2:1 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.
2:2 So I will set Moab on fire,
and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses.
Moab will perish in the heat of battle
amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn.
2:3 I will remove Moab’s leader;
I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
2:4 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.
2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
2:6 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.
2:7 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.
2:8 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!
2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.
They were as tall as cedars
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches
and their roots in the ground.
2:10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;
I led you through the wilderness for forty years
so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
2:11 I made some of your sons prophets
and some of your young men Nazirites.
Is this not true, you Israelites?”
The Lord is speaking!
2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;
you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
2:13 Look! I will press you down,
like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.
2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;
strong men will have no strength left;
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
2:15 Archers will not hold their ground;
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses.
2:16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking!