Isaiah 16

¹Send lambs to the ruler of the land, ^a

from Sela in the desert ^b

to the mountain of Daughter Zion.

²Like a bird fleeing,

forced from the nest,

the daughters of Moab

will be at the fords of the Arnon.

³Give us counsel and make a decision.

Shelter us at noonday

with shade that is as dark as night.

Hide the refugees; ^c

do not betray the one who flees.

⁴Let my refugees stay with you;

be a refuge for Moab ^d from the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,

destruction has ended,

and marauders have vanished from the land,

⁵a throne will be established in love, ^e

and one will sit on it faithfully ^f

in the tent of David,

judging and pursuing what is right,

quick to execute justice.

⁶We have heard of Moab’s pride ^g —

how very proud he is —

his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,

and his empty boasting.

⁷Therefore let Moab wail;

let every one of them wail for Moab.

You who are completely devastated, mourn

for the raisin cakes ^h of Kir-hareseth. ⁱ

⁸For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards

and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled its choice vines

that reached as far as Jazer ^j

and spread to the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and reached the sea. ^k

⁹So I join with Jazer

to weep for the vines of Sibmah;

I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.

Triumphant shouts have fallen silent ^l

over your summer fruit and your harvest.

¹⁰Joy and rejoicing ^m have been removed from the orchard;

no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards. ⁿ

No one tramples grapes ^o in the winepresses.

I have put an end to the shouting.

¹¹Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab, ^p

as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

¹²When Moab appears

and tires himself out on the high place ^q

and comes to his sanctuary to pray,

it will do him no good. ^r

¹³This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab. ¹⁴And now the Lord says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts years, ^s Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.”