Isaiah 16

16Send lambs to the ruler of the land,^l

from Sela in the desert^m

to the mountain of Daughter Zion.

²Like a bird fleeing,

forced from the nest,

the daughters of Moab

will be at the fords of the Arnon.

³Give 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.

⁴Let my refugees stay with you;

be a refuge for Moab^B from the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,

destruction has ended,

and marauders have vanished from the land,

⁵a throne will be established in love,^o

and one will sit on it faithfully^C

in the tent of David,

judging and pursuing what is right,

quick to execute justice.

⁶We have heard of Moab’s pride^p—

how very proud he is—

his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,

and his empty boasting.

⁷Therefore let Moab wail;

let every one of them wail for Moab.

You who are completely devastated, mourn

for the raisin cakes^q of Kir-hareseth.^r

⁸For 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 Jazer^s

and spread to the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and reached the sea.^t

⁹So I join with Jazer

to weep for the vines of Sibmah;

I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.

Triumphant shouts have fallen silent^A

over your summer fruit and your harvest.

¹⁰Joy and rejoicing^a have been removed from the orchard;

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

No one tramples grapes^B in the winepresses.

I have put an end to the shouting.

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

as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

¹²When Moab appears

and tires himself out on the high place^d

and comes to his sanctuary to pray,

it will do him no good.^e

¹³This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab. ¹⁴And 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.”