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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].
2 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].
3 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].
4 ·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].
5 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.
6 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.
7 So the people gather up what they have ·saved [stored up]
and carry it across the ·Ravine [Brook; Stream] of the Poplars.
8 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.
9 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].
2 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.
3 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].
4 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.
5 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].
6 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].
7 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.
8 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].
9 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.
13 Earlier the Lord said these things about Moab. 14 Now the Lord says, “In three years ·all those people and what they take pride in [L the glory of Moab] will be ·hated [despised]. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time [C meaning carefully calculated, so as to be properly paid; 21:16].) There will be a few people left, but they will be ·weak [feeble].”
God’s Message to Aram
17 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Damascus:
“[L Look; T Behold] The city of Damascus will ·be destroyed [L cease to be];
only ruins will remain.
2 The cities of Aroer will be ·abandoned [deserted; desolate].
·Flocks will wander freely in those empty towns [L They will be for flocks];
they will lie down and no one will ·bother [disturb; frighten] them.
3 The ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of ·Israel [L Ephraim; C the most influential tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel] will be destroyed.
The ·government in Damascus will end [L kingdom from Damascus; C the capital of Syria].
·Those left alive [The remnant] of Aram [C Syria] will be
like the glory of Israel,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
4 “·At that time [L In that day] ·Israel’s wealth [L Jacob’s glory] will ·all be gone [or fade; wane].
·Israel will be like a body wasting away from sickness [L The fatness of his flesh will grow lean].
5 That time will be like the grain harvest in the Valley of Rephaim.
The workers cut the wheat.
Then they cut the heads of grain from the plants
and collect the grain.
6 That time will also be like ·the olive harvest [when an olive tree is beaten],
when ·a few olives [L gleanings] are left [24:13].
Two or three olives are left in the top branches.
Four or five olives are left on full branches,” says the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 ·At that time [L In that day] people will look to their Maker;
their eyes will ·see [or L look toward] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
8 They will not trust the altars ·they have made [L the work of their hands],
nor will they trust what their ·hands [L fingers] have made,
not even the ·Asherah idols [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah] and ·altars [incense altars].
9 ·At that time [L In that day] all their strong cities will be empty. They will be like the ·cities the Hivites and [or wooded heights] the Amorites left when the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] came to take the land. Everything will be ruined.
10 You have forgotten the God who ·saves [rescues] you;
you have not remembered ·that God is your place of safety [L the Rock, your stronghold/strength].
You plant ·the finest [beautiful; pleasant] plants
and grapevines from ·faraway [exotic; foreign] places.
11 You plant your grapevines one day and try to make them grow,
and ·the next day [in the morning] you make them blossom.
But ·at harvest time everything will be dead [L the harvest will be a heap/disaster];
·a sickness will kill all the plants [L in the day of disease and incurable pain].
12 ·Listen [or Woe] to the many people!
·Their crying is like the noise from the sea [They rage/roar like the raging/roaring sea].
·Listen [or Woe] to the nations!
Their ·crying [roar] is like the ·crashing [roaring] of great ·waves [waters].
13 The people roar like the ·waves [roaring of many waters],
but when ·God [L he] ·speaks harshly to [shouts at; rebukes] them, they will ·run [flee far] away.
They will be like chaff on the hills being blown by the wind,
or like ·tumbleweeds [L a rolling thing] blown away by a storm.
14 ·At night [L In the time of evening] ·the people will be very frightened [L look/T behold, terror!].
Before morning, ·no one will be left [the enemy will be gone; L he is no more].
This is the ·fate [portion] of those who ·steal from [plunder] us,
and ·what happens to [the lot of] those who ·rob [loot] us.
God’s Message to Cush
18 ·How terrible it will be for [Woe to; or Listen,] the land beyond the rivers of ·Cush [or Ethiopia; C the upper Nile region].
·It is filled with the sound of wings [L …the land of buzzing wings; or …the land of flapping sails].
2 That land sends ·messengers [envoys; ambassadors] across the sea;
they go on the water in boats made of ·reeds [papyrus; C light and speedy].
Go, ·quick [swiftly] messengers,
to a people who are tall and smooth-skinned,
who are feared ·everywhere [far and wide].
They are a powerful nation ·that defeats other nations [or who speak a strange language].
Their land is divided by rivers.
3 All you ·people [inhabitants] of the world, look!
Everyone who lives in the world, look!
You will see a ·banner [standard; signal flag] raised on a mountain.
You will hear a trumpet sound.
4 The Lord said to me,
“I will quietly watch from ·where I live [my dwelling place],
like ·heat in the sunshine [L glowing heat upon the light],
like ·the dew [L a cloud of dew] in the heat of harvest time.”
5 The time will come, after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest,
when ·new grapes will be budding and growing [the flower becomes a ripening grape].
·The enemy [or The Lord; L He] will cut the plants with pruning knives;
he will cut down the ·vines [branches; tendrils] and take them away.
6 They will be left for the ·birds [or birds of prey] of the mountains
and for the wild animals.
Birds will feed on them all summer,
and wild animals will eat them that winter.”
7 ·At that time [L In that day] ·a gift [tribute] will be brought to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned,
who are feared ·everywhere [far and wide].
They are a powerful nation ·that defeats other nations [or who speak a strange language].
Their land is divided by rivers.
These gifts will be brought to the place ·of [L of the name of] the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
to Mount Zion.
1 From Paul, an ·apostle [messenger]. ·I was not chosen to be an apostle by human beings, nor was I sent from human beings [L …not from men/humans or by a man/human authority]. ·I was made an apostle [L …but] through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 This letter is also from all ·those of God’s family [L the brothers (and sisters)] who are with me.
To the churches in Galatia [C a Roman province in present-day central Turkey; Paul started churches in Galatia on his first missionary journey (Acts 13—14)]:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to ·free [rescue; deliver] us from this ·evil world we live in [present evil age], as God the Father ·planned [willed; desired]. 5 ·The glory belongs to God [L …to whom be glory] forever and ever. Amen.
The Only Good News
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly ·turning away from [deserting; forsaking] ·God [L the one] who called you by ·his grace given through Christ [L the grace of Christ], and are believing ·something different than the Good News [L a different Gospel]. 7 ·Really, there is no other Good News [L …which is not another]. But some people are ·confusing [troubling; disturbing] you; they want to ·change [distort] the ·Good News [Gospel] of Christ. 8 But even if we ourselves or an angel from heaven were to preach to you a different message than the Good News we preached, ·we should be [L let him be] ·judged guilty [condemned; accursed; L anathema]! 9 I said this before, and now I say it again: If anyone is preaching a different message than the one you received, ·that person should be [L let him be] ·judged guilty [condemned; accursed; L anathema]!
10 Do you think I am now trying to ·make people accept me [seek human favor/acceptance]? ·No, God is the One I am trying to please [L …or (the favor of) God?]. Am I trying to please people? If I still wanted to please people, I would not be a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of Christ.
Paul’s Authority Is from God
11 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the ·Good News [Gospel] I preached to you was not ·made up by human beings [devised by man; of human origin]. 12 I did not get it from ·humans [a human source; man], nor did anyone teach it to me, but ·Jesus Christ showed it to me [L by a revelation of/from/about Jesus Christ; Acts 9].
13 [L For] You have heard about my past life in the Jewish religion. I ·attacked [intensely/severely persecuted] the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was ·becoming a leader in the Jewish religion [L advancing/progressing in Judaism], doing better than most other Jews of my age. I ·tried harder than anyone else [was exceedingly zealous] to follow the ·teachings handed down by our [traditions of my] ·ancestors [forefathers].
15 But God ·set me apart [or chose/appointed me] for his work ·even before I was born [L from my mother’s womb]. He called me through his grace 16 and ·showed [revealed] his son to me so that I might ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel] about him to the Gentiles [Acts 9:15; 22:21]. When God called me, I did not ·get advice or help from [confer/consult with] ·any person [L flesh and blood]. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. ·But [Instead; Rather] I went away to Arabia [C probably the Nabatean kingdom south of Damascus] and later went back to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to ·meet [get to know; or confer with; gain information from] ·Peter [L Cephas, Peter’s name in Aramaic; John 1:42] and stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 I ·met [or saw] no other apostles, except James [Acts 12:17; 15:13–21; 21:18; James 1:1], the brother of the Lord. 20 ·God knows that [or I swear before God that; L Before God,] these things I write are not lies. 21 Later, I went to the areas of Syria [C a Roman province north of Israel] and Cilicia [C a Roman province in present-day southeastern Turkey; Paul’s hometown Tarsus was in Cilicia].
22 In Judea the churches in Christ had never met me. 23 They had only heard it said, “This man who was ·attacking [persecuting] us is now preaching the same faith that he once tried to destroy.” 24 And these believers ·praised [glorified] God because of me.
Unfair Judges
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David.
58 Do you ·rulers [or silent ones; or gods; C sometimes spiritual beings such as angels are called “gods” in the OT; 82:1] really say what is ·right [righteous]?
Do you judge people ·fairly [with integrity]?
2 No, in your heart you plan evil;
you ·think up [dispense] ·violent crimes [violence] in the land.
3 From ·birth [L the womb], evil people ·turn away [go astray] from God;
they wander off and tell lies ·as soon as they are born [L from the belly; C another word for the womb; 51:5].
4 They ·are [L have poison/venom] like ·poisonous [venomous] snakes,
like deaf cobras that ·stop [plug] up their ears
5 so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer
no matter how ·well he plays [wisely/skillfully he enchants].
6 God, break the teeth in their mouths!
·Tear out [Uproot] the fangs of those lions, Lord!
7 Let them ·disappear [vanish] like water that flows away.
Let them ·be cut short like a broken arrow [L draw their arrows like they are cut off].
8 Let them be like ·snails [slugs] that ·melt [dissolve] as they move [C snails leave a slime as they move].
Let them be like a ·child born dead [stillborn] who never saw the sun.
9 His anger will blow them away alive
faster than burning thorns can heat a pot [C likely a reference to quick retribution].
10 ·Good [Righteous] people will be glad when they see ·him get even [vengeance].
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked [Is. 63:1–6; Rev. 14:19–20; 19:13–14].
11 Then people will say,
“There really are ·rewards [fruits] for ·doing what is right [the righteous].
There really is a God who judges the ·world [earth; land].”
12 ·Remember what you are taught [L Bring your heart to discipline/instruction],
·and listen carefully [L your ear] to words of knowledge.
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