39 “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”s

40 For this is what the Lord says:

Look! He will swoop down like an eagle

and spread his wings against Moab.t

41 The towns haveB been captured,

and the strongholds seized.

In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors

will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.u

42 Moab will be destroyed as a people

because he has exalted himself against the Lord.v

43 Panic,w pit, and trap

await you, resident of Moab.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

44 He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,

and he who climbs from the pit

will be captured in the trap,

for I will bring against Moab

the year of their punishment.x

This is the Lord’s declaration.y

45 Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow

because fire has come out from Heshbon

and a flame from within Sihon.

It will devour Moab’s forehead

and the skull of the noisemakers.

46 Woe to you, Moab!

The people of Chemosh have perished

because your sons have been taken captive

and your daughters have gone into captivity.z