The Judgment on Moab

(Zephaniah 2:8-11)

1Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed.

2Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from [being] a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee.

3A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction!

4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

5For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction.

6Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness.

7For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

8And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.

9Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant.

10Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!

11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

12Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons. 13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?

15Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up [in smoke], and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!

18Come down from [thy] glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed.

19Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done?

20Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

21And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath; 22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim; 23and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon; 24and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah. 26Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. 27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head?

28Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth.

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

30I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as [they say].

31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning.

32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

33And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.

34Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, [unto] Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations. 35And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished. 37For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. 38It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah. 39They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.

40For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab.

41Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.

43Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.

44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.

45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult.

46Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives.

47But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.