Study Desk

Concerning ^(C1)Moab. This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Woe to ^(C2)Nebo, for it has been destroyed; ^(C3)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The high stronghold has been put to shame and ^(F1)shattered.

-"There is no longer praise for Moab; In ^(C1)Heshbon they have devised disaster against her: 'Come and let's cut her off from being a nation!' You too, ^(F1)Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow you.

-"The sound of an outcry from ^(C1)Horonaim, 'Devastation and great destruction!'

-"Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

-"For they will go up by the ascent of ^(C1)Luhith With continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the ^(F1)anguished cry of destruction.

-"^(C1)Flee, save yourselves, So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

-"For because of your ^(C1)trust in your own achievements and treasures, You yourself will also be captured; And ^(C2)Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.

-"A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the ^(C1)plateau will be destroyed, As the LORD has said.

-"Give ^(F1)(C1)wings to Moab, For she will ^(F2)flee away; And her cities will become a ^(C2)desolation, Without inhabitants in them.

-"^(C1)Cursed is the one who does the LORD'S work ^(C2)negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his ^(C3)sword from blood.

"Moab has been ^(C1)at ease since his youth; He has also been ^(C2)peaceful, like wine on ^(F1)its dregs, And he has not been ^(C3)poured from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore ^(F2)he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed.

"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 pour out his vessels and smash ^(F1)his jars.

"And Moab will be ^(C1)ashamed of ^(C2)Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of ^(C3)Bethel, their confidence.

-"How can you say, 'We are ^(C1)warriors, And men competent for battle'?

-"Moab has been destroyed and ^(F1)men have gone up to ^(F2)his cities; His choicest ^(F3)(C1)young men have also gone down to the slaughter," Declares the ^(C2)King, whose name is the LORD of armies.

"The disaster of Moab will ^(C1)soon come, And his catastrophe has hurried quickly.

-"Mourn for him, all you who live around him, And all of you who know his name; Say, 'How the mighty ^(F1)(C1)scepter has been broken, A staff of splendor!'

-"^(C1)Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O ^(C2)daughter living in ^(C3)Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds.

-"Stand by the road and keep watch, You inhabitant of ^(C1)Aroer; ^(C2)Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, 'What has happened?'

-"Moab has been put to shame, for it has been ^(F1)shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the ^(C1)Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

"Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, ^(C1)Jahzah, and against ^(C2)Mephaath,

against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and ^(C1)Beth-meon,

against ^(C1)Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

"The ^(C1)horn of Moab has been cut off, and his ^(C2)arm broken," declares the LORD.

"^(C1)Make him drunk, for he has ^(F1)become ^(C2)arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will ^(F2)vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

"Now was Israel not a ^(C1)laughingstock to you? Or was he ^(F1)(C2)caught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you ^(C3)shake your head in scorn.

-"Leave the cities and live among the ^(C1)rocky cliffs, You inhabitants of Moab, And be like a ^(C2)dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

-"^(C1)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his ^(C2)pride, his arrogance, and ^(F1)his self-exaltation.

-"I know his ^(C1)fury," declares the LORD, "But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.

-"Therefore I will ^(C1)wail for Moab, For all of Moab I will cry out; ^(F1)I will moan for the men of ^(C2)Kir-heres.

-"More than the ^(C1)weeping for ^(C2)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.

-"So ^(C1)joy and rejoicing are removed From the fruitful field, and from the land of Moab. And I have ^(C2)eliminated the wine from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

"^(C1)From the outcry at Heshbon to ^(C2)Elealeh, to Jahaz they have ^(F1)raised their voice, from ^(C3)Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.

"And I will put an end to Moab," declares the LORD, "the one who offers sacrifice on the ^(C1)high place and the one who ^(F1)(C2)burns incense to his gods.

"Therefore My ^(C1)heart makes a sound like flutes for Moab; My heart also makes a sound like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have ^(C2)lost the abundance it produced.

"For ^(C1)every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and ^(C2)sackcloth around the waists.

"On all the ^(C1)housetops of Moab and in its public squares ^(F1)there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable ^(C2)vessel," declares the LORD.

"How ^(F1)shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an ^(C1)object of terror to all around him."

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, one will ^(C1)fly swiftly like an eagle And ^(C2)spread out his wings against Moab.

-"Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the ^(C1)hearts of the warriors of Moab on that day Will be like the heart of a ^(C2)woman in labor.

-"Moab will be ^(C1)destroyed from being a people Because he has ^(F1)become ^(C2)arrogant toward the LORD.

-"^(C1)Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you, Inhabitant of Moab," declares the LORD.

"The one who ^(C1)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 will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their ^(C2)punishment," declares the LORD.

"In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has spread out from Heshbon And a ^(C1)flame from the midst of ^(C2)Sihon, And it has devoured the ^(C3)forehead of Moab And the scalps of the ^(F1)loud revelers.

-"^(C1)Woe to you, Moab! The people of ^(C2)Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive, And your daughters into captivity.

-"Yet I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of Moab In the ^(F1)latter days," declares the LORD. This is the extent of the judgment on Moab.

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