Isaiah, chapter 16

More Troubles for Moab

Send lambs as giftsO to the ruler of the land.

Send them across the desert from Sela to Mount Zion.

²The women of Moab crossing the Arnon RiverG

are like a flock of birds scattered from their nests.

³Moab'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.

⁴Let 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.

⁵Then a kingdom of love will be set up,

and someone from David's familyP

will rule with fairness.

He will do what is right and quickly bring justice.

Moab's Pride Is Destroyed

⁶We have heard of Moab's pride. Its people strut and boast,

but without reason.

⁷Tell everyone in Moab to mourn for their nation.

Tell them to cry and weepH

for those fancy raisins* of Kir-Hareseth.

⁸Vineyards near Heshbon and Sibmah have turned brown.

The rulers of nations used to get drunk on wine

from those vineyards*

that spread to Jazer, then across the desert and beyond the sea.

⁹Now I mourn like Jazer for the vineyards of Sibmah.

I shed tears for Heshbon and for ElealehO.

There will be no more harvest celebrationsH

¹⁰or 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.

¹¹Deep in my heart I hurt for Moab and Kir-Heres.

¹²It's useless for Moab's people to wear themselves out

by going to their altars to worship and pray.

¹³The Lord has already said all of this about Moab. ¹⁴Now 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.”