Isaiah 16
English Standard Version
16 (A)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (B)Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at (C)the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
(D)make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let (E)the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[a]
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 (F)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 (G)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
(H)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
(I)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the (J)raisin cakes of (K)Kir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and (L)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore (M)I weep with (N)the weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (O)your summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 (P)And joy and gladness are taken away from (Q)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (R)songs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no (S)treader treads out wine (T)in the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (U)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when (V)he wearies himself on (W)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (X)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (Y)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (Z)very few and feeble.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
Zephaniah 2
English Standard Version
Judgment on Judah's Enemies
2 Gather together, yes, gather,
O (A)shameless nation,
2 (B)before the decree takes effect[a]
—before the day passes away (C)like chaff—
(D)before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 (E)Seek the Lord, (F)all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;[b]
(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
(H)perhaps (I)you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 (J)For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to (K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of (L)the Cherethites!
(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
(N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you (O)until no inhabitant is left.
6 (P)And you, O seacoast, (Q)shall be pastures,
with meadows[c] for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 (R)The seacoast shall become the possession
of (S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
(T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God (U)will be mindful of them
and (V)restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard (W)the taunts of Moab
and (X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts (Y)against their territory.
9 Therefore, (Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become (AA)like Sodom,
and the Ammonites (AB)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return (AC)for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
(AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and (AE)to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all (AF)the lands of the nations.
12 (AG)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
(AH)and destroy Assyria,
and he (AI)will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 (AJ)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;[d]
(AK)even the owl and the hedgehog[e]
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for (AL)her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
(AM)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
(AN)a lair for wild beasts!
(AO)Everyone who passes by her
hisses and (AP)shakes his fist.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
- Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
- Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
- Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
- Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain
Jeremiah 48
English Standard Version
Judgment on Moab
48 (A)Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to (B)Nebo, for it is laid waste!
(C)Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame (D)and broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In (E)Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off (F)from being a nation!’
You also, O (G)Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from (H)Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 (I)For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;[a]
for (J)at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry[b] of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like (K)a juniper in the desert!
7 For, (L)because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and (M)Chemosh (N)shall go into exile
with (O)his priests and his officials.
8 (P)The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and (Q)the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 (R)“Cursed is he who does (S)the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has (T)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.
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[c] jars in pieces. 13 Then (U)Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as (V)the house of Israel was ashamed of (W)Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of (X)Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have (Y)gone down to slaughter,
declares (Z)the King, (AA)whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 (AB)Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, (AC)‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 (AD)“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of (AE)Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 (AF)Stand by the way (AG)and watch,
O inhabitant of (AH)Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
(AI)wail and cry!
Tell it beside (AJ)the Arnon,
that (AK)Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon (AL)the tableland, upon Holon, and (AM)Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and (AN)Dibon, and (AO)Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and (AP)Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and (AQ)Beth-meon, 24 and (AR)Kerioth, and (AS)Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 (AT)The horn of Moab is cut off, and (AU)his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 (AV)“Make him drunk, (AW)because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall (AX)wallow in his vomit, (AY)and he too shall be held in derision. 27 (AZ)Was not Israel a derision to you? (BA)Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him (BB)you wagged your head?
28 (BC)“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be (BD)like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 (BE)We 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.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
(BF)his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 (BG)Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of (BH)Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for (BI)Jazer I weep for you,
(BJ)O vine of (BK)Sibmah!
(BL)Your branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of (BM)Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 (BN)Gladness 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 (BO)“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to (BP)Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in (BQ)the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of (BR)Kir-hareseth. (BS)Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 (BT)“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. (BU)On all the hands are gashes, and (BV)around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like (BW)a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! (BX)How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab (BY)has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (BZ)one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
(CA)and spread his wings against Moab;
41 (CB)the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
(CC)The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of (CD)a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be (CE)destroyed and be no longer a people,
because (CF)he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 (CG)Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
(CH)For I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
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 (CI)the forehead of Moab,
the crown of (CJ)the sons of tumult.
46 (CK)Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of (CL)Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 (CM)Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:5 Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping
- Jeremiah 48:5 Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry
- Jeremiah 48:12 Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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