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1 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken.

9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord.

39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

40 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.

44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

<html><b>Misgab</b> A place name.</html>

<html><b>in Heshbon…Madmen</b> These are place names, and according to their names he mentions their retribution. <b>you shall be a waste</b> Heb. תִּדֹּמִי.</html>

<html><b>her youths</b> Jonathan [renders]: Her governors, younger than the kings.</html>

<html><b>the ascent of Luhith</b> It is a place name, the ascent of a mountain.</html>

<html><b>like Aro’er</b> The tower of Aro’er that is made in the desert, and there is no civilization around it except tent dwellers, and a tower standing without an inhabited region appears as ruins. So did Jonathan render it. (See Isaiah 17:2, Commentary Digest.) But Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 137) explained כּערוער as the name of a tree of the forest trees.</html>

<html><b>Give wings to Moab</b> Heb. ציץ. Give wings to Moab. Every appendage that hangs or protrudes from man or beast is called ציץ. Cf. “And it shall be to you for fringes (לציצית)” (Num. 15:39); “And He took me by the locks (בציצית) of my head” (Ezek. 8:3). <b>for she shall fly away</b> Heb. נצא תצא. For with flight and haste you shall go forth into exile, and נָצֹא will be of the conjugation of נוֹצָה, a feather. So did Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 151) classify it, and so “Yea, they fled away (נָצוּ) and wandered” (Lam. 4:15). Jonathan renders: Remove the crown from Moab. Give others the crown of Moab.</html>

<html><b>the Lord’s work</b> The work of the destruction of Moab, which is the mission of the Omnipresent.</html>

<html><b>did not change</b> Heb. נָמָר.</html>

<html><b>men to pour</b> Heb. ציעים, those who pour. Cf. “What must be poured out (צֹעֶה) hastened to be opened” (Isa. 51:14). That is the moving of the bowels by pouring. <b>his jars</b> Heb. נבליהם [lit. their jars], the Moabites’ flasks. <b>smash</b> Heb. ינפצו, they shall break. Cf. “How were they regarded as earthen jars (לְנִבְלֵי) (Lam. 4:2). Also, “Every bottle (נֵבֶל) will be filled with wine” (supra 13.12).</html>

<html><b>of Chemosh</b> in whom they trusted. <b>of Beth-el</b> The golden calf.</html>

<html><b>Lament for them</b> Heb. נדו, an expression of lamentation. Cf. “and do not lament (תָּנוּד) for him.”</html>

<html><b>ask those who have fled and escaped</b> Ask those who flee and escape from Moab, what transpired, if anyone escaped from being destroyed</html>

<html><b>and judgment has come</b> Retribution has come.</html>

<html><b>Make him drunk</b> Give him to drink [the cup of] weakness until he is drunk. <b>he too</b> Just as Israel was derided by him [i.e., Moab].</html>

<html><b>you shake your head</b> Heb. תתנודד. You would shake your head and scoff at their destruction. Another interpretation: For because of your words about him, that you would sing about his destruction, you are going to wander (מתנודד) to go out into exile. And so did Jonathan render: Because you spoke many words about them, therefore you shall wander.</html>

<html><b>in the sides of the mouth of a pit</b> The place where the water passes under the high embankments of the bank of a wadi, and when the wadi is diminished, the pit is found to be empty, and the dove nests in one of the sides of the pit. And when the wadi increases, it inundates the nest and she wanders from there. So I heard, but Jonathan did not render in that manner, [but:] Be like a dove, that leaves the opening of the dovecote and goes down and rests at the bottom of a pit.</html>

<html><b>his wrath, and it is not so</b> His hatred of Israel is not in truth or in justice. <b>his mighty men</b> Heb. בדיו [lit.] his branches. <b>have not dealt properly</b> They did not recompense justly the seed of Abraham, who fought with the kings and saved Lot, their ancestor.</html>

<html><b>Kir-heres</b> A city of the land of Moab. <b>they shall moan</b> Moaning like moaning doves.</html>

<html><b>From the weeping of Jazar I will weep for you</b> When this prophecy was said, Jazer had already been destroyed, and that was near Moab. <b>I will weep for you</b> I will weep for you, similar to that other weeping [i.e., for Jazer], for you will be destroyed just like [Jazer]. <b>O grape vine of Sibmah</b> It was a land of vineyards. <b>your tendrils</b> Since he compared them to a grape vine, he compared their mighty men to the tendrils of the vine. <b>crossed the sea</b> i.e., they went into exile. <b>your dried figs</b> Heb. קיצך, an expression of dried figs, but קִצֵךְ (51:13), an expression of (קץ), an end, has no ‘yud’ and its ‘tzaddi’ has a ‘dagesh.’</html>

<html><b>shall be taken away</b> Heb. ונאספה, shall be ended that it shall not be seen. <b>one shall not tread</b> grapes with a voice of shouting, “Hedad!” with joy as they were wont to do. <b>The shouting shall be no shouting</b> The shouting that they will cry will not be the first shouting, but the shouting of fleeing the sword.</html>

<html><b>O third born heifer</b> Heb. עגלתשלישיה, mighty province.</html>

<html><b>because they dealt haughtily</b> יתרתעשה. Because they dealt haughtily, they perished.</html>

<html><b>scratches</b> Heb. גדדת.</html>

<html><b>Wail, “How was she dismayed?”</b> Wail about her and say, “How was she dismayed?”</html>

<html><b>like an eagle he shall soar</b> [i.e.,] the enemy [shall swoop] upon Moab. <b>shall soar</b> Heb. ידאה, shall fly.</html>

<html><b>Kerioth</b> Heb. הקריות, the name of the city.</html>

<html><b>Fright and a pit</b> These are two hard things, one next to the other, for fright causes him to flee, and the pit is ready to fall into. h.פַּחַת is (fosse in French) a pit.</html>

<html><b>In the shadow of Heshbon</b> which is high and has a shadow. <b>stood</b> Those who were fleeing [stood] to rest in the shadow since they had no more strength to flee. <b>from the city of Sihon</b> Heb. מבין, from the city of Sihon. Cf. “the city of (בֶּן) Reuben” in Joshua (15:6). <b>and the crown of the head</b> Heb. וקדקד, (estrit in Provencal or estrif in O.F. [to fight]) and Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 158) classified it as an expression of a spring (מָקוֹר) and Jonathan rendered: יַקִּירֵי the esteemed ones, an expression of יְקָר, esteem. <b>the tumultuous ones</b> Heb. בני שאון, those who would raise their voice with boasting.</html>