Isaiah 16

16Send lambs to the ruler of the land, ⁱ

from Sela in the desert ^j

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; ^k

do not betray the one who flees.

⁴Let my refugees stay with you;

be a refuge for Moab ^lfrom the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,

destruction has ended,

and marauders have vanished from the land.

⁵Then in the tent of David

a throne will be established by faithful love. ^m

A judge who seeks what is right

and is quick to execute justice

will sit on the throne forever.

⁶We have heard of Moab’s pride ⁿ—

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.

Mourn, you who are completely devastated,

for the raisin cakes ^oof Kir-hareseth. ^p

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 ^q

and spread to the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and reached the Dead Sea. ^r

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 ^s

over your summer fruit and your harvest.

¹⁰Joy and rejoicing ^thave been removed from the orchard;

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

No one tramples grapes ^vin the winepresses.

I have put an end to the shouting.

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

as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

¹²When Moab appears on the high place,

when he tires ^xhimself out ^y

and comes to his sanctuary to pray,

it will do him no good. ^z

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, ^aMoab’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.”