A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST MOAB

15 A pronouncement concerning Moab:d

Ar in Moab is devastated,e

destroyed in a night.

Kir in Moab is devastated,

destroyed in a night.

2 Dibon went up to its temple

to weep at its high places.

Moab wails on Nebo and atA Medeba.

Every head is shaved;

every beard is chopped short.

3 In its streets they wear sackcloth;

on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,

falling down and weeping.

4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.f

Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out,

and they tremble.

5 My heart cries out over Moab,

whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,g

to Eglath-shelishiyah;

they go up the Ascent of Luhith weeping;

they raise a cry of destruction

on the road to Horonaim.

6 The Waters of Nimrimh are desolate;

the grass is withered, the foliage is gone,

and the vegetation has vanished.

7 So they carry their wealth and belongings

over the Wadi of the Willows.i

8 For their cry echoes

throughout the territory of Moab.

Their wailing reaches Eglaim;

their wailing reaches Beer-elim.

9 The Waters of DibonC are full of blood,j

but I will bring on Dibon even more than this—

a lion for those who escape from Moab,

and for the survivors in the land.k

16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,l

from Sela in the desertm

to the mountain of Daughter Zion.

2 Like a bird fleeing,

forced from the nest,

the daughters of Moab

will be at the fords of the Arnon.

3 Give us counsel and make a decision.

Shelter us at noonday

with shade that is as dark as night.

Hide the refugees;n

do not betray the one who flees.

4 Let my refugees stay with you;

be a refuge for MoabD from the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,

destruction has ended,

and marauders have vanished from the land,

5 a throne will be established in love,o

and one will sit on it faithfullyE

in the tent of David,

judging and pursuing what is right,

quick to execute justice.

6 We have heard of Moab’s pridep—

how very proud he is—

his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,

and his empty boasting.

7 Therefore let Moab wail;

let every one of them wail for Moab.

You who are completely devastated, mourn

for the raisin cakesq of Kir-hareseth.r

8 For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards

and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled its choice vines

that reached as far as Jazers

and spread to the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and reached the sea.t

9 So I join with Jazer

to weep for the vines of Sibmah;

I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.

Triumphant shouts have fallen silentA

over your summer fruit and your harvest.

10 Joy and rejoicinga have been removed from the orchard;

no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.b

No one tramples grapesB in the winepresses.

I have put an end to the shouting.

11 Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,c

as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

12 When Moab appears

and tires himself out on the high placed

and comes to his sanctuary to pray,

it will do him no good.e

13 This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab.