Daily Bible Reading

1Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,

from Sela, by way of the desert,

to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2Like fleeing birds,

like a scattered nest,

so are the daughters of Moab

at the fords of the Arnon.

3“Give counsel;

grant justice;

make your shade like night

at the height of noon;

shelter the outcasts;

do not reveal the fugitive;

4let the outcasts of Moab

sojourn among you;

be a shelter to them

from the destroyer.

When the oppressor is no more,

and destruction has ceased,

and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,

5then a throne will be established in steadfast love,

and on it will sit in faithfulness

in the tent of David

one who judges and seeks justice

and is swift to do righteousness.”

6We have heard of the pride of Moab—

how proud he is!—

of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;

in his idle boasting he is not right.

7Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,

let everyone wail.

Mourn, utterly stricken,

for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish,

and the vine of Sibmah;

the lords of the nations

have struck down its branches,

which reached to Jazer

and strayed to the desert;

its shoots spread abroad

and passed over the sea.

9Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer

for the vine of Sibmah;

I drench you with my tears,

O Heshbon and Elealeh;

for over your summer fruit and your harvest

the shout has ceased.

10And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field,

and in the vineyards no songs are sung,

no cheers are raised;

no treader treads out wine in the presses;

I have put an end to the shouting.

11Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,

and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

12And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.”

1Send lambs as tribute

to the ruler of the land,

from Sela, across the desert,

to the mount of Daughter Zion.

2Like fluttering birds

pushed from the nest,

so are the women of Moab

at the fords of the Arnon.

3“Make up your mind,” Moab says.

“Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—

at high noon.

Hide the fugitives,

do not betray the refugees.

4Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

be their shelter from the destroyer.”

The oppressor will come to an end,

and destruction will cease;

the aggressor will vanish from the land.

5In love a throne will be established;

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house of David—

one who in judging seeks justice

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

6We have heard of Moab’s pride—

how great is her arrogance!—

of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;

but her boasts are empty.

7Therefore the Moabites wail,

they wail together for Moab.

Lament and grieve

for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.

8The fields of Heshbon wither,

the vines of Sibmah also.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled down the choicest vines,

which once reached Jazer

and spread toward the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and went as far as the sea.

9So I weep, as Jazer weeps,

for the vines of Sibmah.

Heshbon and Elealeh,

I drench you with tears!

The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit

and over your harvests have been stilled.

10Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;

no one sings or shouts in the vineyards;

no one treads out wine at the presses,

for I have put an end to the shouting.

11My heart laments for Moab like a harp,

my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.

12When Moab appears at her high place,

she only wears herself out;

when she goes to her shrine to pray,

it is to no avail.

13This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14But now the Lord says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”