Isaiah 16:1–17:14

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 MoabB 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 faithfullyC

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. 14 And now the Lord says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts years,f Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.”

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST DAMASCUS

17 A pronouncementg concerning Damascus:h

Look, Damascus is no longer a city.

It has become a ruined heap.

2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned;

they will be places for flocks.

They will lie down without fear.

3 The fortress disappears from Ephraim,i

and a kingdom from Damascus.

The remnant of Aram will be

like the splendor of the Israelites.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL

4 On that day

the splendor of Jacob will fade,

and his healthy bodyC will become emaciated.j

5 It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain—

his arm harvesting the heads of grain—

and as if one had gleaned heads of grain

in Rephaim Valley.k

6 Only gleanings will be left in Israel,l

as if an olive tree had been beaten—

two or three olives at the very top of the tree,

four or five on its fruitful branches.

This is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Israel.

7 On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.m 8 They will not look to the altarsn they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrinesA,o they made with their fingers.

9 On that day their strong cities will be

like the abandoned woods and mountaintops

that were abandoned because of the Israelites;

there will be desolation.

10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,

and you have failed to remember

the rock of your strength;p

therefore you will plant beautiful plants

and set out cuttings from exotic vines.

11 On the day that you plant,

you will help them to grow,

and in the morning

you will help your seed to sprout,

but the harvest will vanish

on the day of disease and incurable pain.

JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS

12 Ah! The roar of many peoples—

they roar like the roaring of the seas.

The raging of the nations—

they rage like the rumble of rushing water.q

13 The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent.r

He rebukes them, and they flee far away,s

driven before the wind like chaff on the hillst

and like tumbleweeds before a gale.

14 In the evening—sudden terror!

Before morning—it is gone!

This is the fate of those who plunder us

and the lot of those who ravage us.