1Against Moab. Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Woe unto Nebo! for it is wasted; made ashamed, captured is Kiryathayim; made ashamed is Misgab and dismayed.
2There is no more praise of Moab: in Cheshbon have they devised evil against it, “Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation.” Also thou Madmen shalt be ruined; after thee shall pursue the sword.
3There is a voice of crying from Choronayim, destruction and a great breach.
4Broken down is Moab: her little ones send forth a cry of distress.
5For the ascent of Luchith is ascended with weeping and tears; for on the descent of Choronayim the enemies have heard the cry of destruction.
6Flee, save your life, and be ye like the solitary tree in the wilderness.
7For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be conquered: and Kemosh shall go forth into exile, [with] his priests and his princes together.
8And the water shall come over every city, and no city shall escape: and lost shall be the valley, and destroyed shall be the plain, as the Lord hath said.
9Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; since her cities shall become desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
11Moab was ever at ease from his youth, and he was resting on his lees, and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, and had not gone into exile: therefore had his taste remained in him, and his scent was not changed.
12Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will send unto him tappers, that shall tap him, and they shall empty his vessels, and dash in pieces their bottles.
13And Moab shall be ashamed of Kemosh, as the house of Israel were made ashamed because of Beth-el their confidence.
14How can ye say, We are mighty and men of bravery for the war?
15Moab is wasted, and into his cities hath [the enemy] ascended, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name.
16Near is the calamity of Moab to come, and his misfortune hasteneth fast.
17All ye that are about him bemoan him; and all ye that know his name: say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful stick!
18Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, thou inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; for the waster of Moab cometh up against thee, he destroyeth thy strong-holds.
19Stand by the way, and look out, O inhabitress of 'Aro'er: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, say, What hath been done?
20Moab hath been made ashamed; for it is broken down; wail, and cry aloud: tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is wasted,
21And punishment is come over the land of the plain, over Cholon, and over Yahzah, and over Mepha'ath,
22And over Dibon, and over Nebo, and over Beth-diblathayim,
23And over Kiryathayim, and over Beth-gamul, and over Beth-me'on,
24And over Keriyoth, and over Bozrah, and over all the cities of the land of Moab, that are far and that are near.
25Hewn away is the horn of Moab, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
26Make him drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall become [an object] of derision.
27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? or was he found among thieves? that whenever thou spokest of him, thou hadst to shake [thy head]?
28Leave the cities, and dwell on rocks, O ye that dwell in Moab; and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of rocky clefts.
29We have heard the pride of Moab, who is so exceedingly proud, his haughtiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the overbearingness of his heart.
30I will know, saith the Lord, his wrath, and how causeless it is: his liars have done what is not right.
31Therefore will I wail for Moab, and for all Moab will I cry out; for the men of Kir-cheres shall people moan.
32With the weeping of Ya'zer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy tendrils [once] passed over the sea, they reached as far as to the sea of Ya'zer: over thy summer-fruits and over thy vintage the waster is fallen.
33And banished are joy and gladness from Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread the press with the vintner's call; battle cry—nor vintner's call.
34From the loud cry of Cheshbon as far as El'aleh, even unto Yahaz, have they sent forth their voice, from Zo'ar even unto Choronayim, to the third 'Eglath; for the waters also of Nimrim shall become desolate.
35Moreover will I cause to cease unto Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth on the high-places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36Therefore shall my heart groan for Moab like flutes, and my heart shall groan like flutes for the men of Kir-cheres; for the cause that the remnant of the riches he had gotten are lost.
37For every head is bald, and every beard is shorn: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins is sackcloth.
38Upon all the roofs of Moab, and in her streets, there is everywhere lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel which hath no value, saith the Lord.
39Oh, how is it broken down! wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! and Moab shall be a derision and a dismay to all those around him.
40For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, as the eagle shall he fly, and he shall spread out his wings over Moab.
41Captured are the fortresses, and the strong-holds are conquered: and the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be on that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people; because it hath magnified himself against the Lord.
43Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
44He that fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
45Under the shadow of Cheshbon stand still, deprived of strength, those that flee; but a fire cometh forth out of Cheshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sichon, and it devoureth the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of vaunting.
46Woe unto thee, O Moab! lost is the people of Kemosh; for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters into captivity.
47Yet will I bring back again the captivity of Moab in the end of days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the punishment of Moab.