לְמוֹאָב כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הוֹי אֶל נְבוֹ כִּי שֻׁדָּדָה הֹבִישָׁה נִלְכְּדָה קִרְיָתָיִם הֹבִישָׁה הַמִּשְׂגָּב וָחָתָּה

Concerning Moav, so said the Lord of hosts, God of Israel: Woe to the city of Nevo, for it has been sacked, or: It is disgraced and despondent; the city of Kiryatayim is shamed, captured; the city of Misgav is also shamed and dismayed, or broken.

אֵין עוֹד תְּהִלַּת מוֹאָב בּחֶשְׁבּוֹן חָשְׁבוּ עָלֶיהָ רָעָה לְכוּ וְנַכְרִיתֶנָּה מִגּוֹי גַּם מַדְמֵן תִּדֹּמִּי אַחֲרַיִךְ תֵּלֶךְ חָרֶב

The glory of Moav is no more. In the city of Heshbon they devised evil against it. Heshbon passed through several hands following various wars, and over the course of time the enemies of Moav came to live there. Concerning Moav: Go and eliminate it from being a nation. The city of Madmen, too, will be eradicated; after you, your inhabitants, the sword will come.

קוֹל צְעָקָה מֵחֹרֹנָיִם שֹׁד וָשֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל

Despair rises from Moav: The sound of an outcry arrives from the city of Horonayim, depredation and great ruin.

נִשְׁבְּרָה מוֹאָב הִשְׁמִיעוּ זְעָקָה צְעִירֶיהָ

Moav is ruined, its young sounded an outcry.

כִּי מַעֲלֵה הַלּוּחִית — בִּבְכִי יַעֲלֶה בֶּכִי כִּי בְּמוֹרַד חֹרוֹנַיִם צָרֵי צַעֲקַת־שֶׁבֶר שָׁמֵעוּ

For one who climbs at the ascent of Mount Luhit, with weeping he will ascend, with weeping, for at the descent of Horonayim, the adversaries of Moav heard the cry of devastation.

נֻסוּ מַלְּטוּ נַפְשְׁכֶם וְתִהְיֶנָה כַּעֲרוֹעֵר בַּמִּדְבָּר

Flee, save your lives, and you, all these cities, will be like a solitary tree [aroer] in the wilderness. This is similar to “a solitary tree [arar] in the wilderness” (17:6), forsaken and desolate. However, it is also possible that this is referring to the place Aroer, which was located in a desert environment.

כִּי יַעַן בִּטְחֵךְ בְּמַעֲשַׂיִךְ וּבְאוֹצְרוֹתַיִךְ — גַּם־אַתְּ תִּלָּכֵדִי וְיָצָא כְמוֹשׁ בַּגּוֹלָה כֹּהֲנָיו וְשָׂרָיו יַחְדָּו

Moav’s security and tranquility will be shattered. For because you, Moav, trusted in your actions and in your treasures, you too will be captured, and Kemosh, your god, will go out into exile, his priests and his princes together.

וְיָבֹא שֹׁדֵד אֶל־כָּל־עִיר ועִיר לֹא תִמָּלֵט וְאָבַד הָעֵמֶק וְנִשְׁמַד הַמִּישֹׁר אֲשֶׁר אָמַר ה'

A plunderer will come to each and every city, and no city will escape; the valley will be eradicated and the plain destroyed, as the Lord said.

תְּנוּ־צִיץ לְמוֹאָב כִּי נָצֹא תֵּצֵא וְעָרֶיהָ לְשַׁמָּה תִהְיֶינָה מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב בָּהֵן

Give the crown [tzitz] of Moav away, as it, Moav, will depart in exile; and its cities will become desolation, without inhabitants in them. Some interpret the word tzitz to mean wings.

אָרוּר עֹשֶׂה מְלֶאכֶת ה'רְמִיָּה וְאָרוּר מֹנֵעַ חַרְבּוֹ מִדָּם

Cursed is one who performs the labor of the Lord, the killing of Moav, deceitfully, and cursed is one who withholds his sword from blood.

שַׁאֲנַן מוֹאָב מִנְּעוּרָיו וְשֹׁקֵט הוּא אֶל־שְׁמָרָיו וְלֹא־הוּרַק מִכְּלִי אֶל־כֶּלִי וּבַגּוֹלָה לֹא הָלָךְ עַל־כֵּן עָמַד טַעְמוֹ בּוֹ וְרֵיחוֹ לֹא נָמָר

The nation of Moav has been tranquil from its youth, from ancient times, and it is settled on its sediments, like wine that is left for a long time, whose dregs sink to the bottom; and it was not emptied from vessel to vessel. The Moavite people remained in its land, and into exile it did not go; therefore, its taste has remained in it, and its scent has not dissipated.

לָכֵן הִנֵּה־יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־ה' וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־לוֹ צֹעִים וְצֵעֻהוּ וְכֵלָיו יָרִיקוּ וְנִבְלֵיהֶם יְנַפֵּצוּ

Therefore behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and I will send to it rovers and they will set it roving [vetze’uhu]. This verb has various other interpretations as well: trample, shake, empty out, subjugate, and subdue. And its vessels they will empty of its wine, that is, its inhabitants and treasures, and their earthenware flasks, their cities and homes, they will shatter. Moav was a small nation that generally lived in peace and did not instigate great wars. However, things were about to change.

וּבֹשׁ מוֹאָב מִכְּמוֹשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר־בֹּשׁוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מבֵּית אֵל מִבְטֶחָם

Moav will be ashamed of and disillusioned with Kemosh, their god, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of the idol they placed in Beit El, an idol in which they trusted. Both of them placed their faith in idols and were ultimately disappointed.

אֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ גִּבּוֹרִים אֲנָחְנוּ וְאַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל לַמִּלְחָמָה!

How do you Moavites say: We are mighty and valiant men for battle?

שֻׁדַּד מוֹאָב וְעָרֶיהָ עָלָה וּמִבְחַר בַּחוּרָיו יָרְדוּ לַטָּבַח נְאֻם־הַמֶּלֶךְ ה' צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ

After all, Moav has been sacked, and its cities are gone, they no longer exist, and its choice youths have gone down to the slaughter – the utterance of the King, the Lord of hosts is His name, who owns the hosts of heaven and the hosts of earth.

קָרוֹב אֵיד מוֹאָב לָבוֹא וְרָעָתוֹ מִהֲרָה מְאֹד

The calamity of Moav is near to come, and its misfortune has hastened greatly.

נֻדוּ לוֹ כָּל־סְבִיבָיו וְכֹל יֹדְעֵי שְׁמוֹ אִמְרוּ אֵיכָה נִשְׁבַּר מַטֵּה־עֹז מַקֵּל תִּפְאָרָה !

Commiserate with it, all its surroundings and all who know its name, who are familiar with Moav, say: How has the staff of strength of Moav, the rod of splendor, a stable, grand kingdom, been broken?

רְדִי מִכָּבוֹד וּשְׁבִי בַצָּמָא יֹשֶׁבֶת בַּת דִּיבוֹן כִּי־שֹׁדֵד מוֹאָב עָלָה בָךְ שִׁחֵת מִבְצָרָיִךְ

Descend from your place of honor and sit in thirst, she who dwells with the daughter of Divon, the residents of Divon, for the plunderer of Moav has risen against you, and he destroyed your fortresses.

אֶל דֶּרֶךְ עִמְדִי וְצַפִּי יוֹשֶׁבֶת עֲרוֹעֵר שַׁאֲלִי נָס וְנִמְלָטָה אִמְרִי מַה־נִּהְיָתָה

Stand and watch by the way, inhabitant of Aroer. It is possible that Aroer was isolated from the war zone, and therefore its inhabitants stood on the road awaiting news of the battle. Ask he who flees and she who escapes; say to them: What has happened? What was the outcome of the war?

הֹבִישׁ מוֹאָב כִּי־חַתָּה הֵלִילוּ וּזְעָקוּ הַגִּידוּ בְאַרְנוֹן כִּי שֻׁדַּד מוֹאָב

Those in flight will respond: Moav is shamed because it is dismayed, broken; wail and cry out; tell in Arnon, the stream on the border of the land of Moav, that Moav has been sacked.

וּמִשְׁפָּט בָּא אֶל־אֶרֶץ הַמִּישֹׁר אֶל־חֹלוֹן וְאֶל־יַהְצָה וְעַל־מֵיפָעַת

Judgment, punishment, has come to the land of the plain: to Holon and to Yatza and to Mefaat,

וְעַל־דִּיבוֹן וְעַל־נְבוֹ וְעַל־בֵּית דִּבְלָתָיִם

to Divon and to Nevo and to Beit Divlatayim,

וְעַל קִרְיָתַיִם וְעַל־בֵּית גָּמוּל וְעַל־בֵּית מְעוֹן

to Kiryatayim and to Beit Gamul and to Beit Meon,

וְעַל־קְרִיּוֹת וְעַל־בָּצְרָה — וְעַל כָּל־עָרֵי אֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הָרְחֹקוֹת וְהַקְּרֹבוֹת

to Keriyot and to Botzra, cities in Moav, and to all the other cities of the land of Moav, the far and the near.

נִגְדְּעָה קֶרֶן מוֹאָב וּזְרֹעוֹ נִשְׁבָּרָה נְאֻם ה'

The prophet addresses Moav’s overweening pride: The horn of Moav has been cut down, and its arm has been broken – the utterance of the Lord.

הַשְׁכִּירֻהוּ כִּי עַל־ה' הִגְדִּיל וְסָפַק מוֹאָב בְּקִיאוֹ וְהָיָה לִשְׂחֹק גַּם־הוּא

Get him drunk, as he exalted himself against the Lord. The Moavites were not harmed by the wars between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, the foreign armies that took control of Israel did not tarry in Moav. Therefore, the Moavites were self-satisfied, and considered their safety as proof of the righteousness of their path. The prophet continues with the metaphor of a drunk person: And Moav will wallow in its vomit, it will suffer when throwing up, and in addition to the retribution itself, it, Moav, too will become a laughingstock, mocked by others.

וְאִם לוֹא הַשְּׂחֹק הָיָה לְךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אִם־בְּגַנָּבִים נִמְצָא — כִּי־מִדֵּי דְבָרֶיךָ בּוֹ תִּתְנוֹדָד

Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? You would constantly mock, enjoying Israel’s downfall. Was it found among thieves? For whenever you speak of it, you shake your head. Although the people of Israel are not thieves, whenever you speak of them you gesticulate in mockery; or: You lose your equanimity.

עִזְבוּ עָרִים וְשִׁכְנוּ בַסֶּלַע יֹשְׁבֵי מוֹאָב וִהְיוּ כְיוֹנָה תְּקַנֵּן בְּעֶבְרֵי פִי־פָחַת

Leave cities, and dwell in the rock, inhabitants of Moav; be like a dove that nests on the edge of an abyss, on a cliff edge. Doves often nest in rocks, and since there are several deep ravines in Moav, they would build their nests on the sides of cliffs. Similarly, you residents of Moav will be able to stay only in remote, dangerous places, out of your pursuers’ reach.

שָׁמַעְנוּ גְאוֹן־מוֹאָב גֵּאֶה מְאֹד גָּבְהוֹ וּגְאוֹנוֹ וְגַאֲוָתוֹ וְרֻם לִבּוֹ

We heard the pride of Moav, very proud; his conceit and his pride, his haughtiness and the arrogance of his heart. The Moavites considered themselves a great and important people.

אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי נְאֻם־ה' עֶבְרָתוֹ וְלֹא־כֵן בַּדָּיו לֹא־כֵן עָשׂוּ

I know his arrogant fury, his malicious, destructive pride – the utterance of the Lord – and it is unfounded; his deceitful, lying boasts were not truly accomplished, as they were of no substance. Alternatively, this means that his actual achievements did not correspond to his arrogance.

עַל־כֵּן עַל־מוֹאָב אֲיֵלִיל וּלְמוֹאָב כֻּלֹּה אֶזְעָק אֶל אַנְשֵׁי קִיר־חֶרֶשׂ יֶהְגֶּה

Alongside the reproof and the description of retribution, the prophet expresses his sensitivity toward the future suffering of Moav: Therefore, for Moav I will wail, and for Moav in its entirety I will cry out; for the men of the city of Kir Heres he, my heart, will moan.

מִבְּכִי יַעְזֵר אֶבְכֶּה־לָּךְ הַגֶּפֶן שִׂבְמָה נְטִישֹׁתַיִךְ עָבְרוּ יָם עַד יָם יַעְזֵר נָגָעוּ עַל־קֵיצֵךְ וְעַל־בְּצִירֵךְ שֹׁדֵד נָפָל

I will weep for you, vine of Sivma, a Moavite city around which vines were cultivated, like the weeping of Yazer, which has already been destroyed. The future mourning for Sivma will be like the earlier weeping for the city of Yazer, or even greater than that weeping. Your spreading branches, your children, crossed the sea when they departed in exile, until they touched, reached, the sea of Yazer; the plunderer descended upon your ripe fruits and on your grape harvest.

וְנֶאֶסְפָה שִׂמְחָה וָגִיל מִכַּרְמֶל וּמֵאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב וְיַיִן מִיקָבִים הִשְׁבַּתִּי לֹא־יִדְרֹךְ הֵידָד הֵידָד — לֹא הֵידָד

Joy and happiness will cease from the fertile field and from the land of Moav in general, and I have eliminated wine from the winepresses. One will not tread on grapes and chant: Hurrah, and even if they do issue shouts of hurrah, there will be no hurrah. These calls will not be sounded in a joyous context, but are cries of robbery.

מִזַּעֲקַת חֶשְׁבּוֹן עַד־אֶלְעָלֵה עַד־יַהַץ נָתְנוּ קוֹלָם מִצֹּעַר עַד־חֹרֹנַיִם עֶגְלַת שְׁלִשִׁיָּה כִּי גַּם־מֵי נִמְרִים לִמְשַׁמּוֹת יִהְיוּ

From the outcry of Heshbon to Elaleh, to Yahatz they raised their voice. Their cries will be heard all the way to Elaheh and Yahatz, and from Tzoar to Horonayim, with all crying over a choice calf, apparently the name or epithet of a certain place, as also the waters of Nimrim will become desolation.

וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי לְמוֹאָב נְאֻם־ה' מַעֲלֶה בָמָה וּמַקְטִיר לֵאלֹהָיו

I will eliminate for Moav – the utterance of the Lord – one who offers up on a shrine and one who burns to his gods. There will be no survivors to sacrifice offerings on behalf of Moav.

עַל־כֵּן לִבִּי לְמוֹאָב כַּחֲלִלִים יֶהֱמֶה וְלִבִּי אֶל־אַנְשֵׁי קִיר־חֶרֶשׂ כַּחֲלִילִים יֶהֱמֶה עַל־כֵּן יִתְרַת עָשָׂה אָבָדוּ

Although the prophet is basically happy about the downfall of the Moavites, he also shares in their suffering when he sees them stricken and their country in ruins. Therefore, my heart will sigh like flutes for Moav, and my heart will sigh like flutes for the men of Kir Heres, because the abundance that it had gotten, the fruits of their work, their savings, and their wealth, has been lost.

כִּי כָל־רֹאשׁ קָרְחָה וְכָל־זָקָן גְּרֻעָה עַל כָּל־יָדַיִם גְּדֻדֹת וְעַל־מָתְנַיִם שָׂק

For every head has a bald spot, with hair torn out in mourning, and every beard is shorn, on all hands are cuts, and on waists, sackcloth. The custom of tearing out hair and cutting oneself as a sign of mourning for the dead, which is prohibited for Israelites, was common among all the other nations of the region. The Moavites express their deep mourning by tearing out their hair and through self-mutilation.

עַל כָּל־גַּגּוֹת מוֹאָב וּבִרְחֹבֹתֶיהָ כֻּלֹּה מִסְפֵּד כִּי־שָׁבַרְתִּי אֶת־מוֹאָב כִּכְלִי אֵין־חֵפֶץ בּוֹ נְאֻם־ה'

On all the rooftops of Moav and in its thoroughfares it is entirely lamentation, as I have broken Moav like an unwanted vessel – the utterance of the Lord. Moav is a small land that will be smashed to pieces, and will never again be a country of consequence.

אֵיךְ חַתָּה — הֵילִילוּ אֵיךְ הִפְנָה־עֹרֶף מוֹאָב בּוֹשׁ וְהָיָה מוֹאָב לִשְׂחֹק וְלִמְחִתָּה לְכָל־סְבִיבָיו

How were you dismayed, or: How was your land smashed, they wailed, how did Moav turn its back in shame and discontent? Moav will become a laughingstock and a cause of dismay, a source of fear, for all its surroundings.

כִּי־כֹה אָמַר ה' הִנֵּה כַנֶּשֶׁר יִדְאֶה וּפָרַשׂ כְּנָפָיו אֶל־מוֹאָב

The prophet summarizes the retribution and the lamentation. For so said the Lord: Behold, it, the enemy, will soar like an eagle from a distant land, and spread its wings against Moav.

נִלְכְּדָה הַקְּרִיּוֹת וְהַמְּצָדוֹת נִתְפָּשָׂה וְהָיָה לֵב גִּבּוֹרֵי מוֹאָב בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כְּלֵב אִשָּׁה מְצֵרָה

The cities [hakeriyot] have been captured. Alternatively, this is referring to a city in Moav, Keriyot, which is mentioned in the Mesha Stele, and the citadels have been seized, and the heart of the valiant of Moav will be on that day like the heart of a woman in anguish, hurting and suffering.

וְנִשְׁמַד מוֹאָב מֵעָם כִּי עַל־ה' הִגְדִּיל

Moav will be destroyed as a people because he exalted himself against the Lord. The Moavites did not wage any actual wars against Israel, but they provoked them, mocked them, and treated them with disdain.

פַּחַד וָפַחַת וָפָח עָלֶיךָ יוֹשֵׁב מוֹאָב נְאֻם־ה'

Fear and the pit and the trap are upon you, to ensnare you, inhabitant of Moav – the utterance of the Lord.

הַנָּס מִפְּנֵי הַפַּחַד — יִפֹּל אֶל־הַפַּחַת וְהָעֹלֶה מִן־הַפַּחַת — יִלָּכֵד בַּפָּח כִּי־אָבִיא אֵלֶיהָ — אֶל־מוֹאָב שְׁנַת פְּקֻדָּתָם נְאֻם־ה'

He who flees from before the fear will fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the pit will be captured in the trap, as I will bring upon it, upon Moav, the year of their reckoning, the hour of their punishment; this is the utterance of the Lord.

בְּצֵל חֶשְׁבּוֹן עָמְדוּ מִכֹּחַ נָסִים כִּי־אֵשׁ יָצָא מֵחֶשְׁבּוֹן וְלֶהָבָה מִבֵּין סִיחוֹן וַתֹּאכַל פְּאַת מוֹאָב וְקָדְקֹד בְּנֵי שָׁאוֹן

In the shadow of Heshbon those who flee stood without strength. Those taking flight have no more energy to run, and take cover in the shadow of the fortified city of Heshbon. Now follows a passage taken from an ancient song that appears in the Torah. The song refers to the conquest of Moav by Sihon the king of Heshbon: For a fire emerged from Heshbon, a flame from the midst of the city of Sihon, and it, the fire, consumed the corner, the border, or the heads, of Moav, and the head of the tumultuous people. They will all be consumed by fire.

אוֹי־לְךָ מוֹאָב אָבַד עַם־כְּמוֹשׁ כִּי־לֻקְּחוּ בָנֶיךָ בַּשֶּׁבִי וּבְנֹתֶיךָ בַּשִּׁבְיָה

Woe to you, Moav; it is lost, the people of Kemosh, as your sons were taken into captivity, and your daughters into captivity.

וְשַׁבְתִּי שְׁבוּת־מוֹאָב בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים נְאֻם־ה' עַד־הֵנָּה מִשְׁפַּט מוֹאָב

However, there will ultimately be some sort of restoration for Moav: But I will restore the returnees of Moav at the end of days – the utterance of the Lord. Until here is the judgment of Moav.