Study Desk

"Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been peaceful, like wine on its dregs, And he has not been poured from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore 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 his jars.

"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 armies.

"The disaster of Moab will 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 scepter has been broken, A staff of splendor!'

"The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm broken," declares the LORD.

"We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance, and his self-exaltation.

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

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

"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."

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

Concerning the sons of Ammon. This is what the LORD says: "Does Israel have no sons? Or has he no heirs? Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad, And his people settled in its cities?

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will cause an alarm of war to be heard Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; And it will become a desolate heap, And her towns will be set on fire. Then Israel will take possession of his possessors," Says the LORD.

"Wail, Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed! Cry out, daughters of Rabbah, Put on sackcloth and mourn, And move about inside the walls; For Malcam will go into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.

"But I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places So that he will not be able to conceal himself; His offspring have been destroyed along with his brothers And his neighbors, and he no longer exists.

Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has in mind against the inhabitants of Teman: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them.

Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle, and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the warriors of Edom on that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

"Eliminate the sower from Babylon And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest; From the sword of the oppressor Each of them will turn back to his own people And each of them will flee to his own land.

"Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

"Therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.