Study Desk

Concerning ^(a)Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Woe to ^(b)Nebo, for it has been destroyed; ^(c)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and ^[a]shattered.

"There is praise for Moab no longer; In ^(d)Heshbon they have devised calamity against her: ‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!' You too, ^[b]Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow after you.

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

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

"For by the ascent of ^(f)Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the ^[c]anguished cry of destruction.

"^(g)Flee, save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

"For because of your ^(h)trust in your own achievements and treasures, Even you yourself will be captured; And ⁽ⁱ⁾Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his princes.

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

"Give ^[d](k)wings to Moab, For she will ^[e]flee away; And her cities will become a ^(l)desolation, Without inhabitants in them.

"^(m)Cursed be the one who does the Lord's work ⁽ⁿ⁾negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his ^(o)sword from blood.

"Moab has been ^(p)at ease since his youth; He has also been ^(q)undisturbed, like wine on ^[f]its dregs, And he has not been ^(r)emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore ^[g]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 empty his vessels and shatter ^[h]his jars.

And Moab will be ^(s)ashamed of ^(t)Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of ^(u)Bethel, their confidence.

"How can you say, ‘We are ^(v)mighty warriors, And men valiant for battle'?

"Moab has been destroyed and ^[i]men have gone up to ^[j]his cities; His choicest ^[k](w)young men have also gone down to the slaughter," Declares the ^(x)King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

"The disaster of Moab will ^(y)soon come, And his calamity has swiftly hastened.

"Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name; Say, ‘How has the mighty ^[l](z)scepter been broken, A staff of splendor!'

"^(aa)Come down from your glory And sit ^[m]on the parched ground, O ^(ab)daughter dwelling in ^(ac)Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds.

"Stand by the road and keep watch, O inhabitant of ^(ad)Aroer; ^(ae)Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?'

"Moab has been put to shame, for it has been ^[n]shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the ^(af)Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

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

against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,

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

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

The ^(ak)horn of Moab has been cut off and his ^(al)arm broken," declares the Lord .

"^(am)Make him drunk, for he has ^[o]become ^(an)arrogant toward the Lord ; so Moab will ^[p]wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

Now was not Israel a ^(ao)laughingstock to you? Or was he ^[q](ap)caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you ^(aq)shake your head in scorn.

"Leave the cities and dwell among the ^(ar)crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a ^(as)dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

"^(at)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his ^(au)pride, his arrogance and ^[r]his self-exaltation.

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

"Therefore I will ^(aw)wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; ^[s]I will moan for the men of ^(ax)Kir-heres.

"More than the ^(ay)weeping for ^(az)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 ^(ba)gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to ^(bb)cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

^(bc)From the outcry at Heshbon even to ^(bd)Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have ^[t]raised their voice, from ^(be)Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.

I will make an end of Moab," declares the Lord , "the one who offers sacrifice on the ^(bf)high place and the one who ^[u](bg)burns incense to his gods.

"Therefore My ^(bh)heart ^[v]wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also ^[w]wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have ^(bi)lost the abundance it produced.

For ^(bj)every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and ^(bk)sackcloth on the loins.

On all the ^(bl)housetops of Moab and in its streets ^[x]there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable ^(bm)vessel," declares the Lord .

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

For thus says the Lord : "Behold, one will ^(bo)fly swiftly like an eagle And ^(bp)spread out his wings against Moab.

"Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the ^(bq)hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day Will be like the heart of a ^(br)woman in labor.

"Moab will be ^(bs)destroyed from being a people Because he has ^[z]become ^(bt)arrogant toward the Lord .

"^(bu)Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab," declares the Lord .

"The one who ^(bv)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 ^(bw)punishment," declares the Lord .

"In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon And a ^(bx)flame from the midst of ^(by)Sihon, And it has devoured the ^(bz)forehead of Moab And the scalps of the ^[aa]riotous revelers.

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

"Yet I will ^(cc)restore the ^[ab]fortunes of Moab In the ^[ac]latter days," declares the Lord . Thus far the judgment on Moab.