⁵ “Before I ^(A)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And ^(B)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have ^(C)appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

¹⁰ “See, ^(A)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
^(B)To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
^(C)To build and to plant.”

“Behold, waters are going to rise from ^(C)the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And ^(D)overflow the land and all its fullness,
The city and those who live in it;
And the men will ^(E)cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
³ “Because of the noise of the ^[b](F)galloping hoofs of his ^[c]stallions,
The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the limpness of their hands,
⁴ On account of the day that is coming
To ^(G)destroy all the Philistines,
To cut off from ^(H)Tyre and Sidon
Every ally that is left;
For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of ^(I)Caphtor.
⁵ “^(J)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
^(K)Ashkelon has been ruined.
O remnant of their valley,
How long will you ^(L)gash yourself?
⁶ “Ah, ^(M)sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Be at rest and stay still.
⁷ “How can ^[d]it be quiet,
When the Lord has ^(N)given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast—
There He has ^(O)assigned it.”

“Woe to ^(Q)Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
^(R)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and ^[e]shattered.
² “There is praise for Moab no longer;
In ^(S)Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, ^[f]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
³ “The sound of an outcry from ^(T)Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
⁴ “Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
⁵ “For by the ascent of ^(U)Luhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the ^[g]anguished cry of destruction.
⁶ “^(V)Flee, save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
⁷ “For because of your ^(W)trust in your own achievements and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And ^(X)Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
⁸ “A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the ^(Y)plateau will be destroyed,
As the Lord has said.
⁹ “Give ^[h](Z)wings to Moab,
For she will ^[i]flee away;
And her cities will become a ^(AA)desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
¹⁰ “^(AB)Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work ^(AC)negligently,
And cursed be the one who restrains his ^(AD)sword from blood.

¹⁴ “How can you say, ‘We are ^(AK)mighty warriors,
And men valiant for battle’?
¹⁵ “Moab has been destroyed and ^[m]men have gone up to ^[n]his cities;
His choicest ^[o](AL)young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”
Declares the ^(AM)King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
¹⁶ “The disaster of Moab will ^(AN)soon come,
And his calamity has swiftly hastened.
¹⁷ “Mourn for him, all you who live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, ‘How has the mighty ^[p](AO)scepter been broken,
A staff of splendor!’
¹⁸ “^(AP)Come down from your glory
And sit ^[q]on the parched ground,
O ^(AQ)daughter dwelling in ^(AR)Dibon,
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
¹⁹ “Stand by the road and keep watch,
O inhabitant of ^(AS)Aroer;
^(AT)Ask him who flees and her who escapes
And say, ‘What has happened?’
²⁰ “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been ^[r]shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the ^(AU)Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.

²⁸ “Leave the cities and dwell among the ^(BG)crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a ^(BH)dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
²⁹ “^(BI)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his ^(BJ)pride, his arrogance and ^[v]his self-exaltation.
³⁰ “I know his ^(BK)fury,” declares the Lord,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
³¹ “Therefore I will ^(BL)wail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
^[w]I will moan for the men of ^(BM)Kir-heres.
³² “More than the ^(BN)weeping for ^(BO)Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your tendrils stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
³³ “So ^(BP)gladness and joy are taken away
From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to ^(BQ)cease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

“Behold, one will ^(CD)fly swiftly like an eagle
And ^(CE)spread out his wings against Moab.
⁴¹ “Kerioth has been captured
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the ^(CF)hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a ^(CG)woman in labor.
⁴² “Moab will be ^(CH)destroyed from being a people
Because he has ^[ad]become ^(CI)arrogant toward the Lord.
⁴³ “^(CJ)Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.
⁴⁴ “The one who ^(CK)flees from the terror
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the snare;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their ^(CL)punishment,” declares the Lord.

“Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no heirs?
Why then has ^[ah]Malcam taken possession of Gad
And his people settled in its cities?
² “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“That I will cause a ^[ai](CT)trumpet blast of war to be heard
Against ^(CU)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her ^(CV)towns will be set on fire.
Then Israel will take ^(CW)possession of his possessors,”
Says the Lord.
³ “Wail, O ^(CX)Heshbon, for ^(CY)Ai has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
^(CZ)Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,
And rush back and forth inside the walls;
For ^[aj]Malcam will ^(DA)go into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
⁴ “How ^(DB)boastful you are about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
O ^(DC)backsliding daughter
Who trusts in her ^(DD)treasures, saying,
‘^(DE)Who will come against me?’
⁵ “Behold, I am going to bring ^(DF)terror upon you,”
Declares the Lord ^[ak]God of hosts,
“From all directions around you;
And each of you will be ^(DG)driven out ^[al]headlong,
With no one to gather the ^(DH)fugitives together.
⁶ “But afterward I will ^(DI)restore
The ^[am]fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”
Declares the Lord.

⁷ Concerning ^(DJ)Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Is there no longer any ^(DK)wisdom in ^(DL)Teman?
Has good counsel been lost to the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
⁸ “Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of ^(DM)Dedan,
For I ^[an]will bring the ^(DN)disaster of Esau upon him
At the time I ^[ao]punish him.
⁹ “^(DO)If grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
They would destroy only ^[ap]until they had enough.
¹⁰ “But I have ^(DP)stripped Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His ^[aq]offspring has been destroyed along with his ^[ar]relatives
And his neighbors, and ^(DQ)he is no more.
¹¹ “Leave your ^[as](DR)orphans behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your ^(DS)widows trust in Me.”

¹⁴ I have ^(DY)heard a message from the Lord,
And an ^(DZ)envoy is sent among the nations, saying,
“^(EA)Gather yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!”
¹⁵ “For behold, I have made you small among the nations,
Despised among men.
¹⁶ “As for the terror of you,
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
O you who live in the clefts of ^[au]the ^(EB)rock,
Who occupy the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as ^(EC)high as an eagle’s,
I will ^(ED)bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.

²³ Concerning ^(ES)Damascus.
“^(ET)Hamath and ^(EU)Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They are ^(EV)disheartened.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It ^(EW)cannot be calmed.
²⁴ “Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
^(EX)Distress and pangs have taken hold of her
Like a woman in childbirth.
²⁵ “How ^[bb]the ^(EY)city of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
²⁶ “Therefore, her ^(EZ)young men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will be ^[bc]silenced in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts.
²⁷ “I will ^(FA)set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the ^[bd]fortified towers of ^(FB)Ben-hadad.”

“Arise, go up to Kedar
And devastate the ^[be](FD)men of the east.
²⁹ “They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent ^(FE)curtains, all their goods and their ^(FF)camels,
And they will call out to one another, ‘^(FG)Terror on every side!’
³⁰ “Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares the Lord;
“For ^(FH)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you
And devised a scheme against you.
³¹ “Arise, go up against a nation which is ^(FI)at ease,
Which lives securely,” declares the Lord.
“It has ^(FJ)no gates or bars;
They ^(FK)dwell alone.
³² “Their camels will become plunder,
And their many cattle for booty,
And I will ^(FL)scatter to all the winds those who ^(FM)cut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares the Lord.
³³ “Hazor will become a ^(FN)haunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will a son of man reside in it.”

³⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to ^(FQ)break the bow of Elam,
The ^[bf]finest of their might.
³⁶ ‘I will bring upon Elam the ^(FR)four winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And will ^(FS)scatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
³⁷ ‘So I will ^[bg]shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will ^(FT)bring calamity upon them,
Even My ^(FU)fierce anger,’ declares the Lord,
‘And I will ^(FV)send out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
³⁸ ‘Then I will set My throne in Elam
And destroy ^[bh]out of it king and princes,’
Declares the Lord.
³⁹ ‘But it will come about in the last days
That I will ^(FW)restore the ^[bi]fortunes of Elam,’”
Declares the Lord.

² “^(FY)Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and ^(FZ)lift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘^(GA)Babylon has been captured,
^(GB)Bel has been put to shame, ^[bj]Marduk has been ^[bk]shattered;
Her ^(GC)images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’

⁶ “My people have become ^(GL)lost sheep;
^(GM)Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the ^(GN)mountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their ^(GO)resting place.
⁷ “All who came upon them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘^(GP)We are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the ^(GQ)habitation of righteousness,
Even the Lord, the ^(GR)hope of their fathers.’

²¹ “Against the land of ^[cb]Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of ^[cc](HT)Pekod.
Slay and ^[cd]utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
²² “The ^(HU)noise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
²³ “How the ^(HV)hammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
²⁴ “I ^(HW)set a snare for you and you were also ^(HX)caught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in ^(HY)conflict with the Lord.”
²⁵ The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the ^(HZ)weapons of His indignation,
For it is a ^(IA)work of the Lord ^[ce]God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
²⁶ Come to her from the ^[cf]farthest border;
^(IB)Open up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And ^[cg](IC)utterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
^27 (ID)Put all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them ^(IE)go down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their ^(IF)day has come,
The time of their punishment.

“Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of ^[cz]Leb-kamai
^[da]The ^(JZ)spirit of a destroyer.
² “I will dispatch ^[db]foreigners to Babylon that they may ^(KA)winnow her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her
In the day of her calamity.
³ “^[dc]Let not ^[dd]him who ^[de](KB)bends his bow ^[df]bend it,
^[dg]Nor let him rise up in his ^(KC)scale-armor;
So do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
⁴ “They will fall down ^[dh]slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
And ^(KD)pierced through in their streets.”

²⁵ “Behold, ^(LV)I am against you, ^(LW)O destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a ^(LX)burnt out mountain.
²⁶ “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be ^(LY)desolate forever,” declares the Lord.

“The daughter of Babylon is like a ^(MM)threshing floor
At the time ^[ek]it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of ^(MN)harvest will come for her.”

“Behold, I am going to ^(MS)plead your case
And ^(MT)exact full vengeance for you;
And ^(MU)I will dry up her ^[em]sea
And make her fountain dry.
³⁷ “^(MV)Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An ^(MW)object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
³⁸ “They will roar together like ^(MX)young lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
³⁹ “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And ^(MY)make them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may ^(MZ)sleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
⁴⁰ “I will bring them down like ^[en]lambs ^(NA)to the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.

“The broad ^(OK)wall of Babylon will be completely razed
And her high ^(OL)gates will be set on fire;
So the peoples will ^(OM)toil for nothing,
And the nations become ^(ON)exhausted only for fire.”