1 ¶ Concerning Moab this is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel says; Woe to Nebo! because it has been plundered: Kiriathaim is disgraced and captured: the high fortress is put to shame and crushed.

2 The glory of Moab is no more: in Heshbon they planned evil against her; saying come, let us cut her off from being a nation. You also O town of madmen will be brought to silence; the sword will pursue you.

3 The sound of a crying comes from Horonaim, there is looting and great destruction.

4 Moab will be destroyed; and the crying of her little ones will be heard.

5 For on the path up to Luhith they will be weeping continually; and on the descent to Horonaim will be heard cries of distress over the destruction.

6 Flee, save your lives, or you will be like dry bushes in the desert.

7 Because you trusted in your works and in your treasures, you will also be captured: and Chemosh will be carried off into captivity together with his priests and his princes.

8 And the destroyer will come to every city, and no city will escape: the valley will be destroyed, and the plain will be laid waste, as the LORD has said.

9 Give wings to Moab, so that it may flee and get away: for its cities will be uninhabited ruins.

10 Cursed is he who is slack or deceitful in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who keeps his sword from shedding blood.

11 Moab has been at ease from his youth, and has settled on his dregs, like wine that has not been poured from container to container, nor has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained the same, and his smell has not changed.

12 Therefore, know that the time will come, says the LORD, when I will send men to him, who will pour him out, and empty his containers, and smash his jars.

13 And Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was put to shame because they trusted in the idols of Bethel.

14 ¶ How can you say, We are heroes and mighty men of war?

15 The destroyer of Moab and her cities has come up, and her finest young men have gone down to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

16 The doom of Moab is near, and his disaster is coming quickly.

17 Mourn over him, all you who are around, mourn him; all you who know his name, say, Look, the mighty scepter and glorious staff is broken!

18 Come down from your glory, you resident daughter of Dibon, and sit on parched ground; because the destroyer of Moab comes against you, and he will destroy your fortifications.

19 You who live in Aroer, stand by the road, and watch; ask him who flees, and her who escapes, What has happened?

20 Moab is in disgrace; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell the news in Arnon, that Moab is plundered,

21 Judgment has come upon the land of the plain; on Holon, Jahazah, and Mephaath,

22 And on Dibon, on Nebo, and on Bethdiblathaim,

23 And on Kiriathaim, on Bethgamul, and on Bethmeon,

24 And on Kerioth, on Bozrah, and on all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

25 The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken, says the LORD.

26 Make him drunk: for he exalted himself against the LORD: Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he will become a laughingstock.

27 Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? was he caught among thieves? for you shake your head whenever you speak of him.

28 O you who dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and live among the cliffs, and be like a dove that makes her nest in the mouth of a cave.

29 We have heard about Moab’s pride, (he is very proud) he is insolent, arrogant, disdainful, and haughty at heart.

30 I know how arrogant he is, says the LORD; but his boasts are empty and false; for his deeds have accomplished nothing.

31 Therefore I will wail over Moab, and I will weep over the entire country; my heart will mourn for the men of Kirheres.

32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for you with more than the weeping for Jazer: your branches reach to the sea, and stretch to the pool of Jazer: the plunderer will fall on your summer fruits and upon your grape harvest.

33 Joy and gladness will vanish from the bountiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I will stop the wine flowing from the winepresses: no one will tread the grapes with shouting; their will be no shouting.

34 The cry will be heard from Heshbon to Elealeh, and even to Jahaz, from Zoar even to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah: because the waters of Nimrim will be desolate.

35 Moreover, the LORD says, I will stop anyone in Moab who comes up to a high place, to make a sacrifice to his gods.

36 Therefore my heart wails for Moab like a flute, and my heart sighs like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the wealth they gained is lost.

37 For every head is shaved, and every beard cut off: there are gashes on every hand, and sackcloth on their waists.

38 On all the housetops of Moab, and in its streets, there will be lamentation: for I will break Moab like an unwanted jar, says the LORD.

39 They will wail, saying, Is Moab crushed! does Moab turn back in shame! thus Moab will become a laughingstock and shock to all those around him.

40 For the LORD says this; Like a vulture he will swoop down, and will spread his wings over Moab.

41 The cities will be taken, and the strong holds captured, and in that day the hearts of Moab’s soldiers will be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

42 And Moab will be destroyed and cease being a people, because he boasted against the LORD.

43 Terror, a pit, and a trap, are for you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the LORD.

44 He who flees from terror will fall into a pit; and he who gets up out of the pit will be caught in a trap: for I will bring on Moab, the year of their punishment, says the LORD.

45 Those who flee will stand exhausted under the shadow of Heshbon, without strength: because a fire will come out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and it will devour the foreheads of Moab, and the brows of men shouting their battle cry.

46 Woe to you, O Moab! you people of Chemosh will perish: because your sons and your daughters will be taken away as captives.

47 Yet will I restore Moab in the latter days, says the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.