Isaiah
Chapter 16
1 Send a lamb to the land’s leader, from Sela through the desert, to the mountain of Zion’s people.
2 Like a bird that is forced out of its nest, so will the women of Moab be at the Arnon River crossings.
3 Get advice, make fair decisions; protect like darkness at midday; hide those who are cast out; do not betray the wanderer.
4 Let my exiles live with you, Moab; protect them from the destroyer, because the one who takes by force is finished, the destroyer stops, the oppressors are gone from the land.
5 The throne will be set up with kindness, and he will sit on it honestly in David’s tent, making fair decisions and quickly doing what is right.
6 We’ve heard about Moab’s pride; he’s very arrogant: with his haughtiness, his pride, and his anger. But his lies will not stand.
7 So Moab will cry for itself, everyone will cry. You will grieve for the ruins of Kirhareseth, indeed, they are broken.
8 The fields of Heshbon are weak, and the grapevines of Sibmah are ruined. Foreign rulers have destroyed their best plants. They reached even to Jazer, they spread out into the desert. Their shoots spread far and crossed the sea.
9 So, I will mourn for Jazer’s vines and Sibmah’s grapes: I will cry for you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, because no one shouts for joy over your summer fruits and harvest anymore.
10 Happiness is gone, and joy from the fertile land; in the vineyards there is no singing or shouting: those who crush grapes will make no wine in their vats; I have stopped their harvest celebrations.
11 So I feel deep sadness for Moab like a harp plays sad music, and my heart cries for Kirharesh.
12 When it’s seen that Moab is tired on the high ground, he will go to his holy place to pray, but he will not succeed.
13 This is what God has said about Moab long ago.
14 But now God has said, “In three years, like a worker’s contract time, Moab’s pride will be looked down on, along with its large crowd; and the survivors will be few and weak.”