Isaiah

Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

1Send lambs as payment to the ruler of the land. Send them from Sela, across the desert, to the mountain of Zion, the city of Jerusalem.

NoteSending lambs was a way of paying tribute — a payment a weaker nation sent to a stronger ruler to stay on good terms. Sela was a city in Edom, south of Moab.

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

2The women of Moab at the crossing places of the Arnon River are like birds pushed out of the nest, fluttering with nowhere to land.

3Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

3They say: "Give us advice. Make a fair decision for us. At noon, spread shade over us as dark as night. Hide the people who have run away. Do not hand over the one who is fleeing."

Note"Bewray" in the KJV means betray or give away, not anything to do with the modern word "betray" being softened. It means: do not turn the runaway over to those chasing him.

4Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

4"Let my people who fled live with you, Moab. Be a hiding place for them from the one who destroys." The robber will come to an end. The destroyer will stop. Cruel rulers will be wiped out of the land.

5And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

5Then a throne will be set up by steady love. In the tent of David a king will sit on it, and he will be faithful. He will judge, look for what is right, and be quick to do it.

6We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

6We have heard how proud Moab is. He is very proud, full of himself, and full of anger. But his big talk is empty.

7Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

7So the people of Moab will cry out loud. Every one of them will cry. Mourn for the foundations of Kirhareseth, for they are struck down.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

8The fields of Heshbon have dried up, and so have the grapevines of Sibmah. Foreign rulers have broken down its best vines. Those vines once reached as far as Jazer and spread into the desert. Their branches spread out and crossed the sea.

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

9So I weep for the vines of Sibmah, just as Jazer weeps. I soak you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh. The happy shouting over your summer fruit and your harvest has stopped.

10And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.

10Gladness and joy are taken away from the rich farmland. No one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one crushes grapes for wine in the presses. I have put an end to the harvest cheering.

11Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

11Deep inside, my heart moans for Moab like the low sound of a harp. My whole body aches for Kirharesh.

12And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

12Here is what will happen. Moab will wear himself out at the worship place on the hill. Then he will go into his holy place to pray. It will do him no good.

Note"He shall not prevail" means he will not succeed. His praying will not get him what he wants.

13This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

13This is the message the LORD spoke about Moab long ago.

14But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

14But now the LORD says this: Within three years, counted exactly the way a hired worker counts them, Moab's glory will be treated with scorn. All its huge crowd of people will share that shame. Only a few will be left, and they will be weak.

Note"As the years of an hireling" means counted strictly, like a hired worker counting the days he is owed — not a day more or less. "Contemned" means looked down on with scorn.