1 The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab:The town of Nebo is doomed;Kiriathaim will be capturedand disgraced,and even its fortresswill be left in ruins.
2 No one honours you, Moab.In Heshbon, enemies make plansto end your life.My sword will leave only silencein your town named “Quiet”.
3 The people of Horonaimwill cry for help,as their town is attackedand destroyed.
4 Moab will be shattered!Your children will sob
5 and cry on their way upto the town of Luhith;on the road to Horonaimthey will tell of disasters.
6 Run for your lives!Head into the desertlike a wild donkey.
7 You thought you could be savedby your power and wealth,but you will be capturedalong with your god Chemosh,his priests, and officials.
8 Not one of your townswill escape destruction.I have told your enemies,“Wipe out the valleyand the flat lands of Moab.
9 Spread salt on the groundto kill the crops.Leave its towns in ruins,with no one living there.
10 I want you to kill the Moabites,and if you let them escape,I will put a curse on you.”
11 Moab, you are like wineleft to settle undisturbed,never poured from jar to jar.And so, your nation continuesto prosper and improve.
12 But now, I will send enemiesto pour out the wineand smash the jars!
13 Then you will be ashamed,because your god Chemoshcannot save you,just as Bethel could not helpthe Israelites.
14 You claim that your soldiersare strong and brave.
15 But I am the Lord,the all-powerful King,and I promise that enemieswill overpower your towns.Even your best warriorswill die in the battle.
16 It won't be long now—disaster will hit Moab!
17 I will order the nearby nationsto mourn for you and say,“Isn't it sad? Moab ruled others,but now its glorious powerhas been shattered.”
18 People in the town of Dibon,you will be honoured no more,so have a seat in the dust.Your walls will be torn downwhen the enemies attack.
19 You people of Aroer,wait beside the road,and when refugees run by,ask them, “What happened?”
20 They will answer,“Moab has been defeated!Weep with us in shame.Tell everyone at the River Arnonthat Moab is destroyed.”
21-24 I will punish every townthat belongs to Moab,but especially Holon,Jahzah, Mephaath,Dibon, Nebo,Beth-Diblathaim, Kiriathaim,Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,Kerioth, and Bozrah.
25 My decision is final—your army will be crushed,and your power broken.
26 People of Moab, you claimto be stronger than I am.Now I will tell other nationsto make you drunkand to laugh while you collapsein your own vomit.
27 You made fun of my peopleand treated them like criminalscaught in the act.
28 Now you must leave your townsand live like dovesin the shelter of cliffsand canyons.
29 I know about your pride,and how you strut and boast.
30 But I also know boastingwill never save you.
31 So I will cry and mournfor Moaband its town of Kir-Heres.
32 People of Sibmah,you were like a vineyardheavy with grapes,and with branches reachingnorth to the town of Jazerand west to the Dead Sea.But you have been destroyed,and so I will weep for you,as the people of Jazer weepfor the vineyards.
33 Harvest celebrations are gonefrom the orchards and farmsof Moab.There are no happy shoutsfrom people making wine.
34 Weeping from Heshboncan be heard as faras Elealeh and Jahaz;cries from Zoar are heardin Horonaimand Eglath-Shelishiyah.And Nimrim Brook has run dry.
35 I will get rid of anyonewho burns incenseto the gods of Moabor offers sacrificesat their shrines.I, the Lord, have spoken.
36 In my heart I moan for Moab,like a funeral songplayed on a flute.I mourn for the peopleof the town of Kir-Heres,because their wealth is gone.
37-38 The people of Moabmourn on the rooftopsand in the streets.Men cut off their beards,people shave their heads;they make cuts on their handsand wear sackcloth.And it's all because I, the Lord,have shattered Moab like a jarthat no one wants.
39 Moab lies broken!Listen to its people cryas they turn away in shame.Other nations are horrifiedat what happened,but still they laugh.
40 Moab, an enemy swoops downlike an eagle spreading its wingsover your land.
41 Your cities and fortresseswill be captured,and your warriorsgripped by fear.
42 You are finished as a nation,because you dared oppose me,the Lord.
43 Terror, pits, and trapsare waiting for you.
44 If you are terrified and run,you will fall into a pit;and if you crawl out of the pit,you'll get caught in a trap.The time has comefor you to be punished.
45 Near the city of Heshbon,where Sihon once ruled,tired refugees stand in shadowscast by the flamesof their burning city.Soon, the towns on other hilltops,where those warlike people live,will also go up in smoke.
46 People of Moab, you worshippedChemosh, your god,but now you are done for,and your children are prisonersin a foreign country.
47 Yet some day, I will bringyour people back home.I, the Lord, have spoken.