assyria in my country.
    I will trample him on my mountains.
He put a heavy load on my people.
    But that weight will be removed.

²⁶ “This is what I plan to do against all the earth.
    I will raise my hand to strike down all nations.”
²⁷ When the Lord of heaven’s armies makes a plan,
    no one can stop it.
When the Lord raises his hand to punish people,
    no one can stop him.

²⁹ Country of Philistia, don’t be so happy.
    The king who beat you is now dead.
But he is like a snake that will give birth to another dangerous snake.
    The new king will be like a quick, dangerous snake to bite you.
³⁰ Even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely.
    People in need will be able to lie down in safety.
But I will kill your family with hunger.
    And all your people who are left will die.

³¹ People near the city gates, cry out!
    Philistines, be frightened!
A cloud of dust comes from the north.
    It is an army, full of men ready to fight.
³² What shall we tell the messengers from Philistia?
    Say that the Lord has made Jerusalem strong.
    Say that his poor people will go there for safety.

In one night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab.
    That night the city was destroyed.
In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab.
    That night the city was destroyed.
² The people of Dibon go to the places of worship to cry.
    The people of Moab cry for the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
Everyone has shaved his head and beard to show how sad he is.
³ In the streets at Moab they wear rough cloth to show their sadness.
    On the roofs^[a] and in the public squares,
they are crying loudly.
⁴ People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh cry out loud.
    You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
    They are shaking from fear.

⁵ My heart cries with sorrow for Moab.
    Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
    They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
People are going up the mountain road to Luhith.
    They are crying as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim.
    They cry out loud over their destruction.
⁶ But the water of Nimrim has dried up.
    The grass has dried up.
All the plants are dead.
    Nothing green is left.
⁷ So the people gather up what they have saved.
    They carry those things and cross the Ravine of the Poplars.
⁸ Crying is heard everywhere in Moab.
    Their crying is heard as far away as the city Eglaim.
    Their crying is heard as far away as Beer Elim.
⁹ The water of the city Dibon is full of blood.
    And I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy.
    But I will send lions to kill them.

16 Send the king of the land
    the payment he demands.

Send a lamb from Sela through the desert
    to the mountain of Jerusalem.
² The women of Moab
    try to cross the river Arnon.
They are like little birds
    that have fallen from their nest.

³ They say: “Help us.
    Tell us what to do.
Protect us from our enemies
    as shade protects us from the noon sun.
Hide us because we are running for safety!
    Don’t give us to our enemies.
⁴ Let those of us who were forced out of Moab live in your land.
    Hide us from our enemies.”

The robbing of Moab will stop.
    The enemy will be defeated.
    The men who hurt others will disappear from the land.
⁵ Then a new loyal king will come.
    This faithful king will be from the family of David.
He will judge fairly.
    He wants to do what is right.

⁶ We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
    and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry.
    But their bragging means nothing.
⁷ So the people of Moab will cry.
    They will all be sad.
They will moan and groan
    for the raisin cakes they had in Kir Hareseth.
⁸ But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes.
    Foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines.
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert.
    They had spread as far as the sea.
⁹ I cry with the people of Jazer
    for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
There will be no shouts of joy,
    because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit.
¹⁰ There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards.
    There will be no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one makes wine in the winepresses.
    I have put an end to shouts of joy.
¹¹ My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song.
    I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.
¹² The people of Moab will go to their places of worship.
    They will try to pray.
But when they go to their temple to pray,
    they will not be able.

“Wake up, sleeper!
    Rise from death,
and Christ will shine on you.”