Add parallel Print Page Options

The Lord's People Will Come Home

14 The Lord will have mercy on Israel and will let them be his chosen people once again. He will bring them back to their own land, and foreigners will join them as part of Israel. Other nations will lead them home, and Israel will make slaves of them in the land that belongs to the Lord. Israel will rule over those who once governed and mistreated them.

Death to the King of Babylonia!

The Lord will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery. Then you will make fun of the King of Babylonia by singing this song:

That cruel monster is done for!
    He won't attack us again.[a]
The Lord has crushed the power
    of those evil kings,
who were furious
and never stopped abusing
    the people of other nations.

Now all the world is at peace;
its people are celebrating
    with joyful songs.
King of Babylonia,
    even the cypress trees
and the cedars of Lebanon
    celebrate and say,
“Since you were put down,
no one comes along
    to chop us down.”

The world of the dead
    eagerly waits for you.
With great excitement,
the spirits of ancient rulers
    hear about your coming.
10 Each one of them will say,
“Now you are just as weak
    as any of us!
11 Your pride and your music
have ended here
    in the world of the dead.
Worms are your blanket,
    maggots are your bed.”

12 (A) You, the bright morning star,
    have fallen from the sky!
You brought down other nations;
    now you are brought down.
13 (B) You said to yourself,
    “I'll climb to heaven
and place my throne
    above the highest stars.
I'll sit there with the gods
    far away in the north.
14 I'll be above the clouds,
    just like God Most High.”

15 But now you are deep
    in the world of the dead.
16 Those who see you will stare
    and wonder, “Is this the man
who made the world tremble
    and shook up kingdoms?
17 Did he capture every city
    and make earth a desert?
Is he the one who refused
    to let prisoners go home?”

18 When kings die, they are buried
    in glorious tombs.
19 But you will be left unburied,
just another dead body
    lying underfoot
    like a broken branch.
You will be one of many
killed in battle and gone down
    to the deep rocky pit.[b]
20 You won't be buried with kings;
you ruined your country
    and murdered your people.

You evil monster!
We hope that your family
    will be forgotten forever.
21 We will slaughter your sons
to make them pay for the crimes
    of their ancestors.
They won't take over the world
or build cities
    anywhere on this earth.

22 The Lord All-Powerful has promised to attack Babylonia and destroy everyone there, so that none of them will ever be remembered again. 23 The Lord will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.

Assyria Will Be Punished

24 (C) The Lord All-Powerful
    has made this promise:
Everything I have planned
    will happen just as I said.
25 I will wipe out every Assyrian
    in my country,
and I will crush those
    on my mountains.
I will free my people
from slavery
    to the Assyrians.
26 I have planned this
    for the whole world,
and my mighty arm
    controls every nation.
27 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have made these plans.
    No one can stop me now!

The Philistines Will Be Punished

28 (D) This message came from the Lord in the year King Ahaz died:[c]

29 (E) Philistines, don't be happy
    just because the rod
that punished you
    is broken.
That rod will become
a poisonous snake, and then
    a flying fiery dragon.

30 The poor and needy will find
pastures for their sheep
    and will live in safety.
But I will starve some of you,
    and others will be killed.

31 Cry and weep in the gates
of your towns,
    you Philistines!
Smoke blows in from the north,[d]
    and every soldier is ready.
32 If a messenger comes
from a distant nation,
    you must say:
“The Lord built Zion.
Even the poorest of his people
    will find safety there.”

Moab Will Be Punished

15 (F) This is a message about Moab:

The towns of Ar and Kir
were destroyed in a night.
    Moab is left in ruins!
Everyone in Dibon has gone up
to the temple[e] and the shrines
    to cry and weep.
All of Moab is crying.
Heads and beards are shaved[f]
    because of what happened
    at Nebo and Medeba.
In the towns and at home,
everyone wears sackcloth
    and cries loud and long.
From Heshbon and Elealeh,
    weeping is heard in Jahaz;
Moab's warriors scream
    while trembling with fear.

Pity Moab

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.
The streams of Nimrim
and the grasslands
    have dried up.
Every plant is parched.

The people of Moab are leaving,
    crossing over Willow Creek,
taking everything they own
    and have worked for.
In the towns of Eglaim
    and of Beerelim
and everywhere else in Moab
    mournful cries are heard.
The streams near Dimon
    are flowing with blood.
But the Lord will bring
    even worse trouble to Dimon,[g]
because all in Moab who escape
    will be attacked by lions.[h]

More Troubles for Moab

16 Send lambs[i] as gifts
    to the ruler of the land.
Send them across the desert
    from Sela[j] to Mount Zion.
The women of Moab
    crossing the Arnon River
are like a flock of birds
    scattered from their nests.
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.
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.
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

We have heard of Moab's pride.
Its people strut and boast,
    but without reason.
Tell everyone in Moab
    to mourn for their nation.
Tell them to cry and weep
for those fancy raisins[k]
    of Kir-Hareseth.

Vineyards near Heshbon
and Sibmah
    have turned brown.
The rulers of nations
    used to get drunk
on wine from those vineyards[l]
    that spread to Jazer,
then across the desert
    and beyond the sea.

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

  1. 14.4 He … again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 14.19 deep rocky pit: The world of the dead.
  3. 14.28 King Ahaz died: 715 b.c.
  4. 14.31 north: The Assyrian and Babylonian attacks came from the north.
  5. 15.2 Everyone … temple: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 15.2 Heads … shaved: As a sign of sorrow and mourning.
  7. 15.9 Dimon … Dimon: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation have “Dibon … Dibon.”
  8. 15.9 lions: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
  9. 16.1 lambs: The main product of Moab.
  10. 16.1 Sela: A town in Edom.
  11. 16.7 fancy raisins: The Hebrew text has “raisin-cakes,” which could mean either the rich produce or the prosperous farmers.
  12. 16.8 The rulers … vineyards: Or “The rulers of nations have destroyed those vineyards.”

Bible Gateway Recommends