1 Send lambs as gifts
to the ruler of the land.
Send them across the desert
from Sela to Mount Zion.
2 The women of Moab crossing the Arnon River
are like a flock of birds scattered from their nests.
3 Moab's messengers say to the people of Judah,
“Be kind and help us!
Shade us from the heat
of the noonday sun. Hide our refugees! Don't turn them away.
4 Let our people live in your country
and find safety here.”
Moab, your cruel enemies
will disappear;
they will no longer attack
and destroy your land.
5 Then a kingdom of love will be set up,
and someone from David's family
will rule with fairness.
He will do what is right
and quickly bring justice.
Moab's Pride Is Destroyed
6 We have heard of Moab's pride.
Its people strut and boast,
but without reason.
7 Tell everyone in Moab to mourn for their nation.
Tell them to cry and weep for those fancy raisin
of Kir-Hareseth.
8 Vineyards near Heshbon and Sibmah
have turned brown.
The rulers of nations used to get drunk
on wine from those vineyards
that spread to Jazer,
then across the desert
and beyond the sea.
9 Now I mourn like Jazer for the vineyards of Sibmah.
I shed tears for Heshbon
and for Elealeh.
There will be no more
harvest celebrations
10 or joyful and happy times, while bringing in the crops.
Singing and shouting are gone
from the vineyards.
There are no joyful shouts
where grapes were pressed.
God has silenced them all.
11 Deep in my heart I hurt for Moab and Kir-Heres.
12 It's useless for Moab's people to wear themselves out
by going to their altars to worship and pray.
13 The Lord has already said all of this about Moab.
14 Now he says, “The contract of a hired worker is good for three years,
but Moab's glory and greatness won't last any longer than that.
Only a few of its people will survive, and they will be left helpless.”
