The Prophecy concerning Moab

481 Concerning Moab . Thus says the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , "Woe to Nebo , for it has been destroyed ; Kiriathaim has been put to shame , it has been captured ; The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered . 2 "There is praise for Moab no longer ; In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her: 'Come and let us cut her off from being a nation !' You too , Madmen , will be silenced ; The sword will follow e after you. 3 "The sound of an outcry from Horonaim , 'Devastation and great destruction !' 4 "Moab is broken , Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress. 5 "For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping ; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction . 6 " Flee , save your lives , That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness . 7 "For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures , Even you yourself will be captured ; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his princes . 8 "A destroyer will come to every city , So that no city will escape ; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed , As the Lord has said . 9 "Give wings to Moab , For she will flee away ; And her cities will become a desolation , Without inhabitants in them. 10 " Cursed be the one who does the Lord'S work negligently , And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood . 11 "Moab has been at ease since his youth ; He has also been undisturbed , like wine on its dregs , And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel , Nor has he gone into exile . Therefore e he retains his flavor , And his aroma has not changed . 12 "Therefore behold , the days are coming ," declares the Lord , "when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over , and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars . 13 "And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh , as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel , their confidence .

14 "How can you say , 'We are mighty warriors , And men valiant for battle '? 15 "Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities ; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter ," Declares the King , whose name is the Lord of hosts . 16 "The disaster of Moab will soon come , And his calamity has swiftly hastened . 17 "Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name ; Say , 'How has the mighty scepter been broken , A staff of splendor !' 18 " Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground , O daughter dwelling in Dibon , For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds . 19 "Stand by the road and keep watch , O inhabitant of Aroer ; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say , 'What has happened ?' 20 "Moab has been put to shame , for it has been shattered . Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed . 21 "Judgment has also come upon the plain , upon Holon , Jahzah and against Mephaath , 22 against Dibon , Nebo and Beth-diblathaim , 23 against Kiriathaim , Beth-gamul and Beth-meon , 24 against Kerioth , Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab , far and near . 25 "The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken ," declares the Lord . 26 " Make him drunk , for he has become arrogant toward the Lord ; so Moab will wallow in his vomit , and he also will become a laughingstock . 27 "Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves ? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn. 28 "Leave the cities and dwell among the crags , O inhabitants of Moab , And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm . 29 " We have heard of the pride of Moab -he is very proud - Of his haughtiness , his pride , his arrogance and his self-exaltation e . 30 "I know his fury ," declares the Lord , "But it is futile ; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing . 31 "Therefore e I will wail for Moab , Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres . 32 "More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah ! Your tendrils stretched across the sea , They reached to the sea of Jazer ; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen . 33 "So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field , even from the land of Moab . And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses ; No one will tread them with shouting , The shouting will not be shouts of joy. 34 " From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh , even to Jahaz they have raised their voice , from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah e ; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate . 35 "I will make an end of Moab ," declares the Lord , "the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods . 36 "Therefore e My heart wails for Moab like flutes ; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres . Therefore e they have lost the abundance it produced . 37 "For every head is bald and every beard cut short ; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins . 38 "On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere ; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable e vessel ," declares the Lord . 39 "How shattered it is! How they have wailed ! How Moab has turned his back -he is ashamed ! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him." 40 For thus says the Lord : "Behold , one will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab . 41 "Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized , So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day Will be like the heart of a woman in labor . 42 "Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the Lord . 43 " Terror , pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab ," declares the Lord . 44 "The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit , And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare ; For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab , The year of their punishment ," declares the Lord . 45 "In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength ; For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon , And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the riotous revelers e . 46 " Woe to you, Moab ! The people of Chemosh have perished ; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity . 47 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days ," declares the Lord . Thus far the judgment on Moab .