1Concerning Moab. Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “How terrible for Nebo! It is destroyed; Kiriathaim is disgraced, it is captured; Misgab is put to shame and torn down.”
2Moab will no longer be praised. In Heshbon, their enemies plan evil against them, saying, ‘Come, let’s wipe them out as a nation.’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced. The sword will pursue you.
3There is a sound of crying from Horonaim—devastation and great destruction!
4Moab is destroyed. Her children’s cries are heard.
5They will go up the ascent of Luhith, weeping continuously. On the descent of Horonaim, they have heard the cries of distress from the destruction.
6Flee! Save your lives! Be like a lonely juniper bush in the desert.
7Because you trusted in your achievements and your wealth, you too will be captured. Chemosh will go into captivity, along with his priests and leaders.
8The destroyer will attack every city, and no city will escape. The valley will be ruined, and the plain will be destroyed, just as Yahweh has declared.
9Give Moab wings so she can fly away; her cities will become desolate, with no one left to live in them.
10“Cursed is anyone who does Yahweh’s work carelessly; and cursed is anyone who holds back their sword from shedding blood.”
11“Moab has been at ease since youth, settled like wine on its dregs. It hasn’t been poured from one pot to another, nor has it gone into captivity. That’s why its taste remains, and its scent hasn’t changed.”
12“Therefore, the days are coming,” says Yahweh, “when I will send people to pour Moab out. They will empty its containers and smash its jars.”
13Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, their false god in whom they trusted.
14“How can you say, ‘We are mighty men, brave warriors for war’?
15Moab is devastated, his cities have been overrun, and his finest young men have been killed,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
16“Moab’s disaster is coming soon, and its suffering is approaching quickly.”
17All you who live nearby, mourn for him; all who know his name, say, ‘How the strong staff is broken, the beautiful rod!’
18“You people of Dibon, come down from your glorious position and sit thirsty, because the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.”
19You who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Ask those who are fleeing and those who escaped, ‘What happened?’
20Moab is disgraced, for it is broken down. Wail and cry! Announce it by the Arnon River that Moab is destroyed.
21Judgment has come to the plain country, to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim,
23to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon,
24to Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities in the land of Moab, both far and near.
25Yahweh says, “Moab's power is cut off, and its strength is broken.”
26“Make Moab drunk, because they have defied Yahweh. Moab will wallow in its own vomit and become an object of ridicule.”
27“Wasn't Israel an object of ridicule to you? Was Israel caught among thieves? Every time you spoke about Israel, you shook your head in scorn.”
28You people of Moab, leave your cities and live among the rocks, like a dove that makes its nest over the mouth of a deep canyon.
29“We have heard about Moab’s pride. They are very proud of their greatness, their pride, their arrogance, and their haughty hearts.”
30Yahweh says, “I know their anger is meaningless; their boasting accomplished nothing.”
31Therefore, I will cry loudly for Moab; yes, I will mourn for all of Moab. They will grieve for the people of Kir Heres.
32I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah, even more than I weep for Jazer. Your branches spread over the sea and reached as far as the Sea of Jazer. The destroyer has attacked your summer fruits and your harvest.
33Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile fields and from the land of Moab. I have stopped the wine from the wine presses. No one will stomp the grapes with joyful shouts. The shouting will not be joyful.
34From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and all the way to Jahaz, people raise their voices. From Zoar to Horonaim, to Eglath Shelishiyah, the cry is heard, because even the waters of Nimrim will become dry.
35Yahweh says, “In Moab I will stop anyone who offers sacrifices on high places or burns incense to their gods.”
36Therefore, my heart laments for Moab like a flute, and my heart laments like a flute for the people of Kir Heres. So their acquired wealth has been lost.
37Every head is bald, and every beard is cut off. There are cuts on every hand, and sackcloth is worn on every waist.
38On all the rooftops of Moab and in its streets, there is mourning everywhere. Yahweh says, “For I have shattered Moab like a pottery vessel that no one wants.”
39“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned away in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a terror to everyone around it.”
40For Yahweh says: “Look! An enemy will swoop down like an eagle, spreading its wings against Moab.”
41Kerioth has been captured, and its strongholds taken over. On that day, the strongest soldiers of Moab will be as terrified as a woman in labor.
42Moab will be destroyed as a nation because it has defied Yahweh.
43Yahweh says, “Terror, a pit, and a snare await you, people of Moab.”
44“Anyone who runs from the terror will fall into the pit; and anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring the year of their punishment upon Moab,” says Yahweh.
45“Those who fled stand without strength in the shadow of Heshbon, because a fire has come out of Heshbon, and a flame from Sihon, and it has consumed the border of Moab and the heads of the noisy crowds.
46How terrible for you, Moab! The people who worship Chemosh are ruined, because your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters too.
47“Yet, in the future, I will bring back the exiles of Moab,” says Yahweh. This concludes the judgment against Moab.