1Send lambs to the ruler of the land,a

from Sela in the desertb

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 Moabd from the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,

destruction has ended,

and marauders have vanished from the land.

5Then in the tent of David

a throne will be established by faithful love.e

A judge who seeks what is right

and is quick to execute justice

will sit on the throne forever.

6We have heard of Moab’s pridef —

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.

Mourn, you who are completely devastated,

for the raisin cakesg of Kir-hareseth.h

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 Jazeri

and spread to the desert.

Their shoots spread out

and reached the Dead Sea.j

9So I join with Jazer

to weep for the vines of Sibmah;

I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.

Triumphant shouts have fallen silentk

over your summer fruit and your harvest.

10Joy and rejoicingl have been removed from the orchard;

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

No one tramples grapesn in the winepresses.

I have put an end to the shouting.

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

as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

12When Moab appears on the •high place,

when he tiresp himself outq

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.”