1. This is what the Lord says:“Because Moab has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment.They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.
2. So I will set Moab on fire,and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses.Moab will perish in the heat of battleamid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn.
3. I will remove Moab’s leader;I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.”The Lord has spoken!
4. This is what the Lord says:“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment.They rejected the Lord’s law;they did not obey his commands.Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal,led them astray.
5. So I will set Judah on fire,and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
6. This is what the Lord says:“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment.They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.
7. They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;they push the destitute away.A man and his father go to the same girl;in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.
8. They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar!They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;they do so right in the temple of their God!
9. For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.They were as tall as cedarsand as strong as oaks,but I destroyed the fruit on their branchesand their roots in the ground.
10. I brought you up from the land of Egypt;I led you through the wilderness for forty yearsso you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
11. I made some of your sons prophetsand some of your young men Nazirites.Is this not true, you Israelites?”The Lord is speaking!
12. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
13. Look! I will press you down,like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.
14. Fast runners will find no place to hide;strong men will have no strength left;warriors will not be able to save their lives.
15. Archers will not hold their ground;fast runners will not save their lives,nor will those who ride horses.
16. Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.”The Lord is speaking!