Isaiah 16

16Send lambs^f as tribute^g

to the ruler of the land,

from Sela,^h across the desert,

to the mount of Daughter Zion.ⁱ

²Like fluttering birds

pushed from the nest,^j

so are the women of Moab^k

at the fords^l of the Arnon.^m

³“Make up your mind,” Moab says.

“Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—

at high noon.

Hide the fugitives,ⁿ

do not betray the refugees.

⁴Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

be their shelter^o from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^p will come to an end,

and destruction will cease;^q

the aggressor will vanish from the land.

⁵In love a throne^r will be established;^s

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house^a of David^t—

one who in judging seeks justice^u

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

⁶We have heard of Moab’s^v pride^w—

how great is her arrogance!—

of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;

but her boasts are empty.

⁷Therefore the Moabites wail,^x

they wail together for Moab.

Lament and grieve

for the raisin cakes^y of Kir Hareseth.^z

⁸The fields of Heshbon^a wither,^b

the vines of Sibmah^c also.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled down the choicest vines,^d

which once reached Jazer^e

and spread toward the desert.

Their shoots spread out^f

and went as far as the sea.^bg

⁹So I weep,^h as Jazer weeps,

for the vines of Sibmah.

Heshbon and Elealeh,ⁱ

I drench you with tears!^j

The shouts of joy^k over your ripened fruit

and over your harvests^l have been stilled.

¹⁰Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^m

no one sings or shoutsⁿ in the vineyards;

no one treads^o out wine at the presses,^p

for I have put an end to the shouting.

¹¹My heart laments for Moab^q like a harp,^r

my inmost being^s for Kir Hareseth.

¹²When Moab appears at her high place,^t

she only wears herself out;

when she goes to her shrine^u to pray,

it is to no avail.^v

¹³This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. ¹⁴But now the Lord says: “Within three years,^w as a servant bound by contract^x would count them,^y Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,^z and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”^a