New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.
1
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Moab, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because he had the bones of the king of Edom burned to dust.
2 So I will send a fire on Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
2
And I will send a fire on Moab, burning up the great houses of Kerioth: and death will come on Moab with noise and outcries and the sound of the horn:
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its officials with him, says the Lord.
3
And I will have the judge cut off from among them, and all their captains I will put to death with him, says the Lord.
4 Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but they have been led astray by the same lies after which their ancestors walked.
4
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Judah, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given up the law of the Lord, and have not kept his rules; and their false ways, in which their fathers went, have made them go out of the right way.
5 So I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.
5
And I will send a fire on Judah, burning up the great houses of Jerusalem.
6 Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—
6
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given the upright man for silver, and the poor for the price of two shoes;
7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way; father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
7
Crushing the head of the poor, and turning the steps of the gentle out of the way: and a man and his father go in to the same young woman, putting shame on my holy name:
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink wine bought with fines they imposed.
8
By every altar they are stretched on clothing taken from those who are in their debt, drinking in the house of their god the wine of those who have made payment for wrongdoing.
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of cedars, and who was as strong as oaks; I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath.
9
Though I sent destruction on the Amorite before them, who was tall as the cedar and strong as the oak-tree, cutting off his fruit from on high and his roots from under the earth.
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
10
And I took you up out of the land of Egypt, guiding you for forty years in the waste land, so that you might take for your heritage the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets and some of your youths to be nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? says the Lord.
11
And some of your sons I made prophets, and some of your young men I made separate for myself. Is it not even so, O children of Israel? says the Lord.
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, "You shall not prophesy."
12
But to those who were separate you gave wine for drink; and to the prophets you said, Be prophets no longer.
13 So, I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves.
13
See, I am crushing you down, as one is crushed under a cart full of grain.
14 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain their strength, nor shall the mighty save their lives;
14
And flight will be impossible for the quick-footed, and the force of the strong will become feeble, and the man of war will not get away safely:
15 those who handle the bow shall not stand, and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves, nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;
15
And the bowman will not keep his place; he who is quick-footed will not get away safely: and the horseman will not keep his life.
16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, says the Lord.
16
And he who is without fear among the fighting men will go in flight without his clothing in that day, says the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.