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16 Send the king of the land
    the payment he demands.
Send a lamb from Sela through the desert
    to the mountain of Jerusalem.
The women of Moab
    try to cross the river Arnon
like little birds
    that have fallen from their nest.

They say: “Help us.
    Tell us what to do.
Protect us from our enemies
    as shade protects us from the noon sun.
Hide us, because we are running for safety!
    Don’t give us to our enemies.
Let those of us who were forced out of Moab live in your land.
    Hide us from our enemies.”

The robbing of Moab will stop.
    The enemy will be defeated;
    those who hurt others will disappear from the land.
Then a new loyal king will come;
    this faithful king will be from the family of David.
He will judge fairly
    and do what is right.

We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
    and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry,
    but their bragging means nothing.
So the people of Moab will cry;
    they will all be sad.
They will moan and groan
    for the raisin cakes they had in Kir Hareseth.
But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes;
    foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines.
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert;
    they had spread as far as the sea.
I cry with the people of Jazer
    for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
There will be no shouts of joy,
    because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit.
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards
    and no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one makes wine in the winepresses,
    because I have put an end to shouts of joy.
11 My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song;
    I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.
12 The people of Moab will go to their places of worship
    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 will be hated. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time.) There will be a few people left, but they will be weak.”

16 Send lambs(A) as tribute(B)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(C) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(D)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(E)
so are the women of Moab(F)
    at the fords(G) of the Arnon.(H)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(I)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(J) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(K) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(L)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(M) will be established;(N)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[a] of David(O)
one who in judging seeks justice(P)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(Q) pride(R)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(S)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(T) of Kir Hareseth.(U)
The fields of Heshbon(V) wither,(W)
    the vines of Sibmah(X) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(Y)
which once reached Jazer(Z)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(AA)
    and went as far as the sea.[b](AB)
So I weep,(AC) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(AD)
    I drench you with tears!(AE)
The shouts of joy(AF) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(AG) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(AH)
    no one sings or shouts(AI) in the vineyards;
no one treads(AJ) out wine at the presses,(AK)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(AL) like a harp,(AM)
    my inmost being(AN) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(AO)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(AP) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(AQ)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(AR) as a servant bound by contract(AS) would count them,(AT) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(AU) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(AV)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  2. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea