1 Send yee a lambe to the ruler of the worlde from the rocke of the wildernesse, vnto the mountaine of the daughter Zion. 2 For it shall be as a birde that flieth, and a nest forsaken: the daughters of Moab shall be at the foordes of Arnon. 3 Gather a cousel, execute iudgement: make thy shadowe as the night in the midday: hide them that are chased out: bewray not him that is fled. 4 Let my banished dwell with thee: Moab be thou their couert from the face of the destroyer: for the extortioner shall ende: the destroyer shalbe consumed, and the oppressour shall cease out of the land. 5 And in mercy shall the throne be prepared, and hee shall sit vpon it in stedfastnesse, in the tabernacle of Dauid, iudging, and seeking iudgement, and hasting iustice. 6 We haue heard of the pride of Moab, (he is very proud) euen his pride, and his arrogancie, and his indignation, but his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore shall Moab howle vnto Moab: euery one shall howle: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourne, yet they shalbe striken. 8 For ye vineyards of Heshbon are cut downe, and the vine of Sibmah: the lordes of the heathen haue broken the principal vines thereof: they are come vnto Iaazer: they wandred in the wildernesse: her goodly branches stretched out them selues, and went ouer the sea. 9 Therefore will I weepe with the weeping of Iaazer, and of the vine of Sibmah, O Heshbon: and Elealeh, I will make thee drunke with my teares, because vpon thy sommer fruits, and vpon thy haruest a showting is fallen. 10 And gladnes is taken away, and ioy out of the plentifull fielde: and in the vineyardes shall be no singing nor shouting for ioy: the treader shall not tread wine in the wine presses: I haue caused the reioycing to cease. 11 Wherefore, my bowels shall sounde like an harpe for Moab, and mine inwarde partes for Ker-haresh. 12 And when it shall appeare that Moab shall be wearie of his hie places, then shall hee come to his temple to praie, but he shall not preuaile. 13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken against Moab since that time. 14 And nowe the Lord hath spoken, saying, In three yeres, as the yeeres of a hireling, and the glorie of Moab shall be contemned in all the great multitude, and the remnant shalbe very small and feeble.
More Troubles for Moab
1 Send lambs as gifts
to the ruler of the land.
Send them across the desert
from Sela to Mount Zion.
2 The women of Moab
crossing the Arnon River
are like a flock of birds
scattered from their nests.
3 Moab's messengers say
to the people of Judah,
“Be kind and help us!
Shade us from the heat
of the noonday sun.
Hide our refugees!
Don't turn them away.
4 Let our people live
in your country
and find safety here.”
Moab, your cruel enemies
will disappear;
they will no longer attack
and destroy your land.
5 Then a kingdom of love
will be set up,
and someone from David's family
will rule with fairness.
He will do what is right
and quickly bring justice.
Moab's Pride Is Destroyed
6 We have heard of Moab's pride.
Its people strut and boast,
but without reason.
7 Tell everyone in Moab
to mourn for their nation.
Tell them to cry and weep
for those fancy raisins
of Kir-Hareseth.
8 Vineyards near Heshbon
and Sibmah
have turned brown.
The rulers of nations
used to get drunk
on wine from those vineyards
that spread to Jazer,
then across the desert
and beyond the sea.
9 Now I mourn like Jazer
for the vineyards
of Sibmah.
I shed tears for Heshbon
and for Elealeh.
There will be no more
harvest celebrations
10 or joyful and happy times,
while bringing in the crops.
Singing and shouting are gone
from the vineyards.
There are no joyful shouts
where grapes were pressed.
God has silenced them all.
11 Deep in my heart I hurt
for Moab and Kir-Heres.
12 It's useless for Moab's people
to wear themselves out
by going to their altars
to worship and pray.
13 The Lord has already said all of this about Moab. 14 Now he says, “The contract of a hired worker is good for three years, but Moab's glory and greatness won't last any longer than that. Only a few of its people will survive, and they will be left helpless.”