Isaiah 16

Send lambs^h as tributeⁱ

to the ruler of the land,

from Sela,^j across the desert,

to the mount of Daughter Zion.^k

Like fluttering birds

pushed from the nest,^l

so are the women of Moab^m

at the fordsⁿ of the Arnon.^o

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.

“Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—

at high noon.

Hide the fugitives,^p

do not betray the refugees.

Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

be their shelter^q from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^r will come to an end,

and destruction will cease;^s

the aggressor will vanish from the land.

In love a throne^t will be established;^u

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house of David^v—

one who in judging seeks justice^w

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s^x pride^y—

her overweening pride and conceit,

her pride and her insolence—

but her boasts are empty.

Therefore the Moabites wail,^z

they wail together for Moab.

Lament and grieve

for the raisin cakes^a of Kir Hareseth.^b

The fields of Heshbon^c wither,^d

the vines of Sibmah^e also.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled down the choicest vines,^f

which once reached Jazer^g

and spread toward the desert.

Their shoots spread out^h

and went as far as the sea.ⁱ

So I weep,^j as Jazer weeps,

for the vines of Sibmah.

Heshbon and Elealeh,^k

I drench you with tears!^l

The shouts of joy^m over your ripened fruit

and over your harvestsⁿ have been stilled.

Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^o

no one sings or shouts^p in the vineyards;

no one treads^q out wine at the presses,^r

for I have put an end to the shouting.

My heart laments for Moab^s like a harp,^t

my inmost being^u for Kir Hareseth.

When Moab appears at her high place,^v

she only wears herself out;

when she goes to her shrine^w to pray,

it is to no avail.^x

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