1Send the tribute lambsto the ruler of the land,from Sela in the desertto the mount of Daughter Zion.2Like fluttering birdspushed out of the nest,so are the daughters of Moabat the fords of the Arnon:3“Give us counsel;render a decision.Shelter us at noondaywith shade as dark as night.Hide the refugees;do not betray the one who flees.4Let my fugitives stay with you;be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.”

When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased,and the oppressors have vanished from the land,5in loving devotion a throne will be establishedin the tent of David.A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousnesswill sit on it in faithfulness.6We have heard of Moab’s pomposity,his exceeding pride and conceit,his overflowing arrogance.But his boasting is empty.7Therefore let Moab wail;let them wail together for Moab.Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,you who are utterly stricken.8For the fields of Heshbon have withered,along with the grapevines of Sibmah.The rulers of the nationshave trampled its choicest vines,which had reached as far as Jazerand spread toward the desert.Their shoots had spread outand passed over the sea.9So I weep with Jazerfor the vines of Sibmah;I drench Heshbon and Elealehwith my tears.Triumphant shouts have fallen silentover your summer fruit and your harvest.10Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard;no one sings or shouts in the vineyards.No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses;I have put an end to the cheering.11Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp,my inmost being for Kir-heres.12When Moab appears on the high place,when he wearies himselfand enters his sanctuary to pray,it will do him no good.13This is the message that the LORD spoke earlier concerning Moab.14And now the LORD says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts the years, Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, with all her many people. And those who are left will be few and feeble.”