Isaiah 16

1Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

1Send lambs as a tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela through the desert to the mountain of daughter Zion.

2For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.

2The women of Moab at the crossing of the Arnon River are like fluttering birds pushed out of a nest.

3Give counsel, execute justice; make thy shade as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; betray not the fugitive.

3'Give us advice, make a decision. Protect us like a dark shadow in the middle of the day. Hide the refugees; do not betray the ones escaping.'

4Let mine outcasts dwell with thee; as for Moab, be thou a covert to him from the face of the destroyer. For the extortioner is brought to nought, destruction ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

4'Let the refugees of Moab stay with you; be a hiding place for them from the destroyer.' For the oppressor will come to an end, destruction will stop, and those who trample others will disappear from the land.

5And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness; and one shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of David, judging, and seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.

5Then a throne will be established in steady love. A faithful king from the family of David will sit on it. He will be a judge who seeks justice and is quick to do what is right.

6We have heard of the pride of Moab, thathe is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.

6We have heard about the pride of Moab—how very proud he is—about his conceit, his arrogance, and his anger; but his empty bragging means nothing.

7Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail: for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken.

7Therefore the people of Moab will wail for their country; everyone will wail. You will mourn and be completely discouraged because the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth are gone.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.

8The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah have withered. The rulers of the nations have struck down the best vines, which once reached all the way to Jazer and spread into the desert; their shoots spread out and reached the sea.

9Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen.

9So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah. I soak you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, because the joyful shouts over your summer fruit and your harvest have been replaced by the shouts of battle.

10And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease.

10Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards. No one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one treads out grapes in the winepresses, for I have put an end to the joyful shouts of harvest.

11Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.

11Therefore my heart moans like a harp for Moab, and my soul cries out for Kir-heres.

12And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.

12When the people of Moab appear and wear themselves out at their high places of worship, or go to their sanctuaries to pray, it will do them no good.

13This is the word that Jehovah spake concerning Moab in time past.

13This is the message that the LORD spoke about Moab in the past.

14But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.

14But now the LORD says: 'Within three years, as a servant counts time, the glory of Moab and all its great population will be despised. The few people left will be very small and weak.'