When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹ 

Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storehouses; Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the towns, and in the towers.

A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. ¹  They reasoned, ²  “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?”

You visit the earth and give it rain; ¹  you make it rich and fertile ²  with overflowing streams full of water. ³  You provide grain for them, ⁴  for you prepare the earth to yield its crops. ⁵ 

The Beloved to the Maidens: I adjure you, ¹  O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does ²  of the open fields: ³  Do not awaken or arouse ⁴  love ⁵  until it pleases! ⁶ 

The Adjuration Refrain The Beloved to the Maidens: ¹ I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: “Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!”

I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated,

Please let the Moabite fugitives live ¹  among you. Hide them ²  from the destroyer!” Certainly ³  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁴  the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear ⁵  from the earth.

Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards, and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts; no one treads out juice in the wine vats ¹  – I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. ² 

They will all be left ¹  for the birds of the hills and the wild animals; ²  the birds will eat them during the summer, and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.

Once he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant, sow the seed of the cumin plant, and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? ¹ 

The dry soil will become a pool of water, the parched ground springs of water. Where jackals once lived and sprawled out, grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

For I will pour water on the parched ground ¹  and cause streams to flow ²  on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children.

Indeed you will go out with joy; you will be led along in peace; the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you, and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. ¹  They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. ²  So the land is dried up ³  because it is under his curse. ⁴  The pastures in the wilderness are withered.

The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. ¹  I, the Lord, have spoken! ² 

Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon. Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time. ¹  Let all the foreigners return to their own people. Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army. ² 

But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full ¹  on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. ² 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  has solemnly sworn, ²  ‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. ³  They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’