Old/New Testament

The king was cruel when he ruled us,
    but now his rule is finished.
⁵ The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers;
    he takes away their power.
⁶ In anger, the king of Babylon beat the people.
    He never stopped beating them.
He was an evil ruler who ruled in anger.
    He never stopped hurting people.
⁷ But now, the whole country rests and is quiet.
    Now the people begin to celebrate.
⁸ You were an evil king,
    and now you are finished.
Even the pine trees are happy.
    The cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king chopped us down,
    but now the king has fallen,
    and he will never stand again.”
⁹ The place of death is excited
    that you are coming.
Sheol is waking the spirits
    of all the leaders of the earth for you.
Sheol is making the kings stand up
    from their thrones to meet you.
¹⁰ They will make fun of you, saying,
    “Now you are as dead as we are.
    Now you are just like us.”
¹¹ Your pride has been sent down to Sheol.
    The music from your harps announces the coming of your proud spirit.
Maggots will be the bed you lie on,
    and other worms will cover your body like a blanket.
¹² You were like the morning star,
    but you have fallen from the sky.
In the past, all the nations on earth bowed down before you,
    but now you have been cut down.
¹³ You always told yourself,
    “I will go to the skies above.
I will put my throne above God’s stars.
    I will sit on Zaphon,^[b] the holy mountain where the gods meet.
¹⁴ I will go up to the altar above the tops of the clouds.
    I will be like God Most High.”

¹⁵ But that did not happen.
    You were brought down to the deep pit—Sheol, the place of death.
¹⁶ People will come to look at your dead body.
    They will think about you and say,
“Is this the same man
    who caused great fear in all the kingdoms on earth,
¹⁷ who destroyed cities
    and turned the land into a desert,
who captured people in war
    and would not let them go home?”
¹⁸ The kings of other nations lie buried with honor,
    each king with his own grave.
¹⁹ But you were thrown out of your grave
    like a branch cut from a tree and thrown away.
You are like a dead man who fell in battle,
    trampled under the feet of other soldiers.
Now you look like any other dead man
    wrapped in burial clothes.
²⁰ Other kings have their own graves,
    but you will not join them,
because you ruined your own country
    and killed your own people.
So your wicked descendants will be stopped.

²¹ Prepare to kill his children,
    because their father is guilty.
His children will never take control of the land.
    They will never fill the world with their cities.

³¹ People near the city gates, cry!
    People in the city, cry out!
Everyone in Philistia,
    your courage will melt like hot wax.

Look to the north!
    There is a cloud of dust.
An army is coming,
    and everyone in that army is strong.^[f]
32 But what will the messengers from that nation report about us?
    They will say, “The Lord made Zion strong,
    and his poor people went there for safety.”

One night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab,
    and the city was destroyed.
One night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab,
    and the city was destroyed.
² The king’s family and the people of Dibon^[g] go to the places of worship^[h] to cry.
    The people of Moab are crying for Nebo^[i] and Medeba.^[j]
    They have shaved their heads and beards to show their sadness.
³ Everywhere in Moab, on the housetops and in the streets,
    people are wearing sackcloth.
    Everyone is crying.
⁴ In Heshbon and Elealeh they are crying loudly.
    You can hear their voices as far away as Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
    They are shaking with fear.

⁵ My heart cries, full of sorrow for Moab.
    Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
    They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
The people are crying
    as they go up the road to Luhith.
They are crying loudly
    as they walk on the road to Horonaim.
⁶ But Nimrim Brook is as dry as a desert.
    The grass has dried up,
and the plants are all dead.
    Nothing is green.
⁷ So the people gather up everything they own
    and cross the border at Arabah stream.

⁸ You can hear crying everywhere in Moab—
    as far away as Eglaim and Beer Elim.
⁹ The water of Dimon^[k] is full of blood,
    and I will bring even more troubles to Dimon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy,
    but I will send lions to eat them.

² The women of Moab try to cross the river Arnon.
    They run around looking for help,
    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.
We are running from our enemies.
    Hide us!
    Don’t give us to our enemies.
⁴ People from Moab were forced to leave their homes.
    So let them live in your land.
    Hide them from their enemies.”

The robbing will stop.
    The enemy will be defeated.
    The men who hurt the people will be gone from the land.
⁵ Then a new king will come.
    He will be from David’s family.^[m]
    He will be loyal, loving, and kind.
He will be a king who judges fairly.
    He will do what is right and good.

⁶ We have heard that the people of Moab
    are very proud and conceited.
They are hot-tempered braggers,
    but their boasts are only empty words.
⁷ Because of their pride, everyone in Moab will mourn.
    They will wish for the way things used to be.
    They will wish for the raisin cakes from Kir Hareseth.^[n]
8 The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah no longer grow grapes.
    Foreign rulers have destroyed the vines.
The enemy has reached Jazer
    and has spread into the desert and down to the sea.^[o]
9 I will cry with the people of Jazer and Sibmah,
    because the grapes have been destroyed.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh
    because there will be no harvest.
There will be no summer fruit,
    and there will be no shouts of joy for the harvest.
¹⁰ There will be no joy and happiness in the orchard.
    I will end the happy singing and shouting in the vineyard.
The grapes are ready to make wine,
    but they will all be ruined.
¹¹ So I will hum a sad song for Moab and Kir Heres,^[p]
    like a harp playing a funeral song.
¹² The people of Moab will go
    to their high places to worship.
They will go to their temple to pray,
    but it will not help them.

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