"Mourn for that nation, you that live nearby, all of you that know its fame. Say, 'Its powerful rule has been broken; its glory and might are no more.'

And now the LORD says, "In exactly three years Moab's great wealth will disappear. Of its many people, only a few will survive, and they will be weak."

"The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even Nimrim Brook has dried up.

I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, the LORD, have spoken.

So the people of Israel captured all the Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all the surrounding towns, and settled in them.

That is why the poets sing, "Come to Heshbon, to King Sihon's city! We want to see it rebuilt and restored.

How terrible for you, people of Moab! You worshipers of Chemosh are brought to ruin! Your god let the men become refugees, And the women became captives of the Amorite king.

The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

My heart cries out for Moab! The people have fled to the town of Zoar, and to Eglath Shelishiyah. Some climb the road to Luhith, weeping as they go; some escape to Horonaim, grieving loudly.

The farms near Heshbon and the vineyards of Sibmah are destroyed---those vineyards whose wine used to make the rulers of the nations drunk. At one time the vines spread as far as the city of Jazer, and eastward into the desert, and westward to the other side of the Dead Sea.

Now I weep for Sibmah's vines as I weep for Jazer. My tears fall for Heshbon and Elealeh, because there is no harvest to make the people glad.

Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me.

He promises that as long as the natural order lasts, so long will Israel be a nation.

"Have you noticed how people are saying that I have rejected Israel and Judah, the two families that I chose? And so they look with contempt on my people and no longer consider them a nation.

I will come to you and save you. I will destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not destroy you. I will not let you go unpunished; but when I punish you, I will be fair. I, the LORD, have spoken."

So Haman told the king, "There is a certain race of people scattered all over your empire and found in every province. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the laws of the empire, so it is not in your best interests to tolerate them.

The king took off his ring, which was used to stamp proclamations and make them official, and gave it to the enemy of the Jewish people, Haman son of Hammedatha, the descendant of Agag.

So on the thirteenth day of the first month Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated a proclamation to be translated into every language and system of writing used in the empire and to be sent to all the rulers, governors, and officials. It was issued in the name of King Xerxes and stamped with his ring.

The contents of the proclamation were to be made public in every province, so that everyone would be prepared when that day came.

"Come," they say, "let us destroy their nation, so that Israel will be forgotten forever."

the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites; the people of Moab and the Hagrites;

Assyria has also joined them as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.

The LORD, the God of Israel, said to me, "Here is a wine cup filled with my anger. Take it to all the nations to whom I send you, and make them drink from it.

So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, gave it to all the nations to whom the LORD had sent me, and made them drink from it.

This is a message about Moab. The cities of Ar and Kir are destroyed in a single night, and silence covers the land of Moab.

The LORD will protect Mount Zion, but the people of Moab will be trampled down the way straw is trampled in manure.