Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1About Moab, this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed; Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive. The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!

1Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; the fortress is put to shame and broken down;

2There is no longer praise for Moab; they plan harm against her in Heshbon: Come, let's cut her off from nationhood. Also, Madmen, you will be silenced; the sword will follow you.

2the renown of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they planned disaster against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you.

3A voice cries out from Horonaim, "devastation and a crushing blow!"

3“A voice! A cry from Horonaim, ‘Desolation and great destruction!’

4Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.

4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have made a cry.

5For on the Ascent to Luhith they will be weeping continually, and on the descent to Horonaim will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:

5For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.

6Flee! Save your lives! Be like a juniper bush in the wilderness.

6Flee! Save yourselves! You will be like a juniper in the desert!

7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you will be captured also. Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.

7For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go into exile with his priests and his officials.

8The destroyer will move against every town; not one town will escape. The valley will perish, and the plain will be annihilated, as the LORD has said.

8The destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD has spoken.

9Make Moab a salt marsh, for she will run away; her towns will become a desolation, without inhabitant.

9“Give wings to Moab, for she would fly away; her cities shall become a desolation, with no inhabitant in them.

10The one who does the LORD's business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed.

10“Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11Moab has been left quiet since his youth, settled like wine on its dregs. He hasn't been poured from one container to another or gone into exile. So his taste has remained the same, and his aroma hasn't changed.

11“Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.

12Therefore look, the days are coming--this is the LORD's declaration--when I will send pourers to him, who will pour him out. They will empty his containers and smash his jars.

12“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces.

13Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was put to shame because of Bethel that they trusted in.

13Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14How can you say, "We are warriors--valiant men for battle"?

14“How do you say, ‘We are heroes and mighty men of war’?

15The destroyer of Moab and its towns has come up, and the best of its young men have gone down to slaughter. This is the King's declaration; the LORD of Armies is his name.

15The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up, and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

16Moab's calamity is near at hand; his disaster is rushing swiftly.

16The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction hastens swiftly.

17Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows his name. Say, "How the mighty scepter is shattered, the glorious staff!"

17Grieve for him, all you who are around him, and all who know his name; say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff.’

18Come down from glory; sit on parched ground, resident of the daughter of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.

18“Come down from your glory, and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you; he has destroyed your strongholds.

19Stand by the highway and watch, resident of Aroer! Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping, "What happened?"

19Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, ‘What has happened?’

20Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.

20Moab is put to shame, for it is broken; wail and cry! Tell it beside the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

21"Judgment has come to the land of the plateau--to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,

21“Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath,

22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,

22and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

23Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,

23and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

24Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near.

24and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

25Moab's horn is chopped off; his arm is shattered." This is the LORD's declaration.

25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the LORD.

26"Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the LORD. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.

26“Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the LORD, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision.

27Wasn't Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head."

27Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?

28Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs, residents of Moab! Be like a dove that nests inside the mouth of a cave.

28“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.

29We have heard of Moab's pride, great pride, indeed--his insolence, arrogance, pride, and haughty heart.

29We have heard of the pride of Moab— he is very proud— of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30I know his outburst. This is the LORD's declaration. It is empty. His boast is empty.

30I know his insolence, declares the LORD; his boasts are false, his deeds are false.

31Therefore, I will wail over Moab. I will cry out for Moab, all of it; he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

31Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.

32I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah, with more than the weeping for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.

32More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached to the Sea of Jazer; on your summer fruits and your grapes the destroyer has fallen.

33Gladness and celebration are taken from the fertile field and from the land of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses; no one will tread with shouts of joy. The shouting is not a shout of joy.

33Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful land of Moab; I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy.

34"There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz--from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah--because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

34“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate.

35In Moab, I will stop"--this is the LORD's declaration--"the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.

35And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god.

36Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.

36Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.

37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.

37“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth.

38On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants." This is the LORD's declaration.

38On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the LORD.

39"How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him."

39How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”

40For this is what the LORD says: Look! He will swoop down like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab.

40For thus says the LORD: “Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab;

41The towns have been captured, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab's warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.

41the cities shall be taken and the strongholds seized. The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;

42Moab will be destroyed as a people because he has exalted himself against the LORD.

42Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he magnified himself against the LORD.

43Panic, pit, and trap await you, resident of Moab. This is the LORD's declaration.

43Terror, pit, and snare are before you, O inhabitant of Moab! declares the LORD.

44He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit, and he who climbs from the pit will be captured in the trap, for I will bring against Moab the year of their punishment. This is the LORD's declaration.

44He who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For I will bring these things upon Moab, the year of their punishment, declares the LORD.

45Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon's shadow because fire has come out from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It will devour Moab's forehead and the skull of the noisemakers.

45“In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stop without strength, for fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the house of Sihon; it has destroyed the forehead of Moab, the crown of the sons of tumult.

46Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished because your sons have been taken captive and your daughters have gone into captivity.

46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are undone, for your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters into captivity.

47Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days. This is the LORD's declaration. The judgment on Moab ends here.

47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the LORD.” Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.