Prophecy against Moab

1Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

“Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed;

Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;

The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered.

2There is praise for Moab no longer;

In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:

‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’

You too, Madmen, will be silenced;

The sword will follow after you.

3The sound of an outcry from Horonaim,

‘Devastation and great destruction!’

4Moab is broken,

Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

5For by the ascent of Luhith

They will ascend with continual weeping;

For at the descent of Horonaim

They have heard the anguished cry of destruction.

6Flee, save your lives,

That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

7For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures,

Even you yourself will be captured;

And Chemosh will go off into exile

Together with his priests and his princes.

8A destroyer will come to every city,

So that no city will escape;

The valley also will be ruined

And the plateau will be destroyed,

As the Lord has said.

9Give wings to Moab,

For she will flee away;

And her cities will become a desolation,

Without inhabitants in them.

10Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work negligently,

And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood.

11“Moab has been at ease since his youth;

He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs,

And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

Nor has he gone into exile.

Therefore he retains his flavor,

And his aroma has not changed.

12Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors,

And men valiant for battle’?

15Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities;

His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”

Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16“The disaster of Moab will soon come,

And his calamity has swiftly hastened.

17Mourn for him, all you who live around him,

Even all of you who know his name;

Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter been broken,

A staff of splendor!’

18Come down from your glory

And sit on the parched ground,

O daughter dwelling in Dibon,

For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,

He has ruined your strongholds.

19Stand by the road and keep watch,

O inhabitant of Aroer;

Ask him who flees and her who escapes

And say, ‘What has happened?’

20Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered.

Wail and cry out;

Declare by the Arnon

That Moab has been destroyed.

21“Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the Lord. 26“Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.

28Leave the cities and dwell among the crags,

O inhabitants of Moab,

And be like a dove that nests

Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

29We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—

Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation.

30I know his fury,” declares the Lord,

“But it is futile;

His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.

31Therefore I will wail for Moab,

Even for all Moab will I cry out;

I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

32More than the weeping for Jazer

I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!

Your tendrils stretched across the sea,

They reached to the sea of Jazer;

Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest

The destroyer has fallen.

33So gladness and joy are taken away

From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.

And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses;

No one will tread them with shouting,

The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

34From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35I will make an end of Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.

36“Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord. 39“How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.”

40For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle

And spread out his wings against Moab.

41Kerioth has been captured

And the strongholds have been seized,

So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day

Will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

42Moab will be destroyed from being a people

Because he has become arrogant toward the Lord.

43Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you,

O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.

44“The one who flees from the terror

Will fall into the pit,

And the one who climbs up out of the pit

Will be caught in the snare;

For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,

The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.

45“In the shadow of Heshbon

The fugitives stand without strength;

For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon

And a flame from the midst of Sihon,

And it has devoured the forehead of Moab

And the scalps of the riotous revelers.

46Woe to you, Moab!

The people of Chemosh have perished;

For your sons have been taken away captive

And your daughters into captivity.

47Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab

In the latter days,” declares the Lord.

Thus far the judgment on Moab.

Prophecy against Ammon

1Concerning the sons of Ammon. Thus says the Lord:

“Does Israel have no sons?

Or has he no heirs?

Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad

And his people settled in its cities?

2Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“That I will cause a trumpet blast of war to be heard

Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon;

And it will become a desolate heap,

And her towns will be set on fire.

Then Israel will take possession of his possessors,”

Says the Lord.

3“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed!

Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,

Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament,

And rush back and forth inside the walls;

For Malcam will go into exile

Together with his priests and his princes.

4How boastful you are about the valleys!

Your valley is flowing away,

O backsliding daughter

Who trusts in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’

5Behold, I am going to bring terror upon you,”

Declares the Lord God of hosts,

“From all directions around you;

And each of you will be driven out headlong,

With no one to gather the fugitives together.

6But afterward I will restore

The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”

Declares the Lord.

Prophecy against Edom

7Concerning Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?

Has good counsel been lost to the prudent?

Has their wisdom decayed?

8Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Dedan,

For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him

At the time I punish him.

9If grape gatherers came to you,

Would they not leave gleanings?

If thieves came by night,

They would destroy only until they had enough.

10But I have stripped Esau bare,

I have uncovered his hiding places

So that he will not be able to conceal himself;

His offspring has been destroyed along with his relatives

And his neighbors, and he is no more.

11Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive;

And let your widows trust in Me.”

12For thus says the Lord, “Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it. 13For I have sworn by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.”

14I have heard a message from the Lord,

And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying,

“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

And rise up for battle!”

15“For behold, I have made you small among the nations,

Despised among men.

16As for the terror of you,

The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,

O you who live in the clefts of the rock,

Who occupy the height of the hill.

Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.

17“Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss at all its wounds. 18Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it. 19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is chosen I shall appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”

20Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 21The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea. 22Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

“Preach the Word”

1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Personal Concerns

9Make every effort to come to me soon; 10for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

16At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

19Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus. 21Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.

22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

PSALM 95

Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.

1O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

3For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

4In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

5The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

6Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you would hear His voice,

8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

9“When your fathers tested Me,

They tried Me, though they had seen My work.

10For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who err in their heart,

And they do not know My ways.

11Therefore I swore in My anger,

Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

PSALM 96

A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

1Sing to the Lord a new song;

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

3Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

4For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

5For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

6Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

8Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;

Bring an offering and come into His courts.

9Worship the Lord in holy attire;

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;

He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

12Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

13Before the Lord, for He is coming,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

And the peoples in His faithfulness.

9Like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard,

So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

10Like an archer who wounds everyone,

So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.

11Like a dog that returns to its vomit

Is a fool who repeats his folly.

12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.