Online Bible

Prophecy against Moab

Concerning ^aMoab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,“Woe to ^bNebo, for it has been destroyed;^cKiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and ¹shattered.

2 “There is praise for Moab no longer;In ^aHeshbon they have devised calamity against her:‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’You too, ¹Madmen, will be silenced;The sword will follow after you.3 “The sound of an outcry from ^aHoronaim,‘Devastation and great destruction!’4 “Moab is broken,Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.5 “For by the ascent of ^aLuhithThey will ascend with continual weeping;For at the descent of HoronaimThey have heard the ¹anguished cry of destruction.6 “^aFlee, save your lives,That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.7 “For because of your ^atrust in your own achievements and treasures,Even you yourself will be captured;And ^bChemosh will go off into exileTogether with his priests and his princes.8 “A destroyer will come to every city,So that no city will escape;The valley also will be ruinedAnd the ^aplateau will be destroyed,As the LORD has said.9 “Give ¹^awings to Moab,For she will ²flee away;And her cities will become a ^bdesolation,Without inhabitants in them.10 “^aCursed be the one who does the LORD’S work ^bnegligently,And cursed be the one who restrains his ^csword from blood.

11 “Moab has been ^aat ease since his youth;He has also been ^bundisturbed, like wine on ¹its dregs,And he has not been ^cemptied from vessel to vessel,Nor has he gone into exile.Therefore ²he retains his flavor,And his aroma has not changed.

12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter ¹his jars. 13 And Moab will be ^aashamed of ^bChemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of ^cBethel, their confidence.

14 “How can you say, ‘We are ^amighty warriors,And men valiant for battle’?15 “Moab has been destroyed and ¹men have gone up to ²his cities;His choicest ³^ayoung men have also gone down to the slaughter,”Declares the ^bKing, whose name is the LORD of hosts.16 “The disaster of Moab will ^asoon come,And his calamity has swiftly hastened.17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him,Even all of you who know his name;Say, ‘How has the mighty ¹^ascepter been broken,A staff of splendor!’18 “^aCome down from your gloryAnd sit ¹on the parched ground,O ^bdaughter dwelling in ^cDibon,For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,He has ruined your strongholds.19 “Stand by the road and keep watch,O inhabitant of ^aAroer;^bAsk him who flees and her who escapesAnd say, ‘What has happened?’20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been ¹shattered.Wail and cry out;Declare by the ^aArnonThat Moab has been destroyed.

21 “Judgment has also come upon 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 of Moab has been cut off and his ^barm broken,” declares the LORD. 26 “^aMake him drunk, for he has ¹become ^barrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will ²wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a ^alaughingstock to you? Or was he ¹^bcaught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you ^cshake your head in scorn.

28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the ^acrags,O inhabitants of Moab,And be like a ^bdove that nestsBeyond the mouth of the chasm.29 “^aWe have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—Of his haughtiness, his ^bpride, his arrogance and ¹his self-exaltation.30 “I know his ^afury,” declares the LORD,“But it is futile;His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.31 “Therefore I will ^awail for Moab,Even for all Moab will I cry out;¹I will moan for the men of ^bKir-heres.32 “More than the ^aweeping for ^bJazerI will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!Your tendrils stretched across the sea,They reached to the sea of Jazer;Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvestThe destroyer has fallen.33 “So ^agladness and joy are taken awayFrom the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.And I have made the wine to ^bcease from the wine presses;No one will tread them with shouting,The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

34 ^aFrom the outcry at Heshbon even to ^bElealeh, even to Jahaz they have ¹raised their voice, from ^cZoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make an end of Moab,” declares the LORD, “the one who offers sacrifice on the ^ahigh place and the one who ¹^bburns incense to his gods.

36 “Therefore My ^aheart ¹wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also ²wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have ^blost the abundance it produced. 37 For ^aevery head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and ^bsackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the ^ahousetops of Moab and in its streets ¹there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable ^bvessel,” declares the LORD. 39 “How ¹shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an ^aobject of terror to all around him.”

40 For thus says the LORD:“Behold, one will ^afly swiftly like an eagleAnd ^bspread out his wings against Moab.41 “Kerioth has been capturedAnd the strongholds have been seized,So the ^ahearts of the mighty men of Moab in that dayWill be like the heart of a ^bwoman in labor.42 “Moab will be ^adestroyed from being a peopleBecause he has ¹become ^barrogant toward the LORD.43 “^aTerror, pit and snare are coming upon you,O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the LORD.44 “The one who ^aflees from the terrorWill fall into the pit,And the one who climbs up out of the pitWill be caught in the snare;For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,The year of their ^bpunishment,” declares the LORD.

45 “In the shadow of HeshbonThe fugitives stand without strength;For a fire has gone forth from HeshbonAnd a ^aflame from the midst of ^bSihon,And it has devoured the ^cforehead of MoabAnd the scalps of the ¹riotous revelers.46 “^aWoe to you, Moab!The people of ^bChemosh have perished;For your sons have been taken away captiveAnd your daughters into captivity.47 “Yet I will ^arestore the ¹fortunes of MoabIn the ²latter days,” declares the LORD.

Thus far the judgment on Moab.