Chapter 2

1 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Moab,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;*

because he burned to lime

the bones of the king of Edom.

2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,

and Moab shall die amid uproar,

amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;

3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,

and will slay all its princes with him,”

says the Lord.

4 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;*

because they have rejected the law of the Lord,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

after which their fathers walked.

5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

6 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;*

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of shoes—

7 they that trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,

and turn aside the way of the afflicted;

a man and his father go in to the same maiden,

so that my holy name is profaned;

8 they lay themselves down beside every altar

upon garments taken in pledge;

and in the house of their God they drink

the wine of those who have been fined.

9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,

whose height was like the height of the cedars,

and who was as strong as the oaks;

I destroyed his fruit above,

and his roots beneath.

10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,

and led you forty years in the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite.

11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”

says the Lord.

12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

and commanded the prophets,

saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’

13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,

as a cart full of sheaves presses down.

14 Flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong shall not retain his strength,

nor shall the mighty save his life;

15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,

and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,

nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;

16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty

shall flee away naked in that day,”

says the Lord.