The Lord's Message about Philistia

¹Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the Lord spoke to me about Philistia.

²He said: “Look! Waters are rising in the north and will rush like a river in flood. They will cover the land and everything on it, cities and the people who live there. People will call out for help; everyone on earth will cry bitterly.

³They will hear the hoofbeats of horses, the clatter of chariots, the rumble of wheels. Parents will not turn back for their children; their hands will hang limp at their sides.

⁴The time has come to destroy Philistia, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon all the help that remains. I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines, all who came from the shores of Crete.

⁵Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza, and Ashkelon's people are silent. How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?

⁶You cry out, ‘Sword of the Lord! How long will you go on slashing? Go back to your scabbard, stay there and rest!’

⁷But how can it rest, when I have given it work to do? I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon and the people who live on the coast.”

The Destruction of Moab

¹This is what the Lord Almighty said about Moab: “Pity the people of Nebo— their town is destroyed! Kiriathaim is captured, its mighty fortress torn down, and its people put to shame;

²the splendor of Moab is gone. The enemy have captured Heshbon and plot to destroy the nation of Moab. The town of Madmen will be silenced; armies will march against it.

³The people of Horonaim cry out, ‘Violence! Destruction!’

⁴“Moab has been destroyed; listen to the children crying.

⁵Hear the sound of their sobs along the road up to Luhith, the cries of distress on the way down to Horonaim.

⁶‘Quick, run for your lives!’ they say. ‘Run like a wild desert donkey!’

⁷“Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth, but now even you will be conquered; your god Chemosh will go into exile, along with his princes and priests.

⁸Not a town will escape the destruction; both valley and plain will be ruined. I, the Lord, have spoken.

⁹Set up a tombstone for Moab; it will soon be destroyed. Its towns will be left in ruins, and no one will live there again.”

¹⁰(Curse those who do not do the Lord's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)

The Cities of Moab Are Destroyed

¹¹The Lord said, “Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavor has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.

¹²“So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces.

¹³Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.

¹⁴“Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes, brave soldiers tested in war?

¹⁵Moab and its cities are destroyed; its finest young men have been slaughtered. I am the king, the Lord Almighty, and I have spoken.

¹⁶Moab's doom approaches; its ruin is coming soon.

¹⁷“Mourn for that nation, you that live nearby, all of you that know its fame. Say, ‘Its powerful rule has been broken; its glory and might are no more.’

¹⁸You that live in Dibon, come down from your place of honor and sit on the ground in the dust; Moab's destroyer is here and has left its forts in ruins.

¹⁹You that live in Aroer, stand by the road and wait; ask those who are running away, find out from them what has happened.

²⁰‘Moab has fallen,’ they will answer, ‘weep for it; it is disgraced. Announce along the Arnon River that Moab is destroyed!’

²¹“Judgment has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,

²²Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim,

²³Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon,

²⁴Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgment has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near.

²⁵Moab's might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Moab Will Be Humbled

²⁶The Lord said, “Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh.

²⁷Moab, remember how you made fun of the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.

²⁸“You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine.

²⁹Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves.

³⁰I, the Lord, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last.

³¹And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres.

³²I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed.

³³Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the wine presses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.

³⁴“The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even Nimrim Brook has dried up.

³⁵I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the Lord, have spoken.

³⁶“So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone.

³⁷All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth.

³⁸On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants.

³⁹Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations make fun of it. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

No Escape for Moab

⁴⁰The Lord has promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings,

⁴¹and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.

⁴²Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me.

⁴³Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. The Lord has spoken.

⁴⁴Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because the Lord has set the time for Moab's destruction.

⁴⁵Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames. Fire has burned up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab.

⁴⁶Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshiped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.

⁴⁷But in days to come the Lord will make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what the Lord has said will happen to Moab.

The Lord's Punishment of Jerusalem

¹The Lord in his anger has covered Zion with darkness. Its heavenly splendor he has turned into ruins. On the day of his anger he abandoned even his Temple.

²The Lord destroyed without mercy every village in Judah And tore down the forts that defended the land. He brought disgrace on the kingdom and its rulers.

³In his fury he shattered the strength of Israel; He refused to help us when the enemy came. He raged against us like fire, destroying everything.

⁴He aimed his arrows at us like an enemy; He killed all those who were our joy and delight. Here in Jerusalem we felt his burning anger.

⁵Like an enemy, the Lord has destroyed Israel; He has left her forts and palaces in ruins. He has brought on the people of Judah unending sorrow.

⁶He smashed to pieces the Temple where we worshiped him; He has put an end to holy days and Sabbaths. King and priest alike have felt the force of his anger.

⁷The Lord rejected his altar and deserted his holy Temple; He allowed the enemy to tear down its walls. They shouted in victory where once we had worshiped in joy.

⁸The Lord was determined that the walls of Zion should fall; He measured them off to make sure of total destruction. The towers and walls now lie in ruins together.

⁹The gates lie buried in rubble, their bars smashed to pieces. The king and the noblemen now are in exile. The Law is no longer taught, and the prophets have no visions from the Lord.

¹⁰Jerusalem's old men sit on the ground in silence, With dust on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies. Young women bow their heads to the ground.

¹¹My eyes are worn out with weeping; my soul is in anguish. I am exhausted with grief at the destruction of my people. Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.

¹²Hungry and thirsty, they cry to their mothers; They fall in the streets as though they were wounded, And slowly die in their mothers' arms.

¹³O Jerusalem, beloved Jerusalem, what can I say? How can I comfort you? No one has ever suffered like this. Your disaster is boundless as the ocean; there is no possible hope.

¹⁴Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies; Their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin. They made you think you did not need to repent.

¹⁵People passing by the city look at you in scorn. They shake their heads and laugh at Jerusalem's ruins: “Is this that lovely city? Is this the pride of the world?”

¹⁶All your enemies mock you and glare at you with hate. They curl their lips and sneer, “We have destroyed it! This is the day we have waited for!”

¹⁷The Lord has finally done what he threatened to do: He has destroyed us without mercy, as he warned us long ago. He gave our enemies victory, gave them joy at our downfall.

¹⁸O Jerusalem, let your very walls cry out to the Lord! Let your tears flow like rivers night and day; Wear yourself out with weeping and grief

¹⁹All through the night get up again and again to cry out to the Lord; Pour out your heart and beg him for mercy on your children— Children starving to death on every street corner!

²⁰Look, O Lord! Why are you punishing us like this? Women are eating the bodies of the children they loved! Priests and prophets are being killed in the Temple itself

²¹Young and old alike lie dead in the streets, Young men and women, killed by enemy swords. You slaughtered them without mercy on the day of your anger.

²²You invited my enemies to hold a carnival of terror all around me, And no one could escape on that day of your anger. They murdered my children, whom I had raised and loved.

¹People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.

²A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is.

³Sin and shame go together. Lose your honor, and you will get scorn in its place.

⁴A person's words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.