IsaiahChapter 16
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1Send lambs to the ruler of the land as payment.
Send them from Sela in the desert
to the mountain of Daughter Zion. 2The daughters of Moab are at the shallow crossings of the Arnon.
They are like birds flapping around
after being pushed out of the nest. 3"Give us advice.
Make a decision.
At noon, cover us with shade as dark as night.
Hide the people who have run away.
Don't give away the one who is running. 4Let my people who ran away stay with you.
Be a safe place for Moab from the destroyer."
When the cruel ruler is gone,
when the destroying has stopped,
and when those who crush others have disappeared from the land, 5a throne will be set up in faithful love
in the tent of David.
A judge will sit on it in faithfulness.
He will look for justice
and be quick to do what is right. 6We have heard about Moab's pride.
He is very proud and full of himself.
His pride overflows.
But his bragging is empty. 7So let Moab cry.
Let them all cry together for Moab.
Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,
you who are struck down completely. 8For the fields of Heshbon have dried up.
The grapevines of Sibmah have dried up too.
The rulers of the nations
have stomped on its best vines.
Those vines once reached as far as Jazer.
They spread out toward the desert.
Their branches spread out and went across the sea. 9So I weep with Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,
I soak you with my tears.
The happy shouts over your summer fruit and harvest
have gone silent. 10Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchard.
No one sings or shouts in the vineyards.
No one stomps grapes in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the cheering. 11So my heart cries for Moab like a sad song on a harp.
Deep inside, I cry for Kir-heres. 12Moab will go to the high place.
He will wear himself out.
He will go into his holy place to pray.
But it will do him no good. 13This is the message the LORD spoke about Moab in the past. 14But now the LORD says, "In three years, as a hired worker counts years, Moab's glory will be looked down on. All her many people will be shamed. Those who are left will be few and weak."