1 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; 2 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. 4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. 5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. 8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
Moab Will Be Punished
1 This is a message about Moab:
The towns of Ar and Kir
were destroyed in a night.
Moab is left in ruins!
2 Everyone in Dibon has gone up
to the temple and the shrines
to cry and weep.
All of Moab is crying.
Heads and beards are shaved
because of what happened
at Nebo and Medeba.
3 In the towns and at home,
everyone wears sackcloth
and cries loud and long.
4 From Heshbon and Elealeh,
weeping is heard in Jahaz;
Moab's warriors scream
while trembling with fear.
Pity Moab
5 I pity Moab!
Its people are running to Zoar
and to Eglath-Shelishiyah.
They cry on their way up
to the town of Luhith;
on the road to Horonaim
they tell of disasters.
6 The streams of Nimrim
and the grasslands
have dried up.
Every plant is parched.
7 The people of Moab are leaving,
crossing over Willow Creek,
taking everything they own
and have worked for.
8 In the towns of Eglaim
and of Beerelim
and everywhere else in Moab
mournful cries are heard.
9 The streams near Dimon
are flowing with blood.
But the Lord will bring
even worse trouble to Dimon,
because all in Moab who escape
will be attacked by lions.