Study Desk

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

Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

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

There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

"The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, 'Devastation and great destruction!'

A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

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

Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

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

For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

"Flee, save yourselves, So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

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

For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

"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.

And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken.

"Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them.

Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

"Cursed is the one who does the LORD'S work negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood.

Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

"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.

Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is 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.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

"And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

"How can you say, 'We are warriors, And men competent for battle'?

How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

"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.

Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

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

The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

"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!'

All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

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

Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

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

O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

"Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

"Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah, and against Mephaath,

And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

against Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

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

The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord .

"Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord : Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

"Now was Israel not a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.

For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

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

O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

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

We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

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

I know his wrath, saith the Lord ; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

"Therefore I will wail for Moab, For all of Moab I will cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

"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.

O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

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

And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

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

From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

"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.

Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord , him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

"Therefore My 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 lost the abundance it produced.

Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

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

For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

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

There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord .

"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."

They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

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

For thus saith the Lord ; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

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

Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

"Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the LORD.

And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord .

"Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you, Inhabitant of Moab," declares the LORD.

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord .

"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 will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their punishment," declares the LORD.

He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord .

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

They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

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

Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

"Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days," declares the LORD. This is the extent of the judgment on Moab.

Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord . Thus far is the judgment of Moab.