The Lord Will Judge Moab

15:1 Here is a message about Moab:

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Ar of Moab is destroyed!

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Kir of Moab is destroyed!

15:2 They went up to the temple,1

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament.2

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba,3 Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off.4

15:3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;

on their roofs and in their town squares

all of them wail,

they fall down weeping.

15:4 The people of5 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.

For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;

their courage wavers.6

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight,7

and for the fugitives8 stretched out9 as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.10

15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone;11

the grass is dried up,

the vegetation has disappeared,

and there are no plants.

15:7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,

they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.

15:8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;

their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim.12

15:9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon13 are full of blood!

Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon.14

A lion will attack15 the Moabite fugitives

and the people left in the land.

16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land,1

from Sela in the desert2

to the hill of Daughter Zion.

16:2 At the fords of the Arnon3

the Moabite women are like a bird

that flies about when forced from its nest.4

16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision!5

Provide some shade in the middle of the day!6

Hide the fugitives! Do not betray7 the one who tries to escape!

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live8 among you.

Hide them9 from the destroyer!”

Certainly10 the one who applies pressure will cease,11

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear12 from the earth.

16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;

he will rule in a reliable manner,

this one from David’s family.13

He will be sure to make just decisions

and will be experienced in executing justice.14

16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,

their great arrogance,

their boasting, pride, and excess.15

But their boastful claims are empty!16

16:7 So Moab wails over its demise17—

they all wail!

Completely devastated, they moan

about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.18

16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,

which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;

their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer19

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you20 with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops.21

16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,

and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;

no one treads out juice in the wine vats22—

I have brought the joyful shouts to an end.23

16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp,24

my inner being sighs25 for Kir Hareseth.26

16:12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places,27

and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective!28

16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years29 Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.”30