New International Version NIV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Concerning Moab: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered.
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This is what the Lord Almighty said about Moab: "Pity the people of Nebo - their town is destroyed! Kiriathaim is captured, its mighty fortress torn down, and its people put to shame;
2 Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon people will plot her downfall: ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’ You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced; the sword will pursue you.
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the splendor of Moab is gone. The enemy have captured Heshbon and plot to destroy the nation of Moab. The town of Madmen will be silenced; armies will march against it.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction.
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The people of Horonaim cry out, "Violence! Destruction!'
4 Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out.
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"Moab has been destroyed; listen to the children crying.
5 They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
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Hear the sound of their sobs along the road up to Luhith, the cries of distress on the way down to Horonaim.
6 Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush in the desert.
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"Quick, run for your lives!' they say. "Run like a wild desert donkey!'
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials.
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"Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth, but now even you will be conquered; your god Chemosh will go into exile, along with his princes and priests.
8 The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because the LORD has spoken.
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Not a town will escape the destruction; both valley and plain will be ruined. I, the Lord, have spoken.
9 Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste ; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them.
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Set up a tombstone for Moab; it will soon be destroyed. Its towns will be left in ruins, and no one will live there again."
10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
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(Curse those who do not do the Lord's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)
11 “Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another— she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged.
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The Lord said, "Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavor has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.
12 But days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send men who pour from pitchers, and they will pour her out; they will empty her pitchers and smash her jars.
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"So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
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Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors, men valiant in battle’?
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"Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes, brave soldiers tested in war?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty.
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Moab and its cities are destroyed; its finest young men have been slaughtered. I am the king, the Lord Almighty, and I have spoken.
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly.
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Moab's doom approaches; its ruin is coming soon.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff!’
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"Mourn for that nation, you that live nearby, all of you that know its fame. Say, "Its powerful rule has been broken; its glory and might are no more.'
18 “Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon, for the one who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities.
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You that live in Dibon, come down from your place of honor and sit on the ground in the dust; Moab's destroyer is here and has left its forts in ruins.
19 Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, ‘What has happened?’
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You that live in Aroer, stand by the road and wait; ask those who are running away, find out from them what has happened.
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
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"Moab has fallen,' they will answer, "weep for it; it is disgraced. Announce along the Arnon River that Moab is destroyed!'
21 Judgment has come to the plateau— to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
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"Judgment has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,
22 to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
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Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
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Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon,
24 to Kerioth and Bozrah— to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
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Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgment has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn is cut off; her arm is broken,” declares the LORD.
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Moab's might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken."
26 “Make her drunk, for she has defied the LORD. Let Moab wallow in her vomit; let her be an object of ridicule.
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The Lord said, "Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh.
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule? Was she caught among thieves, that you shake your head in scorn whenever you speak of her?
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Moab, remember how you made fun of the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks, you who live in Moab. Be like a dove that makes its nest at the mouth of a cave.
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"You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine.
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride— how great is her arrogance!— of her insolence, her pride, her conceit and the haughtiness of her heart.
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Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,” declares the LORD, “and her boasts accomplish nothing.
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I, the Lord, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last.
31 Therefore I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out, I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
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And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres.
32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps, you vines of Sibmah. Your branches spread as far as the sea ; they reached as far as Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your ripened fruit and grapes.
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I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed.
33 Joy and gladness are gone from the orchards and fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy. Although there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy.
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Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the wine presses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
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"The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even Nimrim Brook has dried up.
35 In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods,” declares the LORD.
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I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the Lord, have spoken.
36 “So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone.
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"So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone.
37 Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
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All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth.
38 On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning, for I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants,” declares the LORD.
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On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants.
39 “How shattered she is! How they wail! How Moab turns her back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her.”
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Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations make fun of it. I, the Lord, have spoken."
40 This is what the LORD says: “Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab.
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The Lord has promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings,
41 Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
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and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the LORD.
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Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab,” declares the LORD.
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Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. The Lord has spoken.
44 “Whoever flees from the terror will fall into a pit, whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare; for I will bring on Moab the year of her punishment,” declares the LORD.
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Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because the Lord has set the time for Moab's destruction.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand helpless, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, a blaze from the midst of Sihon; it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters.
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Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames. Fire has burned up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab.
46 Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed; your sons are taken into exile and your daughters into captivity.
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Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshiped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.
47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
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But in days to come the Lord will make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what the Lord has said will happen to Moab.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.