1 Thus says theLord:
# “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away itspunishment,
# Because heburned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
2 But I will send a fire upon Moab,
# And it shall devour the palaces ofKerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shoutingandtrumpet sound.
3 And I will cut offthe judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says theLord.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says theLord:
# “For three transgressions ofJudah, and for four,
I will not turn away itspunishment,
# Because they have despised the law of theLord,
And have not kept His commandments.
# Their lies lead them astray,
# Lieswhich their fathers followed.
5 But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says theLord:
# “For three transgressions ofIsrael, and for four,
I will not turn away itspunishment,
# Becausethey sell the righteous for silver,
# And thepoor for a pair of sandals.
7 They pant after the dust of the earthwhichison the head of the poor,
# Andpervert the way of the humble.
# A man and his father go in to thesamegirl,
# To defile My holy name.
8 They lie downby every altar on clothestaken in pledge,
And drink the wine of the condemnedinthe house of their god.
9 “YetitwasIwhodestroyed theAmorite before them,
# Whose heightwaslike theheight of the cedars,
And hewasasstrong as the oaks;
# Yet Idestroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
10 AlsoitwasIwhobrought you up from the land of Egypt,
# Andled you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons asprophets,
# And some of your young men asNazirites.
Isitnot so, O you children of Israel?”
Says theLord.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
# And commanded the prophetssaying,
‘Do not prophesy!’
13 “Behold,I am weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
# Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says theLord.