Chapter 48

1Concerning Moab.aThus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel:Alas, that Nebo should be ravaged,Kiriathaim captured and shamed,The stronghold shamed and dismayed!

2Moab’s glory is no more;In Heshbon they have plannedc evil against her:“Come, let us make an end of her as a nation!”You too, O Madmen, shall be silenced;dThe sword is following you.

3Hark! an outcry from Horonaim,Destruction and utter ruin!

4Moab is broken;eHer young ones cry aloud;

5They climb to LuhithWeeping continually;On the descent to HoronaimA distressing cry of anguish is heard:

6Flee, save your lives!fAnd be like Aroer in the desert.

7Surely, because of your trustIn your wealth and in your treasures,You too shall be captured.And Chemosh shall go forth to exile,Together with his priests and attendants.

8The ravager shall come to every town;No town shall escape.The valley shall be devastatedAnd the tableland laid waste—because the LORD has spoken.

9Give fwings to Moab,For she must go hence.Her towns shall become desolate,With no one living in them.

10Cursed be he who is slack in doing the LORD’s work! Cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood!

11Moab has been secure from his youth on—He is settled on his leesAnd has not been poured from vessel to vessel—He has never gone into exile.Therefore his fine flavor has remainedAnd his bouquet is unspoiled.

12But days are coming—declares the LORD—when I will send men against him to tip him over; they shall empty his vessels and smash his jars.

13And Moab shall be shamed because of Chemosh, as the House of Israel were shamed because of Bethel, on whom they relied.

14How can you say: We are warriors,Valiant men for war?

15Moab is ravaged,His towns have been entered,His choice young menHave gone down to the slaughter—declares the King whose name is LORD of Hosts.

16The doom of Moab is coming close,His downfall is approaching swiftly.

17Condole with him, all who live near him,All you who know him by name!Say: “Alas, the strong rod is broken,The lordly staff!”

18Descend from gloryAnd sit in thirst,fO inhabitant of Fair Dibon;For the ravager of Moab has entered your town,He has destroyed your fortresses.

19Stand by the road and look out,O inhabitant of Aroer.Ask of him who is fleeingAnd of her who is escaping:Say, “What has happened?”

20Moab is shamed and dismayed;Howl and cry aloud!Tell at the ArnonThat Moab is ravaged!

21Judgment has come upon the tableland—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath;

22upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim;

23upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon;

24upon Kerioth and Bozrah—upon all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.

25The might of Moab has been cut down,His strength is broken—declares the LORD.

26Get him drunkFor he vaunted himself against the LORD.Moab shall vomit till he is drained,And he too shall be a laughingstock.

27Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?Was he ever caught among thieves,That you should gshake your headWhenever you speak of him?

28Desert the citiesAnd dwell in the crags,O inhabitants of Moab!Be like a dove that nestsIn the sides of a pit.

29We have heard of Moab’s pride—Most haughty is he—Of his arrogance and pride,His haughtiness and self-exaltation.

30I know his insolence—declares the LORD—the wickedness that is in him,h the wickedness ihe has committed.

31Therefore I will howl for Moab,I will cry out for all Moab,Ij will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

32With greater weeping than for JazerI weep for you, O vine of Sibmah,Whose tendrils crossed the sea,Reached to the sea,f to Jazer.A ravager has come downUpon your fig and grape harvests.

33Rejoicing and gladnessAre gone from the farm land,From the country of Moab;I have put an end to wine in the presses,No one treads [the grapes] with shouting—fThe shout is a shout no more.

34There is an outcry from Heshbon to Elealeh,They raise their voices as far as Jahaz,From Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiah.The waters of NimrimShall also become desolation.

35And I will make an end in Moab—declares the LORD—Of those who offer at a shrineAnd burn incense to their god.

36Therefore,My heart moans for Moab like a flute;Like a flute my heart moansFor the men of Kir-heres—fTherefore,The gains they have made shall vanish—

37For every head is baldAnd every beard is shorn;On all hands there are gashes,And on the loins sackcloth.

38On all the roofs of Moab,And in its squaresThere is naught but lamentation;For I have broken MoabLike a vessel no one wants—declares the LORD.

39How he is dismayed! Wail!How Moab has turned his back in shame!Moab shall be a laughingstockAnd a shock to all those near him.

40For thus said the LORD:See, he soars like an eagleAnd spreads out his wings against Moab!

41Kerioth shall be capturedAnd the strongholds shall be seized.In that day, the heart of Moab’s warriorsShall be like the heart of a woman in travail.

42And Moab shall be destroyed as a people,For he vaunted himself against the LORD.

43kTerror, and pit, and trapUpon you who dwell in Moab!—declares the LORD.

44He who flees from the terrorShall fall into the pit;And he who climbs out of the pitShall be caught in the trap.For I will bring upon MoabThe year of their doom—declares the LORD.

45In the shelter of HeshbonFugitives halt exhausted;For fire went forth from Heshbon,Flame from the midstl of Sihon,Consuming the brow of Moab,The pate of the people of Shaon.m

46Woe to you, O Moab!The people of Chemosh are undone,For your sons are carried off into captivity,Your daughters into exile.

47But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come—declares the LORD.Thus far is the judgment on Moab.