My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest, as one gathers up abandoned eggs, I gathered up the whole earth. There was no wing flapping, or open mouth chirping.” ¹ 

So I weep along with Jazer ¹  over the vines of Sibmah. I will saturate you ²  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly over your fruit and crops. ³ 

Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years ¹  Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.” ² 

For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted, and the ripening fruit appears, ¹  he will cut off the unproductive shoots ²  with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils. ³ 

Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea ¹  says this, O fortress of the sea: “I have not gone into labor or given birth; I have not raised young men or brought up young women.” ² 

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! ¹  The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, ²  demolished ³  its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁴ 

All the stars in the sky will fade away, ¹  the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. ² 

“Speak kindly to ¹  Jerusalem, ²  and tell her that her time of warfare is over, ³  that her punishment is completed. ⁴  For the Lord has made her pay double ⁵  for all her sins.”

Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.

He feeds on ashes; ¹  his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ² 

Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. ¹  You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ²  despite ³  your many incantations and your numerous amulets. ⁴ 

They will disappoint you, ¹  those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. ²  Each strays off in his own direction, ³  leaving no one to rescue you.”

Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹  Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity! Did you not smash ²  the Proud One? ³  Did you not ⁴  wound the sea monster? ⁵ 

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return; they will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, ¹  happiness and joy will overwhelm ²  them; grief and suffering will disappear. ³ 

This is what your sovereign master, ¹  the Lord your God, says: “Look, I have removed from your hand the cup of intoxicating wine, ²  the goblet full of my anger. ³  You will no longer have to drink it.

The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. ¹  They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. ² 

I will take away their harvests, ¹  says the Lord. There will be no grapes on their vines. There will be no figs on their fig trees. Even the leaves on their trees will wither. The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’” ² 

I hear my dear people ¹  crying out ²  throughout the length and breadth of the land. ³  They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion? Is her divine King ⁴  no longer there?’” The Lord answers, ⁵  “Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” ⁶ 

For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion. They will wail, ¹  ‘We are utterly ruined! ²  We are completely disgraced! For our houses have been torn down and we must leave our land.’” ³ 

You have been the object of Israel’s hopes. You have saved them when they were in trouble. Why have you become like a resident foreigner ¹  in the land? Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?