Isaiah 16

1Send a lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the wilderness to the mountain of daughter Zion.

2And like a wandering bird, like a scattered nest, so the daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.

3Bring counsel; make a decision. Make your shadow like the night in the middle of noon; hide the outcasts; do not betray the fugitive.

4Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; be a shelter for them from the destroyer. For the oppressor has come to an end, destruction has ceased, those who trample have vanished from the land.

5A throne will be established in steadfast love, and one will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David, judging and seeking justice and swift to do righteousness.

6We have heard of the pride of Moab—how very proud he is—of his arrogance, his pride, and his fury; his boasts are not so.

7Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; all of it will wail. You will moan for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth, utterly stricken.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah as well. The lords of the nations have struck down its choice vines; they reached as far as Jazer, they wandered into the wilderness; its shoots spread out and crossed the sea.

9Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, because over your summer fruit and over your harvest the battle shout has fallen.

10Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no one sings for joy, no one shouts; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the vintage shout.

11Therefore my inward parts moan like a harp for Moab, and my inner being for Kir-heres.

12And when it is seen that Moab is worn out on the high place, and he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not be able.

13This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab in time past.

14But now Yahweh has spoken, saying, “Within three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought low, with all its great multitude; and the remnant will be few, very small, not mighty.”