1The Lord says,
“The people of Moab have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They burned the bones
of Edom’s king to ashes.
2So I will send fire to destroy Moab.
It will burn up Kerioth’s forts.
Moab will come crashing down with a loud noise.
War cries will be heard.
So will the blast of trumpets.
3I will kill Moab’s ruler.
I will also kill all its officials,”
says the Lord.
4The Lord says,
“The people of Judah have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They have refused to obey my law.
They have not kept my rules.
Other gods have led them astray.
Their people of long ago
worshiped those gods.
5So I will send fire to destroy Judah.
It will burn up Jerusalem’s forts.”
The Lord Judges Israel
6The Lord says,
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They sell into slavery those who have done no wrong.
They trade needy people
for a mere pair of sandals.
7They grind the heads of the poor
into the dust of the ground.
They refuse to be fair to those who are crushed.
A father and his son have sex with the same girl.
They treat my name as if it were not holy.
8They lie down beside every altar on clothes they have taken.
They lie on those clothes
until the owner pays back what is owed.
In the house of their God
they drink wine that was paid as fines.
9“Yet I destroyed the Amorites
to make room in the land for my people.
The Amorites were as tall as cedar trees.
They were as strong as oak trees.
But I cut off their fruit above the ground
and their roots below it.
10“People of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt.
I led you in the desert for 40 years.
I gave you the land of the Amorites.
11I raised up prophets from among your children.
I also set apart for myself some of your young people to be Nazirites.
Isn’t that true, people of Israel?”
announces the Lord.
12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
You commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13“A cart that is loaded with grain
crushes anything it runs over.
In the same way, I will crush you.
14Your fastest runners will not escape.
The strongest people will not get away.
Even soldiers will not be able
to save their own lives.
15Men who are armed with bows will lose the battle.
Soldiers who are quick on their feet will not escape.
Horsemen will not be able
to save their own lives.
16Even your bravest soldiers
will run away naked on that day,”
announces the Lord.
1Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: 3And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
4¶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6¶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:2.7 maid: or, young woman 8And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.2.8 the condemned: or, such as have fined, or, mulcted
9¶ Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 10Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. 12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.2.13 I am…: or, I will press your place, as a cart full of sheaves presseth 14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:2.14 himself: Heb. his soul, or, life 15Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.2.16 courageous: Heb. strong of his heart
