Study Desk

"But that day belongs to the Lord God All-Powerful. At that time he will give those people the punishment they deserve. The sword will kill until it is finished, until it satisfies its thirst for their blood. The Lord God All-Powerful will offer a sacrifice in the land of the north, by the Euphrates River.

"Announce this message in Egypt, and preach it in Migdol. Preach it also in the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Get ready for war, because the battle is all around you.'

In their homelands those soldiers called out, ‘The king of Egypt is only a lot of noise. He missed his chance for glory!'"

This is what the Lord says: "See, the enemy is gathering in the north like rising waters. They will become like an overflowing stream and will cover the whole country like a flood, even the towns and the people living in them. Everyone living in that country will cry for help; the people will cry painfully.

This message is to the country of Moab. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: "How terrible it will be for the city of Nebo, because it will be ruined. The town of Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the strong city will be disgraced and shattered.

Moab will be broken up. Her little children will cry for help.

Run! Run for your lives! Go like a bush being blown through the desert.

All you who live around Moab, all you who know her, cry for her. Say, ‘The ruler's power is broken; Moab's power and glory are gone.'

So I cry sadly for Moab, for everyone in Moab. I moan for the people from the town of Kir Hareseth.

I cry with the people of the town of Jazer for you, the grapevines of the town of Sibmah. In the past your vines spread all the way to the sea, as far as the sea of Jazer. But the destroyer has taken over your fruit and grapes.

"My heart cries sadly for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. It cries like a flute for the people from Kir Hareseth. The money they made has all been taken away.

Fear, deep pits, and traps wait for you, people of Moab," says the Lord .

"People have run from the powerful enemy and have gone to Heshbon for safety. But fire started in Heshbon; a blaze has spread from the hometown of Sihon king of Moab. It burned up the leaders of Moab and destroyed those proud people.

How terrible it is for you, Moab! The people who worship Chemosh have been destroyed. Your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters have been taken away.

"People in the town of Heshbon, cry sadly because the town of Ai is destroyed! Those who live in Rabbah, cry out! Put on your rough cloth to show your sadness, and cry loudly. Run here and there for safety inside the walls, because Molech will be taken captive and his priests and officers with him.

You people living in the town of Dedan, run away and hide in deep caves, because I will bring disaster on the people of Esau. It is time for me to punish them.

If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines, they would leave a few grapes behind. If robbers came at night, they would steal only enough for themselves.

I have heard a message from the Lord . A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, "Gather your armies to attack it! Get ready for battle!"

"Like a lion coming up from the thick bushes near the Jordan River to attack a strong pen for sheep, I will suddenly chase Edom from its land. Who is the one I have chosen to do this? There is no one like me, no one who can take me to court. None of their leaders can stand up against me."

"The city of Hazor will become a home for wild dogs; it will be an empty desert forever. No one will live there, and no one will stay in it."