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Isaiah 15-16
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 15-16
Contemporary English Version
Moab Will Be Punished
15 (A) 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[a] and the shrines
to cry and weep.
All of Moab is crying.
Heads and beards are shaved[b]
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,[c]
because all in Moab who escape
will be attacked by lions.[d]
More Troubles for Moab
16 Send lambs[e] as gifts
to the ruler of the land.
Send them across the desert
from Sela[f] 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[g]
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[h]
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.”
Footnotes
- 15.2 Everyone … temple: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 15.2 Heads … shaved: As a sign of sorrow and mourning.
- 15.9 Dimon … Dimon: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation have “Dibon … Dibon.”
- 15.9 lions: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
- 16.1 lambs: The main product of Moab.
- 16.1 Sela: A town in Edom.
- 16.7 fancy raisins: The Hebrew text has “raisin-cakes,” which could mean either the rich produce or the prosperous farmers.
- 16.8 The rulers … vineyards: Or “The rulers of nations have destroyed those vineyards.”
Isaiah 15-16
New International Version
Isaiah 15-16
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Moab(A)
15 A prophecy(B) against Moab:(C)
Ar(D) in Moab is ruined,(E)
destroyed in a night!
Kir(F) in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon(G) goes up to its temple,
to its high places(H) to weep;
Moab wails(I) over Nebo(J) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(K)
and every beard cut off.(L)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;(M)
on the roofs(N) and in the public squares(O)
they all wail,(P)
prostrate with weeping.(Q)
4 Heshbon(R) and Elealeh(S) cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(T)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5 My heart cries out(U) over Moab;(V)
her fugitives(W) flee as far as Zoar,(X)
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(Y)
they lament their destruction.(Z)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up(AA)
and the grass is withered;(AB)
the vegetation is gone(AC)
and nothing green is left.(AD)
7 So the wealth they have acquired(AE) and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer(AF) Elim.
9 The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]—
a lion(AG) upon the fugitives of Moab(AH)
and upon those who remain in the land.
16 Send lambs(AI) as tribute(AJ)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(AK) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(AL)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(AM)
so are the women of Moab(AN)
at the fords(AO) of the Arnon.(AP)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(AQ)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(AR) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(AS) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(AT)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(AU) will be established;(AV)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[c] of David(AW)—
one who in judging seeks justice(AX)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(AY) pride(AZ)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(BA)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(BB) of Kir Hareseth.(BC)
8 The fields of Heshbon(BD) wither,(BE)
the vines of Sibmah(BF) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(BG)
which once reached Jazer(BH)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(BI)
and went as far as the sea.[d](BJ)
9 So I weep,(BK) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(BL)
I drench you with tears!(BM)
The shouts of joy(BN) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(BO) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(BP)
no one sings or shouts(BQ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(BR) out wine at the presses,(BS)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(BT) like a harp,(BU)
my inmost being(BV) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(BW)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(BX) to pray,
it is to no avail.(BY)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(BZ) as a servant bound by contract(CA) would count them,(CB) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(CC) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(CD)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
Isaiah 25:10-12
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 25:10-12
Contemporary English Version
10 (A) The powerful arm of the Lord
will protect this mountain.
The Moabites will be put down
and trampled on like straw
in a pit of manure.
11 They will struggle to get out,
but God will humiliate them
no matter how hard they try.[a]
12 The walls of their fortresses
will be knocked down
and scattered in the dirt.
Footnotes
- 25.11 no matter … try: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Isaiah 25:10-12
New International Version
Isaiah 25:10-12
New International Version
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(A)
but Moab(B) will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(C) their pride(D)
despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(E)
and lay them low;(F)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Ezekiel 25:8-11
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel 25:8-11
Contemporary English Version
Judgment on Moab
8 (A) The Lord God said, “The people of Moab[a] thought Judah was no different from any other nation. 9 So I will let Moab's fortress towns along its border be attacked, including Beth-Jeshimoth, Baal-Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 The same eastern desert tribes that invade Ammon will invade Moab, and just as Ammon will be forgotten forever, 11 Moab will be punished. Then the people there will know that I am the Lord.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 25.8 Moab: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Moab and Edom.”
Ezekiel 25:8-11
New International Version
Ezekiel 25:8-11
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Moab
8 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab(A) and Seir(B) said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” 9 therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth(C), Baal Meon(D) and Kiriathaim(E)—the glory of that land. 10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered(F) among the nations; 11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”(G)
Amos 2:1-3
Contemporary English Version
Amos 2:1-3
Contemporary English Version
Judgment on Moab
2 (A) The Lord said:
I will punish Moab
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They made lime from the bones[a]
of the king of Edom.
2 Now I will send fire to destroy
the fortresses of Kerioth.[b]
Battle shouts and trumpet blasts
will be heard as I destroy Moab
3 with its king and leaders.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Amos 2:1-3
New International Version
Amos 2:1-3
New International Version
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,(A)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(B)
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a](C)
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries(D) and the blast of the trumpet.(E)
3 I will destroy her ruler(F)
and kill all her officials with him,”(G)
says the Lord.(H)
Footnotes
- Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
Zephaniah 2:8-11
Contemporary English Version
Zephaniah 2:8-11
Contemporary English Version
8 (A) The Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, said:
I've heard Moab and Ammon
insult my people
and threaten their nation.[a]
9 (B) And so, I swear by my very life
that Moab and Ammon will end up
like Sodom and Gomorrah—
covered with thornbushes
and salt pits forever.
Then my people who survive
will take their land.
10 This is how Moab and Ammon
will at last be repaid
for their pride—
and for sneering at the nation
that belongs to me,
the Lord All-Powerful.
11 I will fiercely attack.
Then every god on this earth
will shrink to nothing,
and everyone of every nation
will bow down to me,
right where they are.
Footnotes
- 2.8 threaten their nation: Or “boast about their own nation.”
Zephaniah 2:8-11
New International Version
Zephaniah 2:8-11
New International Version
Moab and Ammon
8 “I have heard the insults(A) of Moab(B)
and the taunts of the Ammonites,(C)
who insulted(D) my people
and made threats against their land.(E)
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(F) will become like Sodom,(G)
the Ammonites(H) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(I) them;
the survivors(J) of my nation will inherit their land.(K)”
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New International Version (NIV) 
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