Old/New Testament
A Message About Moab
48 This message is about the country of Moab. This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says:
“How terrible it will be for Nebo.
It will be ruined.
The town of Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured.
The strong city will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will not be praised again.
Men in the town of Heshbon plan Moab’s defeat.
They say, ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation!’
Town of Madmen, you will also be silenced.
The sword will chase you.
3 Listen to the cries from the town of Horonaim.
They are cries of much confusion and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken up.
Her little children will cry for help.
5 Moab’s people go up the path to Luhith.
They cry loudly as they go.
On the road down to the town of Horonaim,
cries of pain and suffering can be heard.
6 Run! Run for your lives!
Go like a bush being blown through the desert.
7 You trust in the things you do and in your wealth.
So you also will be captured.
The god Chemosh will be taken into captivity.
And his priests and officers will be taken with him.
8 The destroyer will come against every town.
Not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined.
The high plain will be destroyed.
The Lord said this would happen.
9 Spread salt[a] over the fields in Moab.
The country will be an empty desert.
Moab’s towns will become empty.
No one will live in them.
10 A curse will be on anyone who doesn’t do what the Lord says.
A curse will be on anyone who keeps back his sword from killing.
11 “The people of Moab have never known trouble.
They are like wine left to settle.
They have never been poured like wine from one jar to another.
They have not been taken into captivity.
So they taste as they did before.
And their smell has not changed.
12 A time is coming,” says the Lord.
“And I will soon send men to pour you from your jars.
Those men will empty Moab’s jars.
And they will smash their jugs.
13 The people of Israel trusted that god in Bethel.
They were ashamed when there was no help.
In the same way Moab will be ashamed of their god Chemosh.
14 “You cannot say, ‘We are warriors!
We are brave men in battle!’
15 The enemy will attack Moab and destroy their towns.
Their best young men will be killed!” says the King.
The King’s name is the Lord of heaven’s armies.
16 “The end of Moab is near.
They will soon be destroyed.
17 All you who live around Moab, cry for her.
All you who know about her, cry for her.
Say, ‘The ruler’s power is broken.
Moab’s power and glory are gone.’
18 “You people living in Dibon, come down from your place of honor.
Sit on the dry ground.
This is because the destroyer of Moab is coming against you.
And he will destroy your strong, walled cities.
19 You people living in Aroer,
stand next to the road and watch.
See the man running away and the woman escaping.
Ask them what happened.
20 Moab will be ruined and filled with shame.
Cry, Moab, cry out!
Announce at the Arnon River
that Moab is destroyed.
21 People on the high plain have been punished.
Judgment has come to these towns:
Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath;
22 Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim;
23 Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon;
24 Kerioth and Bozrah.
Judgment has come to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s strength has been cut off.
Moab’s arm is broken!” says the Lord.
26 “The people of Moab thought they were greater than the Lord.
So punish Moab until they act as if they are drunk.
Moab will fall and roll around in their own vomit.
People will make fun of them.
27 Moab, you made fun of Israel.
Israel was caught in the middle of a gang of thieves.
You often spoke about Israel.
And you shook your head and acted as if you were better than Israel.
28 People in Moab, leave your towns empty.
Go live among the rocks.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the entrance of a cave!
29 “We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
and very conceited.
They are proud and think they are important.
They were very proud in their hearts.”
30 The Lord says,
“I know Moab’s quick anger, but it is useless.
Moab’s bragging accomplishes nothing.
31 So I cry sadly for Moab.
I cry out for everyone in Moab.
I moan for the men from Kir Hareseth.
32 I cry with the people of Jazer
for the grapevines of Sibmah.
In the past your vines spread all the way to the sea.
They reached as far as the sea of Jazer.
But the destroyer has taken
your fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and happiness are gone
from the large fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses.
No one walks on the grapes with shouts of joy.
There are shouts,
but not shouts of joy.
34 “Their crying can be heard
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz.
It can be heard from Zoar as far away as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.
Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 I will stop Moab
from making burnt offerings at the places of worship.
I will stop them from burning incense to their gods,” says the Lord.
36 “My heart cries for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song.
It cries for the people from Kir Hareseth.
Their money and riches have all been taken away.
37 Everyone has a shaved head.
Everyone’s beard is cut off.
Everyone’s hands are cut.
Everyone wears rough cloth around his waist.[b]
38 People are crying on every roof[c] in Moab
and in every public square.
There is nothing but sadness
because I have broken Moab
like a jar no one wants,” says the Lord.
39 “Moab is shattered! The people are crying!
Moab turns away in shame!
People all around her make fun of her.
The things that happened fill them with fear.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is diving down from the sky.
It spreads its wings over Moab.
41 The towns of Moab will be captured.
The strong, walled cities will be defeated.
At that time Moab’s warriors will be frightened.
They will feel pain like a woman who is having a baby.
42 The nation of Moab will be destroyed.
This is because they thought they were greater than the Lord.
43 Fear, deep pits and traps wait for you,
people of Moab,” says the Lord.
44 “People will run from fear.
But they will fall into the pits.
Anyone who climbs out of the pits
will be caught in the traps.
I will bring the year of punishment to Moab,” says the Lord.
45 “People have run from the powerful enemy.
They ran to Heshbon for safety.
But fire started in Heshbon.
A blaze broke out in Sihon’s town.
And it burns the leaders of Moab.
It destroys those proud people.
46 How terrible it will be for you, Moab!
Chemosh’s people are being destroyed.
Your sons and daughters are being taken away as captives.
47 “But in days to come,
I will make good things happen again to Moab,” says the Lord.
This ends the judgment on Moab.
A Message About Ammon
49 This message is about the Ammonite people. This is what the Lord says:
“Do you think that Israel has no sons?
Do you think there is no one to take the land when the parents die?
Maybe that is why Molech took Gad’s land.
Maybe that is why Molech’s people live in Gad’s towns.”
2 The Lord says,
“The time will come when I will make
the capital city of Rabbah Ammon hear the battle cry.
It will be a hill covered with ruins.
And the towns around it will be burned.
Those people forced Israel out of that land.
But now the people of Israel will force them out!” says the Lord.
3 “People in Heshbon, cry because the town of Ai is destroyed!
Those who live in Rabbah Ammon, cry out!
Put on your rough cloth to show your sadness, and cry loudly.
Run here and there for safety inside the walls.
This is because the enemy will take Molech away as a captive.
They will also take away his priests and officers with him.
4 You brag about your valleys.
You brag about the fruit in your valleys.
You are like an unfaithful child.
You believe your treasures will save you.
You think, ‘Who would attack me?’
5 I will bring terror on you
from every side,”
says the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies.
“You will all be forced away.
No one will be able to gather you.
6 “But the time will come
when I will make good things happen to the Ammonites again,”
says the Lord.
A Message About Edom
7 This message is about Edom. This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“Is there no more wisdom in Teman?
Can the wise men of Edom no longer give good advice?
Have they lost their wisdom?
8 You people living in Dedan,
run away and hide in deep caves.
This is because I will punish
the people of Esau with disaster for what they did.
9 If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,
they would leave a few grapes behind.
If robbers came at night,
they would steal only enough for themselves.
10 But I will strip Esau bare.
I will find all their hiding places.
They will not be able to hide from me.
The children, relatives and neighbors will die.
11 Leave the orphans, and I will take care of them.
Your widows also can trust in me.”
12 This is what the Lord says: “Some people did not deserve to be punished. But they had to drink from the cup of suffering anyway. People of Edom, you deserve to be punished. So you will not escape punishment. You must drink from the cup of suffering.” 13 The Lord says, “I make this promise in my own name. The city of Bozrah will become a pile of ruins! People will be shocked by what happened there. People will insult that city and speak evil of it. And all the towns around Bozrah will become ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Gather your armies to attack it!
Get ready for battle!”
15 “Soon I will make you the smallest of nations!
You will be greatly hated.
16 Edom, you frightened other nations.
Your pride has fooled you.
You live in the hollow places of the cliff.
You live on the high places of the hills.
Even if you build your home as high as an eagle’s nest,
I will bring you down from there!” says the Lord.
17 “Edom will be destroyed.
People will be shocked to see the destroyed cities.
They will be amazed at the injuries.
18 Edom will be destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns around them,” says the Lord.
“No one will live there!
No man will stay in Edom.
19 “A lion will come from the thick bushes near the Jordan River.
And it will go into the rich pastures where people feed their flocks.
I am like that lion! I will suddenly chase Edom from their land.
Who is the one I have chosen to do this?
There is no one like me.
There is no one who can challenge me.
None of their leaders can stand up against me.”
20 So listen to what the Lord has planned to do against Edom.
Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in Teman.
The Lord will surely drag away the young ones of Edom.
Edom’s pastures will surely be destroyed because of them.
21 At the sound of Edom’s fall, the earth will shake.
Their cry will be heard all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba.
22 The Lord is like an eagle swooping down.
He is like an eagle spreading its wings over the city of Bozrah.
At that time Edom’s soldiers will become very frightened.
They will be crying from fear like a woman having a baby.
A Message About Damascus
23 This message is about the city of Damascus:
“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are put to shame.
They are afraid because they have heard bad news.
They are discouraged.
They are troubled like the tossing sea.
24 The city of Damascus has become weak.
The people want to run away.
The people are ready to panic.
The people feel pain and suffering
like a woman having a baby.
25 Damascus was a city of my joy.
Why have the people not left that famous city yet?
26 Surely the young men will die in the public squares of that city.
All of her soldiers will be killed at that time,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus.
The fire will completely burn the strong cities of Ben-Hadad.”
A Message About Kedar and Hazor
28 This message is about the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated them. This is what the Lord says:
“Go and attack the people of Kedar.
Destroy the people of the East.
29 Their tents and flocks will be taken away.
Their tents and all their things will be carried off.
Their enemy will take away their goods and camels.
Men will shout to them,
‘Terror on every side!’
30 “Run away quickly!
People in Hazor, find a good place to hide!” says the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans against you.
He has made plans to defeat you!
31 “There is a nation that is comfortable.
It is sure that no one will defeat it,” says the Lord.
“That nation does not have gates or fences to protect it.
Its people live alone.
Attack that nation!
32 The enemy will steal their camels
and their large herds of cattle.
I will scatter the Arabs to every part of the earth.
And I will bring disaster on them from everywhere,” says the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a place where wild dogs live.
It will become an empty desert forever.
No one will live there.
No man will stay in it.”
A Message About Elam
34 It was early in the time when Zedekiah was king of Judah. The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is about the nation of Elam.
35 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“I will break Elam’s bow.
I will break its strength.
36 I will bring the four winds against Elam.
I will bring them from the four corners of the skies.
I will scatter the people of Elam everywhere the four winds blow.
And its captives will go to every nation.
37 I will break Elam to pieces in front of their enemies.
The enemies want to destroy Elam.
I will bring disaster to Elam.
I will show them how angry I am!” says the Lord.
“I will send a sword to chase Elam.
It will chase them until I have killed them all.
38 I will show Elam that I am king.
And I will destroy her king and her officers!” says the Lord.
39 “But I will make good things happen to Elam again
in the future,” says the Lord.
The Priest Melchizedek
7 Melchizedek[a] was the king of Salem and a priest for the Most High God. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. 2 And Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of goodness.” Also, he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.” 3 No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was.[b] No one knows where he came from. And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever.
4 You can see that Melchizedek was very great. Abraham, the great father, gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything that Abraham won in battle. 5 Now the law says that those in the tribe of Levi who become priests must get a tenth from the people. The priests collect it from their own people, even though the priests and the people are both from the family of Abraham. 6 Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. But he got a tenth from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises. 7 And everyone knows that the more important person blesses the less important person. 8 Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says. 9 It is Levi who gets a tenth from the people. But we might even say that when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth, then Levi also paid it. 10 Levi was not yet born. But Levi was in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met Abraham.
11 The people were given the law[c] concerning the system of priests from the tribe of Levi. But they could not be made spiritually perfect through that system of priests. So there was a need for another priest to come. I mean a priest like Melchizedek, not Aaron. 12 And when a different kind of priest comes, the law must be changed, too. 13 We are saying these things about Christ. He belonged to a different tribe. No one from that tribe ever served as a priest at the altar. 14 It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe.
Jesus Is Like Melchizedek
15 And this becomes even more clear. We see that another priest comes, who is like Melchizedek.[d] 16 He was not made a priest by human rules and laws. He became a priest through the power of his life, which continues forever. 17 In the Scriptures, this is said about him:
“You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.” Psalm 110:4
18 The old rule is now set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 The law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with this hope we can come near to God.
20 Also, it is important that God made an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When the others became priests, there was no oath. 21 But Christ became a priest with God’s oath. God said:
“The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
‘You are a priest forever.’” Psalm 110:4
22 So this means that Jesus is the guarantee of a better agreement[e] from God to his people.
23 Also, when one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests. 24 But Jesus lives forever. He will never stop serving as priest. 25 So he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this, because he always lives, ready to help those who come before God.
26 So Jesus is the kind of high priest that we need. He is holy; he has no sin in him. He is pure and not influenced by sinners. And he is raised above the heavens. 27 He is not like the other priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Christ does not need to do that. He offered his sacrifice only once and for all time. Christ offered himself! 28 The law chooses high priests who are men with all their weaknesses. But the word of God’s oath came later than the law. It made God’s Son to be the high priest. And that Son has been made perfect forever.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.