Isaiah 16

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela by the desert, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion,	1 Send them forth, hugging the earth like reptiles, from Sela across the desert, to the mount of daughter Zion.
2 for soon, like a fluttered bird, like nestlings cast out, wil be the women of Moab at the fords of theArnon.	2 Like flushed birds, like startled nestlings, Are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 Hold a council, make a decision. At noon spread your shadow as if it were night. Hide those who havebeen driven out, do not betray the fugitive,	3 Offer counsel, take their part: at high noon let your shadow be like the night, To hide the outcasts, to conceal the fugitives.
4 let those who have been driven out of Moab come and live with you; be their refuge in the face of thedevastator. Once the oppression is past, and the devastation has stopped and those now trampling on thecountry have gone away,	4 Let the outcasts of Moab live with you, be their shelter from the destroyer. When the struggle is ended, the ruin complete, and they have done with trampling the land,
5 the throne wil be made secure in faithful love and on it wil sit in constancy within the tent of David, ajudge seeking fair judgement and pursuing uprightness.	5 A throne shall be set up in mercy, and on it shall sit in fidelity (in David's tent) A judge upholding right and prompt to do justice.
6 We have heard about Moab's pride, about how very proud it is, about its arrogance, its pride, its rage,its bravado, which wil come to nothing!	6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is, With his haughty, arrogant insolence that his empty words do not match.
7 And so Moab is wailing for Moab, wailing, every one of them. For the raisin cakes of Kir-Hareseth youmourn, stricken with grief.	7 Therefore Moab wails for Moab, everywhere they wail; For the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth they sigh, stricken with grief.
8 For Heshbon's vineyards are withering, the vine of Sibmah whose red grapes used to overcome theoverlords of the nations. It used to reach to Jazer, had wound its way into the desert, its shoots grew sonumerous they spread across the sea.	8 The terraced slopes of Heshbon languish, the vines of Sibmah, Whose clusters overpowered the lords of nations, While they reached as far as Jazer and scattered over the desert, And whose branches spread forth and extended over the sea.
9 And so I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vine of Sibmah. I water you with my tears, Heshbon andElealeh. For over your harvest and vintage the cheering has died away;	9 Therefore I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I water you with tears, Heshbon and Elealeh; For on your summer fruits and harvests the battle cry has fallen.
10 joy and gladness have vanished from the orchards. No more revelry in the vineyards, no more happyshouting; no more the treader treads wine in the presses, the cheering has ceased.	10 From the orchards are taken away joy and gladness, In the vineyards there is no singing, no shout of joy; In the wine presses no one treads grapes, the vintage shout is stilled.
11 That is why my whole being quivers like harp strings for Moab, my very heart, for Kir-Heres.	11 Therefore for Moab my breast moans like a lyre, and my heart for Kir-hareseth.
12 Moab will be seen, wearing itself out on the high places and going to its temple to pray, but it wilaccomplish nothing.	12 When Moab grows weary on the high places, he shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but it shall avail him nothing.
13 Such was the word which Yahweh spoke about Moab in the past.	13 This is the word the LORD spoke against Moab in times past.
14 And now Yahweh has spoken in these terms, 'Within three years, as a hired worker reckons them, the glory of Moab wil be humbled, despite its teeming population. It wil be reduced to nothing, an insignificantremnant.'	14 But now the LORD has spoken: In three years, like those of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be degraded despite all its great multitude; there shall be a remnant, very small and weak.