16
Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation
1 Send lambs to the ruler of the land [you Moabites],
From Sela [that is, Petra in Edom] through the wilderness to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem). [2 Kin 3:4, 5]
2 For like wandering birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the [river] Arnon.
3 [Say to the ruler] “Give us advice, make a decision [for Moab, king of Judah];
Cast your shadow [over us] like night in the midst of noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive [to his pursuer].
4 “Let our outcasts of Moab live among you;
Be a [sheltered] hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
Oppressors [who trample men] have completely disappeared from the land,
5 A throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David;
Judging and seeking justice
And being prompt to do righteousness. [Ps 96:13; Jer 48:47]
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride—
Even of his arrogance, his conceit, his rage,
His untruthful boasting.
7 Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; everyone will wail.
You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,
As those who are utterly stricken and discouraged.
8 For the fields of Heshbon have languished and withered, and the vines of Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down [Moab’s] choice vine branches,
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered into the wilderness;
Its tendrils stretched out, they passed over [the shores of] the [Dead] Sea.
9 Therefore I (Isaiah) will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the war-cry [of the enemy] has fallen on your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing or joyful sound;
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I (God) put an end to the joyful shouting.
11 Therefore my heart sounds like a harp [in mournful compassion] for Moab,
And my inner being mourns for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry]
And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray,
That he will not prevail. [Jer 48:13]
13 This is the word which the Loʀᴅ spoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab’s pride and resistance to God were first known].
14 But now the Loʀᴅ speaks, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all the great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account.”