2Thus said the LORD:
See, waters are rising from the north,
They shall become a raging torrent,
They shall flood the land and its creatures,
The towns and their inhabitants.
Men shall cry out,
All the inhabitants of the land shall howl,
3At the clatter of the stamping hoofs of his stallions,
At the noise of his chariots,
The rumbling of their wheels,
Fathers shall not look to their children
Out of a-sheer helplessness-a
4Because of the day that is coming
For ravaging all the Philistines,
For cutting off every last ally
Of Tyre and Sidon.
For the LORD will ravage the Philistines,
The remnant from the island of Caphtor.
5Baldnessb has come upon Gaza,
Ashkelon is destroyed.
O remnant of c-their valley,-c
How long will you b-gash yourself?-b
6“O sword of the LORD,
When will you be quiet at last?
Withdraw into your sheath,
Rest and be still!”
7How can itd be quiet
When the LORD has given it orders
Against Ashkelon and the seacoast,
Given it assignment there?
48 Concerning Moab.a
Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel:
Alas, that Nebo should be ravaged,
Kiriathaim captured and shamed,
b-The stronghold-b shamed and dismayed!
2Moab’s glory is no more;
In Heshbon they have plannedc evil against her:
“Come, let us make an end of her as a nation!”
You too, O Madmen, shall be silenced;d
The sword is following you.
3Hark! an outcry from Horonaim,
Destruction and utter ruin!
4Moab is broken;
e-Her young ones cry aloud;-e
5They climb to Luhith
Weeping continually;
On the descent to Horonaim
A distressing cry of anguish is heard:
6Flee, save your lives!
f-And be like Aroer in the desert.-f
7Surely, because of your trust
In your wealth and in your treasures,
You too shall be captured.
And Chemosh shall go forth to exile,
Together with his priests and attendants.
8The ravager shall come to every town;
No town shall escape.
The valley shall be devastated
And the tableland laid waste
—because the LORD has spoken.
9Give f-wings to Moab,
For she must go hence.-f
Her towns shall become desolate,
With no one living in them.
10Cursed be he who is slack in doing the LORD’s work! Cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood!
11Moab has been secure from his youth on—
He is settled on his lees
And has not been poured from vessel to vessel—
He has never gone into exile.
Therefore his fine flavor has remained
And his bouquet is unspoiled.
12But days are coming—declares the LORD—when I will send men against him to tip him over; they shall empty his vessels and smash his jars. 13And Moab shall be shamed because of Chemosh, as the House of Israel were shamed because of Bethel, on whom they relied.
14How can you say: We are warriors,
Valiant men for war?
15Moab is ravaged,
His towns have been entered,
His choice young men
Have gone down to the slaughter
—declares the King whose name is LORD of Hosts.
16The doom of Moab is coming close,
His downfall is approaching swiftly.
17Condole with him, all who live near him,
All you who know him by name!
Say: “Alas, the strong rod is broken,
The lordly staff!”
18Descend from glory
And sit in thirst,f
O inhabitant of Fair Dibon;
For the ravager of Moab has entered your town,
He has destroyed your fortresses.
19Stand by the road and look out,
O inhabitant of Aroer.
Ask of him who is fleeing
And of her who is escaping:
Say, “What has happened?”
20Moab is shamed and dismayed;
Howl and cry aloud!
Tell at the Arnon
That Moab is ravaged!
21Judgment has come upon the tableland—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath; 22upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim; 23upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon; 24upon Kerioth and Bozrah—upon all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The might of Moab has been cut down,
His strength is broken
—declares the LORD.
26Get him drunk
For he vaunted himself against the LORD.
Moab shall vomit till he is drained,
And he too shall be a laughingstock.
27Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?
Was he ever caught among thieves,
That you should g-shake your head-g
Whenever you speak of him?
28Desert the cities
And dwell in the crags,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like a dove that nests
In the sides of a pit.
29We have heard of Moab’s pride—
Most haughty is he—
Of his arrogance and pride,
His haughtiness and self-exaltation.
30I know his insolence—declares the LORD—the wickedness that is in him,h the wickedness i-he has-i committed.
31Therefore I will howl for Moab,
I will cry out for all Moab,
Ij will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32With greater weeping than for Jazer
I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah,
Whose tendrils crossed the sea,
Reached to the sea,f to Jazer.
A ravager has come down
Upon your fig and grape harvests.
33Rejoicing and gladness
Are gone from the farm land,
From the country of Moab;
I have put an end to wine in the presses,
No one treads [the grapes] with shouting—
f-The shout is a shout no more.-f
34There is an outcry from Heshbon to Elealeh,
They raise their voices as far as Jahaz,
From Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiah.
The waters of Nimrim
Shall also become desolation.
35And I will make an end in Moab
—declares the LORD—
Of those who offer at a shrine
And burn incense to their god.
36Therefore,
My heart moans for Moab like a flute;
Like a flute my heart moans
For the men of Kir-heres—
f-Therefore,
The gains they have made shall vanish-f—
37For every head is bald
And every beard is shorn;
On all hands there are gashes,
And on the loins sackcloth.
38On all the roofs of Moab,
And in its squares
There is naught but lamentation;
For I have broken Moab
Like a vessel no one wants
—declares the LORD.
39How he is dismayed! Wail!
How Moab has turned his back in shame!
Moab shall be a laughingstock
And a shock to all those near him.
40For thus said the LORD:
See, he soars like an eagle
And spreads out his wings against Moab!
41Kerioth shall be captured
And the strongholds shall be seized.
In that day, the heart of Moab’s warriors
Shall be like the heart of a woman in travail.
42And Moab shall be destroyed as a people,
For he vaunted himself against the LORD.
43k-Terror, and pit, and trap-k
Upon you who dwell in Moab!
—declares the LORD.
44He who flees from the terror
Shall fall into the pit;
And he who climbs out of the pit
Shall be caught in the trap.
For I will bring upon Moab
The year of their doom
—declares the LORD.
45In the shelter of Heshbon
Fugitives halt exhausted;
For fire went forth from Heshbon,
Flame from the midstl of Sihon,
Consuming the brow of Moab,
The pate of the people of Shaon.m
46Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh are undone,
For your sons are carried off into captivity,
Your daughters into exile.
47But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come—declares the LORD.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
49 Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus said the LORD:
Has Israel no sons,
Has he no heir?
Then why has Milcoma dispossessed Gad,
And why have his people settled in Gad’sb towns?
2Assuredly, days are coming
—declares the LORD—
When I will sound the alarm of war
Against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall become a desolate mound,
And its villages shall be set on fire.
And Israel shall dispossess
Those who dispossessed him
—said the LORD.
3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is ravaged!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Gird on sackcloth, lament,
c-And run to and fro in the sheepfolds.-c
For Milcom shall go into exile,
Together with his priests and attendants.
4d-Why do you glory in strength,
Your strength is drained,-d
O rebellious daughter,
You who relied on your treasures,
[Who said:] Who dares attack me?
5I am bringing terror upon you
—declares the Lord GOD of Hosts—
From all those around you.
Every one of you shall be driven e-in every direction,-e
And none shall gather in the fugitives.
6But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites—declares the LORD.
7Concerning Edom.
Thus said the LORD of Hosts:
Is there no more wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel vanished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom gone stale?
8Flee, turn away, sit down low,
O inhabitants of Dedan,
For I am bringing Esau’s doom upon him,
The time when I deal with him.
9f-If vintagers were to come upon you,
Would they leave no gleanings?
Even thieves in the night
Would destroy only for their needs!-f
10But it is I who have bared Esau,
Have exposed his place of concealment;
He cannot hide.
His offspring is ravaged,
His kin and his neighbors—
g-He is no more.-g
11“Leave your orphans with me,
I will rear them;
Let your widows rely on me!”
12For thus said the LORD: If they who rightly should not drink of the cup must drink it, are you the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished: you will have to drink! 13For by Myself I swear—declares the LORD—Bozrah shall become a desolation, a mockery, a ruin, and a curse;h and all its towns shall be ruins for all time.
14I have received tidings from the LORD,
And an envoy is sent out among the nations:
Assemble, and move against her,
And rise up for war!
15For I will make you least among nations,
Most despised among men.
16c-Your horrible nature,-c
Your arrogant heart has seduced you,
You who dwell in clefts of the rock,
Who occupy the height of the hill!
Should you nest as high as the eagle,
From there I will pull you down
—declares the LORD.
17And Edom shall be a cause of appallment; whoever passes by will be appalled and will hissi at all its wounds. 18It shall be like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors—said the LORD: no man shall live there, no human shall sojourn there. 19It shall be as when a lion comes up out of the jungle of the Jordan against a secure pasture: in a moment j-I can harry him out of it and appoint over it anyone I choose.-j Then who is like Me? Who can summon Me? Who is the shepherd that can stand up against Me? 20Hear, then, the plan which the LORD has devised against Edom, and what He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman:
Surely the shepherd boys
Shall drag them away;
Surely the pasture shall be
Aghast because of them.
21At the sound of their downfall
The earth shall shake;
The sound of screaming
Shall be heard at the Sea of Reeds.
22See, like an eagle he flies up,
He soars and spreads his wings against Bozrah;
And the heart of Edom’s warriors in that day
Shall be like the heart of a woman in travail.
23Concerning Damascus.
Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They shake with anxiety,
Likek the sea
