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Judgment on Moab
48 Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Alas for Nebo, it is laid waste!
Kiriathaim is put to shame; it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;(A)
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned evil against her:
“Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!”
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;[a]
the sword shall pursue you.(B)
3 Listen! A cry goes up from Horonaim:
“Desolation and great destruction!”(C)
4 “Moab is destroyed!”
her little ones cry out.
5 For at the ascent of Luhith
they go[b] up weeping bitterly;
for at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressing cry of anguish.(D)
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
Be like a wild ass[c] in the desert!(E)
7 Surely, because you trusted in your strongholds[d] and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
Chemosh shall go out into exile,
with his priests and his attendants.(F)
8 The destroyer shall come upon every town,
and no town shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.(G)
9 Set aside salt for Moab,
for she will surely fall;
her towns shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.(H)
10 Accursed is the one who is slack in doing the work of the Lord, and accursed is the one who keeps back the sword from bloodshed.(I)
11 Moab has been at ease from his youth,
settled like wine[e] on its dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
therefore his flavor has remained,
and his aroma is unspoiled.(J)
12 Therefore, the time is surely coming, says the Lord, when I shall send to him decanters to decant him and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.(K)
14 How can you say, “We are heroes
and mighty warriors”?(L)
15 Moab is destroyed, and his towns have gone up,
and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.(M)
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his doom approaches swiftly.(N)
17 Mourn over him, all you his neighbors,
and all who know his name;
say, “How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff!”(O)
18 Come down from glory
and sit on the parched ground,
enthroned daughter Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.(P)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping;
say, “What has happened?”(Q)
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken down;
wail and cry!
Tell it by the Arnon
that Moab is laid waste.(R)
21 Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.(S) 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.(T)
26 Make him drunk because he magnified himself against the Lord; let Moab wallow in his vomit; he, too, shall become a laughingstock.(U) 27 Israel was a laughingstock for you, though he was not caught among thieves, but whenever you spoke of him you shook your head!(V)
28 Leave the towns, and live on the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
on the sides of the mouth of a gorge.(W)
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.(X)
30 I myself know his insolence, says the Lord;
his boasts are false;
his deeds are false.(Y)
31 Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the people of Kir-heres I mourn.(Z)
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches crossed over the sea,
reached as far as Jazer;[f]
upon your summer fruits and your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.(AA)
33 Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have stopped the wine from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.(AB)
34 From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.(AC) 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the Lord, those who offer sacrifice at a high place and make offerings to their gods.(AD) 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the people of Kir-heres, for the riches they gained have perished.(AE)
37 For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; on all the hands there are gashes and on the loins sackcloth.(AF) 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel that no one wants, says the Lord.(AG) 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all his neighbors.(AH)
40 For thus says the Lord:
Look, he shall swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab;(AI)
41 the towns[g] shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
The hearts of the warriors of Moab, on that day,
shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.(AJ)
42 Moab shall be destroyed as a people,
because he magnified himself against the Lord.(AK)
43 Terror, pit, and trap
are before you, O inhabitants of Moab!
says the Lord.(AL)
44 Everyone who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and everyone who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the trap.
For I will bring these things[h] upon Moab
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.(AM)
45 In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop exhausted,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead[i] of Moab,
the scalp of the people of tumult.[j](AN)
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished,
for your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters into captivity.(AO)
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, says the Lord.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.(AP)
Judgment on the Ammonites
49 Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom[k] dispossessed Gad
and his people settled in its towns?(AQ)
2 Therefore, the time is surely coming,
says the Lord,
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.(AR)
3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters[l] of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and slash yourselves with whips![m]
For Milcom[n] shall go into exile,
with his priests and his attendants.(AS)
4 Why do you boast in your strength?
Your strength is ebbing,
O faithless daughter.
Who trusted in her treasures, saying,[o]
“Who will attack me?”(AT)
5 I am going to bring terror upon you,
says the Lord God of hosts,
from all your neighbors,
and you will be scattered, each headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.(AU)
6 But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the Lord.(AV)
Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?(AW)
8 Flee; turn back; get down low,
inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
the time when I punish him.(AX)
9 If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
even they would pillage only what they wanted.(AY)
10 But as for me, I have stripped Esau bare;
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His offspring are destroyed, his kinsfolk
and his neighbors, and he is no more.(AZ)
11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive,
and let your widows trust in me.(BA)
12 For thus says the Lord: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink it.(BB) 13 For by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become an object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an object of cursing, and all her towns shall be perpetual wastes.(BC)
14 I have heard tidings from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!”(BD)
15 For I will make you least among the nations,
despised by humankind.
16 The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[p]
who hold the height of the hill.
Although you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
from there I will bring you down,
says the Lord.(BE)
17 Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.(BF) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the Lord, no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.(BG) 19 Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom[q] away from it, and I will appoint over it whomever I choose.[r] For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?(BH) 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.(BI) 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.[s](BJ) 22 Look, he shall mount up and swoop down like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom on that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.(BK)
4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:(A) 2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.(B) 3 For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but, having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires(C) 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5 As for you, be sober in everything, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.(D)
6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.(E) 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.(F) 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.(G)
Personal Instructions
9 Do your best to come to me soon, 10 for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia,[a] Titus to Dalmatia.(H) 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in ministry.(I) 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds.(J) 15 You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.
16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.(K) 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.(L)
Final Greetings and Benediction
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.[b]
Psalm 95
A Call to Worship and Obedience
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!(A)
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!(B)
3 For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.(C)
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.(D)
6 O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!(E)
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!(F)
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,(G)
9 when your ancestors tested me
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.(H)
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.”(I)
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
“They shall not enter my rest.”(J)
Psalm 96
Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(K)
2 Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.(L)
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.(M)
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.(N)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(O)
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.(P)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(Q)
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.(R)
9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.(S)
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.”(T)
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar and all that fills it;(U)
12 let the field exult and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his truth.(V)
9 Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(A)
10 Like an archer who wounds everybody
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.[a]
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
is a fool who reverts to his folly.(B)
12 Do you see people wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for fools than for them.(C)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.