1 Thus says the Lord :
“For three transgressions ofjZeph. 2:8, 9; See Isa. 15 Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
becausek[2 Kgs. 3:27] he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds oflJer. 48:24, 41 Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 m[Jer. 48:7] I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will killm[Jer. 48:7] all its princes1Or officials with him, ”
says the Lord.
4 Thus says the Lord :
nSee ch. 1:3 “For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
becauseoLev. 26:14, 15; Neh. 1:7; Ezek. 20:13, 16, 24; [Dan. 9:11] they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
butpJer. 16:19, 20; Rom. 1:25 their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 SoqJer. 17:27; Hos. 8:14 I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem. ”
6 Thus says the Lord :
n[See ver. 4 above] “For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
becauser[Lev. 25:39; 2 Kgs. 4:1] they sell the righteous forsch. 8:6 silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poortLam. 2:10 into the dust of the earth
anduch. 5:12; Job 24:4; Isa. 10:2 turn aside the way of the afflicted;
v[1 Cor. 5:1]; See Ezek. 22:11 a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garmentswSee Ex. 22:26 taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 YetxDeut. 2:31; Josh. 24:8; See Num. 21:21-25 it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
y[Num. 13:32, 33; Isa. 10:33] whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
z[Job 18:16] I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 ach. 3:1; Ex. 12:17, 51 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
bSee Deut. 8:2 and led you forty years in the wilderness,
x[See ver. 9 above] to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men forcNum. 6:2 Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? ”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Naziritesd[Num. 6:3] drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying,ech. 7:13, 16; Isa. 30:10; Mic. 2:6 ‘You shall not prophesy. ’
13 Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 f[ch. 9:1; Eccles. 9:11] Flight shall perish from the swift,
f[ch. 9:1; Eccles. 9:11] and the strong shall not retain his strength,
g[Ps. 33:16] nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who ish[2 Sam. 2:18] swift of foot shall not save himself,
i[Ps. 33:17] nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day, ”
declares the Lord.