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Prophecy of Moab's Devastation

^1 (C1)Send lambs to the ruler of the land ^(F1)you Moabites,
From ^(C2)Sela that is, Petra in Edom through the wilderness to the ^(C3)mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem). ^(VR1)

² For like ^(C1)wandering birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of ^(C2)Moab will be at the fords of the river ^(C3)Arnon.

³ Say to the ruler "Give us advice, make a decision for Moab, king of Judah;
Cast your ^(C1)shadow over us like night in the midst of noon;
^(C2)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,
^(C1)Oppressors who trample men have completely disappeared from the land,

⁵ A ^(C1)throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of ^(C2)David;
Judging and seeking justice
And being prompt to do righteousness. ^(VR1)

^6 (C1)We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride—
Even of his arrogance, ^(C2)his conceit, his rage,
His untruthful boasting.

⁷ Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; everyone will wail.
You will mourn for the ^(C1)raisin cakes of ^(C2)Kir-hareseth,
As those who are utterly stricken and discouraged.

⁸ For the fields of ^(C1)Heshbon have languished and withered, and the vines of ^(C2)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;
^(C3)Its tendrils stretched out, they passed over the shores of the Dead Sea.

⁹ Therefore I (Isaiah) will ^(C1)weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, O ^(C2)Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the war-cry of the enemy has fallen on your ^(C3)summer fruits and your harvest.

^10 (C1)Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the ^(C2)vineyards there will be no singing or joyful sound;
No ^(C3)treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I (God) put an end to the joyful shouting.

¹¹ Therefore my ^(C1)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 ^(C1)presents himself,
When he ^(C2)wearies himself worshiping on his ^(C3)high place of idolatry
And comes to his sanctuary of Chemosh, god of Moab to pray,
That he will not prevail. ^(VR1)

¹³ This is the word which the LORD spoke earlier concerning Moab when Moab's pride and resistance to God were first known.¹⁴ But now the LORD speaks, saying, "Within ^B.C., some five years after the taking of Jerusalem. The ruins of Elealeh, Heshbon, Medeba, Dimon, etc., still exist to confirm through modern research the accuracy of the fulfillment of this prophecy.">(F1)three years, as the years of ^(C1)a hired man who will not serve longer than the agreed time, the glory of ^(C2)Moab will be degraded along with all ^(F2)the great population, and the remnant that survives will be very small and of no account."