Old/New Testament

“How the oppressor has ceased!
How his fury^[a] has ended!”
⁵ The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
⁶ who struck down peoples with fury, blow after blow,
who ruled the nations in anger,
with a persecution that no one restrained.

⁷ The whole earth is at rest and is quiet.
Everything breaks into song.
⁸ Yes, the fir trees rejoice with you,
along with the cedars of Lebanon.
They say, “Since the time you were humbled,
no woodcutter has come to cut us down.”
⁹ The grave below is ready to meet you when you come.
It stirs up the departed spirits to meet you—
all those who once were the rulers of the earth.
It makes all those who were kings over nations
    rise from their thrones.
¹⁰ They will all respond to you, Babylon.
The spirits all will ask you,
“Have you also become as weak as we are?
Have you become like us?”

¹¹ Your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
    along with the sound of your harps.
Maggots are spread out beneath you,
and worms cover you.

¹² How you have fallen from heaven,
you bright morning star,^[b] son of the dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
¹³ You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven!
I will raise my throne above the stars of God!
I will sit on the mountain of the assembly, in the far north!
¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds!
I will make myself like the Most High!”
¹⁵ But you will be brought down to the grave,
to the bottom of the pit.
¹⁶ Those who see you will stare at you.
They will ask themselves,
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms?
¹⁷ Is this the man who made the world like a wilderness,
who overthrew its cities,
who did not let his prisoners go home?”

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.
¹⁹ But you will be tossed out of your tomb,
like a rejected branch.
You will be covered with the dead bodies,
with those who have been run through by the sword,
with those who descend into a stone-filled pit.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
²⁰ you will not join them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.

²² I will rise up against them,
declares the Lord of Armies.
I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remaining people,
her posterity and progeny,^[c] declares the Lord.
²³ I will turn it into a marsh, a home for porcupines,^[d]
and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction,
declares the Lord of Armies.

²⁶ This is the plan that has been determined for the whole world.
This is the hand that is stretched out over all nations.
²⁷ For the Lord of Armies has made plans,
and who can stop him?
His hand is stretched out,
and who can turn it back?

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken.
From the snake’s root a viper will slither out,
and from its egg a venomous flying serpent^[e] will come.
³⁰ The poorest of the poor will eat,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
But I will kill your root with famine,
and even those of you who remain will be put to death.
³¹ Wail, O gate! Howl, O city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!
A cloud of dust descends from the north,
and no one in its ranks will be left behind.
³² What answer will they give to the messengers from that nation?
The Lord has established Zion,
and the afflicted people will take refuge in her.

In one night, Ar^[f] of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.
In one night, Kir of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.
² They have gone up to the temple at Dibon,
up to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba.
Every head is shaved.
Every beard is cut off.
³ They wear sackcloth in their streets.
On the rooftops and in the public squares, everyone wails.
They all collapse in tears.
⁴ Heshbon cries out with Elealeh.
Their voice is heard even in Jahaz.
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their spirit is weak.

⁵ My heart cries out for Moab!
Her refugees^[g] flee to Zoar,
to Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the Ascent of Luhith,
    weeping all the way.
On the way to Horonaim,
    they weep continuously over their destruction.
⁶ The waters of Nimrim are dried up.
The grass has withered away.
The vegetation has died,
and no green thing remains.
⁷ So they will carry across the Ravine of Poplars^[h]
    whatever remains from the wealth they acquired
    and from the supplies they stored up.
⁸ For a cry has echoed around the borders of Moab.
The wailing reaches to Eglaim
and all the way to Be’er Elim.
⁹ For the waters of Dimon are full of blood,^[i]
and I will bring still more on Dimon.
I will bring a lion upon the refugees of Moab
and upon the survivors who remain in the land.

16 Send the tribute ram for the ruler of the land,

from Selah toward the wilderness,
to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
² At the fords of the Arnon, the daughters of Moab will be
like birds fleeing from a scattered nest.

³ Get advice and make a decision.
At high noon make your shade as dark as night.
Hide the refugees.
Do not betray the fugitive.
⁴ Let the refugees from Moab stay with you.
        Be a hiding place for them from the face of the destroyer.

For the extortionist is no longer present.
Violence has ceased,
and the oppressors have disappeared from the land.
⁵ A throne will be established in mercy.
In the tent of David a judge will sit on the throne in truth,
seeking justice, eager to bring righteousness.

⁶ We have heard about Moab’s pride,
about his egotistical conceit.
His pride, his arrogance, and his boasting are nothing but self-delusion.
⁷ Therefore Moab will wail for Moab.
Everyone will wail.
Completely devastated, you will mourn for the raisin cakes
    of Kir Hareseth.

⁸ Look, the fields of Heshbon wither,
along with the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations have trampled the choice vines,
    which reached even to Jazer,
    which spread out into the wilderness.
Their shoots were spread out all the way to the sea.
⁹ Therefore I will weep as Jazer weeps for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
because the noisy celebration over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvest has been silenced.
¹⁰ Gladness and joy are taken away from the rich fields.
In the vineyards there will be no cries of joy or happy shouting.
No one will tread out wine from the wine presses.
I have put a stop to the cheering.
¹¹ That is why my deepest feelings moan like a lyre for Moab,
and everything inside me is poured out for Kir Hareseth.
¹² When Moab presents himself on the high place,
he only wears himself out.
When he goes to his shrine to pray,
he will accomplish nothing.
¹³ This is the word that the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab.