Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 304
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
48:32-45
says the Lord,
“but his boasts are empty—
as empty as his deeds.
So now I wail for Moab;
yes, I will mourn for Moab.
My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.
“You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards,
I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer.
Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea,
but the destroyer has stripped you bare!
He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.
Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab.
The presses yield no wine.
No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy.
There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.
“Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear
across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and
Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.
“I will put an end to Moab,” says the Lord, “for the people offer sacri
fices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. My heart
moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has dis
appeared. The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They
slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. There is crying and
sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed
Moab like an old, unwanted jar. How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See
the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin
to all its neighbors.”
This is what the Lord says:
“Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,
spreading his wings over Moab.
Its cities will fall,
and its strongholds will be seized.
Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish
like a woman in labor.
Moab will no longer be a nation,
for it has boasted against the Lord.
“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
O Moab,” says the Lord.
“Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will step into a snare.