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God’s Message to Moab

15 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Moab:

In one night ·armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab [or Ar of Moab is destroyed/laid waste],
    and ·it [or Moab] was ·destroyed [ruined].
In one night ·armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab [or Kir is destroyed/laid waste],
    and it [or Moab] was ·destroyed [ruined].
The ·people of Dibon [L Dibon] go to the ·places of worship [temple; L house] to ·cry [lament; weep].
    The people of Moab ·cry [wail] for the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
Every head is ·shaved [L bald]
    and every beard is cut off [C signs of sorrow, mourning, or humiliation].
In the streets they wear ·rough cloth [sackcloth; C to show their sadness].
    On the roofs [C roofs were flat and used as living and storage space in Palestine] and in the public squares,
they are ·crying loudly [wailing], ·with tears streaming down [or falling down weeping].
·People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh [L Heshbon and Elealeh] cry out loud.
    You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz.
Even the ·soldiers [armed men] ·are frightened [cry out; shout in terror];
    ·they are shaking with fear [L his soul wavers/trembles].

My heart cries with sorrow for Moab.
    Its ·people [fugitives] ·run away to Zoar for safety [L flee to Zoar];
    they run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
People are going up the ·mountain road to [ascent of] Luhith,
    ·crying [weeping] as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim,
    ·crying over [lamenting] their destruction.
But the water of Nimrim ·has dried up [are devastated/desolate].
    The grass has dried up,
and all the plants ·are dead [have failed/disappeared];
    nothing green is left.
So the people gather up what they have ·saved [stored up]
    and carry it across the ·Ravine [Brook; Stream] of the Poplars.
Crying ·is heard everywhere in [or echoes throughout the borders of] Moab.
    Their ·crying [wailing; howling] is heard as far away as the city Eglaim;
    it is heard as far away as Beer Elim.
The water of the city Dibon is full of blood,
    and I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon.
·I will send lions to kill [L A lion for] ·those left in [the fugitives of] Moab
    And ·those who remain in [the remnant/survivors of] the land.

16 Send lambs [C as tribute payment] to the ·king [ruler] of the land
Send it from Sela [C an Edomite city, later the Nabatean capital called Petra] through the desert
    to the mountain of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C Zion was the location of the Temple; 1:8].
The women of Moab
    ·try to cross the river [L at the fords of] Arnon
like little birds
    ·that have fallen [or pushed away; or scattered] from their nest.

They say: “·Help us [or Make a decision].
    ·Tell us what to do [or Grant us justice].
Protect us from our enemies
    as ·shade [L shade like night] protects us from the noon sun.
·Hide us, because we are running for safety [L Shelter the fugitives/outcasts]!
    Don’t ·give us to our enemies [betray/uncover the refugee].
Let ·those of us who were forced out [the fugitives/outcasts] of Moab live ·in your land [L among you].
    Hide ·us [L them] from ·our enemies [L the destroyer].”

The ·enemy [oppressor] will ·be defeated [come to an end].
    The ·robbing of Moab [L destruction] will stop;
    those who ·hurt others [L trample] will disappear from the land.
Then a ·new loyal king will come [L throne will be established in faithfulness/lovingkindness];
    ·this faithful king will be from the family of David [L he will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; 9:1–7; 11:1–16].
He will judge ·fairly [with justice]
    and ·do what is right [hasten righteousness].

We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
    and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry,
    but their bragging ·means nothing [is empty].
So ·the people of Moab will cry [L Moab wails for Moab];
    they will all ·be sad [wail].
They will ·moan and groan [or mourn, utterly stricken]
    for the raisin cakes [C perhaps associated with pagan ritual (Hos. 3:1); also known as an aphrodisiac (Song 2:5)] they had in Kir Hareseth.
But the fields of Heshbon ·cannot grow grapes [wither; dry up; L languish];
    and the vines of Sibmah dry up;
    ·foreign rulers [L lords of the nations] have ·destroyed [struck down] the ·grapevines [choice plants].
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert;
    they had spread as far as the sea [C probably the Dead Sea].
I ·cry [weep] with the people of Jazer
    for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will ·cry with the [or drench you with tears, you] people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
·There will be no shouts of joy,
    because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit [or Your enemies shout for joy over your fruit and harvest].
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards
    and no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one ·makes [treads/stomps out] wine in the winepresses,
    because I have put an end to shouts of joy.
11 My ·heart cries [inner parts moan/sigh] for Moab like a ·harp playing a funeral song [L harp];
    ·I am very sad [L my inner being] for Kir Hareseth.
12 The people of Moab will ·go to their places of worship [L appear and grow weary at their high places]
    and will try to pray.
But when they go to their temple to pray,
    they will not be able.

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