Online Bible

Prophecy against Moab

Concerning ¹^aMoab.Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,“Woe (judgment is coming) to the city of ²^bNebo, for it has been destroyed!^cKiriathaim has been shamed, it has been captured;Misgab the high fortress has been shamed, broken down and crushed. Is 15-16; 25:10-12; Ezek 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph 2:8-11

2 “The glory of Moab is no more;In ¹^aHeshbon they planned evil against her,Saying, ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’You also, O city of Madmen, shall be silenced;The sword will pursue you.3 “The sound of an outcry from ^aHoronaim,‘Desolation and great destruction!’4 “Moab is destroyed;Her little ones have called out a cry of distress to be heard as far as Zoar.5 “For the Ascent of ^aLuhithWill be climbed by successive groups of fugitives with continual weeping;For on the descent of HoronaimThey have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.6 “^aRun! Save your lives,That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.7 “For because you have ^atrusted in your works your hand-made idols and in your treasures instead of in God,Even you yourself will be captured;And ¹^bChemosh your disgusting god cannot rescue you, but will go away into exile along with the fugitivesTogether with his priests and his princes.8 “And the destroyer will come upon every city;No city will escape.The Jordan valley also will be ruinedAnd the ^aplain will be devastated,As the LORD has said.9 “Give a ^agravestone to Moab,For she will fall into ruins;Her cities (pastures, farms) will be ^bdesolate,Without anyone to live in them.10 “^aCursed is the one who does the work of the LORD ^bnegligently,And cursed is the one who restrains his ^csword from blood in executing the judgment of the LORD.

11 “Moab has been ^aat ease from his youth;He has also been undisturbed, and ^bsettled like wine on his dregs,And he has not been ^cemptied from one vessel to another,Nor has he gone into exile.Therefore his flavor remains in him,And his scent has not changed.

12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when I will send to Moab those who will tip him over and who will empty his vessels and break his earthenware jars in pieces. 13 And Moab shall be ^aashamed of ^bChemosh his worthless, disgusting god, as the house of Israel was ashamed of ^cBethel, their misplaced confidence. 1+@Kin 12:28, 29

14 “How can you say, ‘We are ^agreat warriorsAnd valiant men in war?’15 “Moab has been made desolate and his cities have gone up in smoke and flame;And his chosen ^ayoung men have gone down to the slaughter,”Says the ^bKing, whose name is the LORD of hosts.16 “The destruction of Moab will come ^asoon,And his disaster hurries quickly.17 “Show sympathy for him, all you nations who are around him,And all you distant nations who know his name;Say, ‘How has the mighty ^ascepter of national power been broken,And the splendid staff of glory!’18 “^aCome down from your glory,O ^bDaughter living in ¹^cDibon,And sit on the parched ground among the thirsty!For the destroyer of Moab has advanced against you;He has destroyed your strongholds.19 “O inhabitant of ^aAroer,Stand by the road and keep watch!^bAsk of him who flees and ask of her who escapes,Saying, ‘What has happened?’20 “Moab is shamed, for she has been broken down and shattered.Wail and cry out!Tell by the banks of the ^aArnonThat Moab has been destroyed.

21 “Judgment has come on the land of the plain—upon Holon, ^aJahzah, and against ^bMephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and ^aBeth-meon, 24 against ^aKerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The ^ahorn (strength) of Moab has been cut off and his ^barm of authority is shattered,” says the LORD. 26 “^aMake him drunk, for he has ^bbecome arrogant and magnified himself against the LORD by denying Reuben’s occupation of the land the LORD had assigned him. Moab also will wallow in his vomit, and he too shall become a laughingstock. Num 22:1-7 27 For was not Israel a ^alaughingstock to you? Was he ^bcaught among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you ^cshake your head in scorn.

28 “You inhabitants of Moab,Leave the cities and live among the ^arocks,And be like the ^bdove that makes her nestIn the walls of the yawning ravine.29 “^aWe have heard of the giddy pride of Moab, the extremely proud one—His haughtiness, his ^barrogance, his conceit, and his self-exaltation.30 “I know his insolent ^awrath,” says the LORD,“But it is futile;His idle boasts in his deeds have accomplished nothing.31 “Therefore I will ^awail over Moab,And I will cry out for all Moab.I will sigh and mourn over the men of ^bKir-heres (Kir-hareseth) . Is 15:1; 16:7, 1132 “O vines of Sibmah, I will weep for youMore than the ^aweeping of ^bJazer over its ruins and wasted vineyards.Your tendrils of influence stretched across the sea,Reaching even to the sea of Jazer.The destroyer has fallenOn your summer fruits and your season’s crop of grapes.33 “So joy and ^agladness are taken awayFrom the fruitful field and from the land of Moab.And I have made the wine ^bcease from the wine presses;No one treads the grapes with shouting.Their shouting is not joyful shouting but is instead, a battle cry.

34 ^aFrom the outcry at Heshbon even to ^bElealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from ^cZoar even to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolations. 35 Moreover, I will cause to cease in Moab,” says the LORD, “the one who ascends and offers sacrifice in the ^ahigh place and the one who ^bburns incense to his gods.

36 “Therefore My ^aheart moans and sighs for Moab like flutes, and My heart moans and sighs like flutes for the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth) ; therefore the remnant of the abundant riches they gained has ^bperished. 37 For ^aevery head is shaven bald and every beard cut off; there are cuts (slashes) on all the hands and ^bsackcloth on the ¹loins all expressions of mourning. Is 15:2, 3 38 On all the ^ahousetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation (expressions of grief for the dead) everywhere, for I have broken Moab like a ^bvessel in which there is no pleasure,” says the LORD. 39 “How it is broken down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a horrifying ^aterror to all who are around him.”

40 For thus says the LORD:“Behold, one (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) will ^afly swiftly like an eagleAnd ^bspread out his wings against Moab. Ezek 17:3

41 “Kerioth and the cities has been takenAnd the strongholds seized;And the ^ahearts of the warriors of Moab in that dayShall be like the heart of a ^bwoman in childbirth.42 “Moab will be ¹^adestroyed from being a nation (people)Because he has ^bbecome arrogant and magnified himself against the LORD.43 “^aTerror and pit and snare are before you,O inhabitant of Moab,” says the LORD. Is 24:744 “The one who ^aflees from the terrorWill fall into the pit,And the one who gets up out of the pitWill be taken and caught in the trap;For I shall bring upon it, even upon Moab,The year of their ^bpunishment,” says the LORD.

45 “In the shadow of HeshbonThe fugitives stand powerless helpless and without strength,For a fire has gone out from Heshbon,A ^aflame from the midst of ^bSihon;It has destroyed the ^cforehead of MoabAnd the crowns of the heads of the arrogant Moabites the ones in tumult.46 “^aWoe (judgment is coming) to you, O Moab!The people of the pagan god called ^bChemosh have perished;For your sons have been taken away captiveAnd your daughters into captivity.47 “Yet I will ^areturn the captives and restore the fortunes of MoabIn the latter days,” says the LORD.

Thus far is the judgment on Moab.