The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 The Message on Moab from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: "Doom to Nebo! Leveled to the ground! Kiriathaim demeaned and defeated, The mighty fortress reduced to a molehill,
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Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
2 Moab's glory - dust and ashes. Conspirators plot Heshbon's doom: 'Come, let's wipe Moab off the map.' Dungface Dimon will loudly lament, as killing follows killing.
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There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
3 Listen! A cry out of Horonaim: 'Disaster - doom and more doom!'
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A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
4 Moab will be shattered. Her cries will be heard clear down in Zoar.
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Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5 Up the ascent of Luhith climbers weep, And down the descent from Horonaim, cries of loss and devastation.
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For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6 Oh, run for your lives! Get out while you can! Survive by your wits in the wild!
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Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
7 You trusted in thick walls and big money, yes? But it won't help you now. Your big god Chemosh will be hauled off, his priests and managers with him.
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For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.
8 A wrecker will wreck every city. Not a city will survive. The valley fields will be ruined, the plateau pastures destroyed, just as I told you.
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And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.
9 Cover the land of Moab with salt. Make sure nothing ever grows here again. Her towns will all be ghost towns. Nobody will ever live here again.
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Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10 Sloppy work in God's name is cursed, and cursed all halfhearted use of the sword.
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Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
11 "Moab has always taken it easy - lazy as a dog in the sun, Never had to work for a living, never faced any trouble, Never had to grow up, never once worked up a sweat.
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Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
12 But those days are a thing of the past. I'll put him to work at hard labor. That will wake him up to the world of hard knocks. That will smash his illusions.
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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.
13 Moab will be as ashamed of god Chemosh as Israel was ashamed of her Bethel calf-gods, the calf-gods she thought were so great.
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And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
14 For how long do you think you'll be saying, 'We're tough. We can beat anyone anywhere'?
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How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
15 The destruction of Moab has already begun. Her choice young soldiers are lying dead right now." The King's Decree - his full name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
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Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
16 "Yes. Moab's doom is on countdown, disaster targeted and launched.
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The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17 Weep for Moab, friends and neighbors, all who know how famous he's been. Lament, 'His mighty scepter snapped in two like a toothpick, that magnificent royal staff!'
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All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!
18 "Come down from your high horse, pampered beauty of Dibon. Sit in dog dung. The destroyer of Moab will come against you. He'll wreck your safe, secure houses.
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Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.
19 Stand on the roadside, pampered women of Aroer. Interview the refugees who are running away. Ask them, 'What's happened? And why?'
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O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?
20 Moab will be an embarrassing memory, nothing left of the place. Wail and weep your eyes out! Tell the bad news along the Arnon river. Tell the world that Moab is no more.
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Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21 "My judgment will come to the plateau cities: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath;
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And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim;
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And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,
23 on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon;
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And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
24 on Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of Moab, far and near.
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And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25 "Moab's link to power is severed. Moab's arm is broken." God's Decree. The Sheer Nothingness of Moab
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The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.
26 "Turn Moab into a drunken sot, drunk on the wine of my wrath, a dung-faced drunk, filling the country with vomit - Moab a falling-down drunk, a joke in bad taste.
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Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27 Wasn't it you, Moab, who made crude jokes over Israel? And when they were caught in bad company, didn't you cluck and gossip and snicker?
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For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.
28 "Leave town! Leave! Look for a home in the cliffs, you who grew up in Moab. Try living like a dove who nests high in the river gorge.
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O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.
29 "We've all heard of Moab's pride, that legendary pride, The strutting, bullying, puffed-up pride, the insufferable arrogance.
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We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know" - God's Decree - "his rooster-crowing pride, the inflated claims, the sheer nothingness of Moab.
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I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.
31 But I will weep for Moab, yes, I will mourn for the people of Moab. I will even mourn for the people of Kir-heres.
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Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
32 I'll weep for the grapevines of Sibmah and join Jazer in her weeping - Grapevines that once reached the Dead Sea with tendrils as far as Jazer. Your summer fruit and your bursting grapes will be looted by brutal plunderers,
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O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
33 Lush Moab stripped of song and laughter. And yes, I'll shut down the winepresses, stop all the shouts and hurrahs of harvest.
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And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.
34 "Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, and the people in Jahaz will hear the cries. They will hear them all the way from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.
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From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
35 "I will put a stop in Moab" - God's Decree - "to all hiking to the high places to offer burnt sacrifices to the gods.
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Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36 "My heart moans for Moab, for the men of Kir-heres, like soft flute sounds carried by the wind. They've lost it all. They've got nothing.
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Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
37 "Everywhere you look are signs of mourning: heads shaved, beards cut, Hands scratched and bleeding, clothes ripped and torn.
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For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
38 "In every house in Moab there'll be loud lamentation, on every street in Moab, loud lamentation. As with a pottery jug that no one wants, I'll smash Moab to bits." God's Decree.
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There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
39 "Moab ruined! Moab shamed and ashamed to be seen! Moab a cruel joke! The stark horror of Moab!"
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They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.
40 God's verdict on Moab. Indeed! "Look! An eagle is about to swoop down and spread its wings over Moab.
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For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
41 The towns will be captured, the fortresses taken. Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight, like a woman giving birth to a baby.
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Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42 There'll be nothing left of Moab, nothing at all, because of his defiant arrogance against me.
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And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.
43 "Terror and pit and trap are what you have facing you, Moab." God's Decree.
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Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
44 "A man running in terror will fall into a trap. A man climbing out of a pit will be caught in a trap. This is my agenda for Moab on doomsday." God's Decree.
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He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
45 "On the outskirts of Heshbon, refugees will pull up short, worn out. Fire will flame high from Heshbon, a firestorm raging from the capital of Sihon's kingdom. It will burn off Moab's eyebrows, will scorch the skull of the braggarts.
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They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46 That's all for you, Moab! You worshipers of Chemosh will be finished off! Your sons will be trucked off to prison camps; your daughters will be herded into exile.
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Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
47 But yet there's a day that's coming when I'll put things right in Moab. "For now, that's the judgment on Moab."
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Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.