“Come down from your glory
and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon,
for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too.
They will tear down all your towers.
You people of Aroer,
stand beside the road and watch.
Shout to those who flee from Moab,
‘What has happened there?’
“And the reply comes back,
‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River:
Moab has been destroyed!’
Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—
on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
on Kerioth and Bozrah—
all the towns of Moab, far and near.
“The strength of Moab has ended.
His arm has been broken,” says the LORD.
“Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard,
for he has rebelled against the LORD.
Moab will wallow in his own vomit,
ridiculed by all.
Did you not ridicule the people of Israel?
Were they caught in the company of thieves
that you should despise them as you do?
“You people of Moab,
flee from your towns and live in the caves.
Hide like doves that nest
in the clefts of the rocks.
We have all heard of the pride of Moab,
for his pride is very great.
We know of his lofty pride,
his arrogance, and his haughty heart.
I know about his insolence,”
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.