A Prophecy of Moab's Devastation

1Send the lamb of the ruler of the land from the rock to the wilderness, -- unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2And it shall be [that] as a wandering bird, [as] a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.

3Bring in counsel, execute justice; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of noonday; hide the outcasts, discover not the fugitive.

4Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the waster. For the extortioner is at an end, the wasting hath ceased, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

5And a throne shall be established in mercy: and in the tent of David there shall sit upon it, in truth, one judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.

6We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, -- [he is] very proud, -- of his pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath: his pratings are vain.

7Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; every one of them shall howl. For the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, verily afflicted.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants: they reached unto Jaazer, they wandered [through] the wilderness; its shoots stretched out, they went beyond the sea.

9Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jaazer for the vine of Sibmah; with my tears will I water thee, Heshbon, and Elealeh, for a cry is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest.

10And joy and gladness is taken away out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there is no singing, neither is there shouting: the treaders tread out no wine in the presses, I have made the cry [of the winepress] to cease.

11Therefore my bowels sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres.

12And it shall come to pass, when Moab shall appear, shall weary himself on the high place, and enter into his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.

13This is the word which Jehovah hath spoken from of old concerning Moab. 14And now Jehovah speaketh saying, Within three years, as the years of a hired servant, and the glory of Moab shall be brought to nothing, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be small, few, of no account.