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16 ¶ Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land, from the rock of the wilderness unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

For it shall be that as a wandering bird cast out of the nest so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

Take counsel; execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; do not betray him that escapes.

Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the presence of the destroyer; for the extortioner shall come to an end, the destroyer shall cease, the oppressor shall be consumed out of the land.

And in mercy shall the throne be established; and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and hastening righteousness.

¶ We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud, even of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath, but his lies shall not be so.

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; every one shall howl; for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

For the vines of Heshbon were cut off and the vines of Sibmah; the lords of the Gentiles have trodden down the offshoots thereof, which had come even unto Jazer and extended through the wilderness; they had gone over the sea.

Therefore I will bewail with the weeping Jazer of the vine of Sibmah; I will cause thee to drink my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, for the song shall cease upon thy summer fruits and thy harvest.

10 And gladness is taken away and joy out of the fertile field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be rejoicing: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage song to cease.

11 Therefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab and my inward parts for Kirharesh.

12 And it shall come to pass when it is seen that Moab is weary upon the high places that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray, but he shall be unable to.

13 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, Within three years, as a hireling counts the years, the glory of Moab shall be cast down, with all her great multitude; and the remnant shall be few, small and feeble.

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.
Like fleeing birds,
    like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
    at (C)the fords of the Arnon.

“Give counsel;
    grant justice;
(D)make your shade like night
    at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
    do not reveal the fugitive;
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,
(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.”

(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.
Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
    (I)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
    for the (J)raisin cakes of (K)Kir-hareseth.

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.
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.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them