4 fpoiling and great destruction. Moab is deftroyed; 5 her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping fhall

go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard 6 a cry of deftruction. Flee, fave your lives, (this is what they fhall fay to one another,) and be like the heath in the wilderness, or, like a blasted tree in a folitary place.

7

For because thou hast trusted in thy works, or fortifications, and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken : and Chemoth thy god, unable to deliver thee, fhall go forth into captivity [with] his priests and his princes 8 together. And the fpoiler fhall come upon every city, and no city fhall efcape: the valley alfo fhall perish, and the plain fhall be deftroyed, as the LORD hath fpoken; both cities and villages, farmers and Shepherds, 9 fhall all be destroyed. Give wings unto Moab, without which it will be impoffible to escape, that it may flee and get away for the cities thereof fhall be defolate, 10 without any to dwell therein. Curfed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed [be] he that keepeth back his fword from blood. God had given the command to deftroy Moab; he probably had fignified his mind to Nebuchadnezzar by Jeremiah, whom he knew and owned to be a prophet.

Moab hath been at eafe from his youth, that is, hath enjoyed many years of peace, and he hath fettled on his lees, like wines kept long on their lees to preferve their ftrength and flavour; and hath not been emptied from veffel to veffel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not 12 changed; he is as bad or worse than ever. Therefore, behold, the days come, faith the LORD, that I will fend unto him wanderers, that fhall caufe him to wander, or tilters that fhall tilt him down, and fhall empty 13 his veffels, and break their bottles. And Moab fhall be ashamed of Chemofh, as the houfe of Ifrael was afhamed of Beth-el their confidence.

14

How fay ye, We [are] mighty and strong men for the 15 war? Moab is fpoiled, and gone up [out of ] her cities, and his chofen young men are gone down to the flaugh

ter,

ter, faith the King, whofe name [is] the LORD of hofts. 16 The calamity of Moab [is] near to come, and his af17 fliction hafteth faft. All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, that is, his fame and glory, fay, How is the ftrong staff broken, [and] the beautiful rod! all his authority, pride, and import18 ance. Thou daughter that doft inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and fit in thirst; for the fpoiler of Moab thall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy ftrong holds; thou shalt be left to the mercy 19 of the conquerors, and be expofed to hunger and thirst. Ó inhabitant of Aroer, ftand by the way, and efpy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, [and] fay, What is done? there fhall be fuch a terrible alarm, that both men and women fhall fly before the conqueror comes. 20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down howl and 21 cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is fpoiled, And

judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, 22 and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, And upon

Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, 23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and 24 upon Beth-meon, And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozra,

and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. 25 The horn, that is, the power, of Moab is cut off, and

26

his arm is broken, faith the LORD; an allufion to the horns of beafts, and the hands of men, wherewith they defend themfelves.

Make ye him drunken: for he magnified [himfelf] against the LORD: Moab alfo fhall wallow in his vomit, and he alfo fhall be in derifion; he shall be brought into the greatest confufion and disorder, and be bereaved of the 27 aids of reafon. For was not Ifrael a derifion unto thee? what infamous thing was there in Ifrael, that should expofe him fo much to your contempt? was he found among thieves? had he injured you, and been taken in the fact? for fince thou fpakest of him, thou skippedst for joy; or, that thou shouldft infult him with all the power of thy words. 28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell

in the rock, and be like the, dove [that] maketh her 29 neft in the fides of the hole's mouth. We have heard

the

the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud, this is their prevailing character,) his loftinefs, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart, and how 30 he hoped to fee Ifrael quite extirpated. I know his wrath, faith the LORD; that is, his defign to mifreprefent Ifrael to the Chaldeans; or, the defigns of the magicians and falfe prophets to deceive them; but [it fhall] not [be] fo; his 31 lies fhall not fo effect [it.] Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; [mine heart] 32 fhall mourn for the men of Kir-heres. O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the fea, they reach [even] to the fea of Jazer: the fpoiler is fallen upon thy fummer fruits, and upon thy vintage; their's being a country famous for vineyards, and the enemy invading them about the time of vintage and destroying it, their cries on that account 33 fhall be heard far and wide. And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepreffes: none fhall tread with fhouting; [their] fhout34 ing [fhall be] no fhouting. From the cry of Hefhbon [even] unto Elealeh, [and even] unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar [even] unto Horonaim, [as] an heifer of three years old lowing after her calf: for the waters alfo of Nimrim fhall be defolate. 35 Moreover I will caufe to ceafe in Moab, faith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that 36 burneth incenfe to his gods. Therefore mine heart fhall found for Moab like pipes, and mine heart fhall found like pipes for the men of Kirheres; I look upon them with the utmost compaffion : because the riches [that] 37 he hath gotten are perished. For every head [fhall be] bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands [fhall be] cuttings, and upon the loins fackcloth. 38 [There fhall be] lamentation generally upon all the houfe tops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a veffel wherein [is] no pleasure, 39 faith the LORD. They fhall howl, [faying,] How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with fhame! fo fhall Moab be a derifion and a difmaying to

all

40 all them about him. For thus faith the LORD; Behold, he fhall fly as an eagle, and fhall spread his wings over 41 Moab. Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are fur

prifed, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that 42 day fhall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. And Moab fhall be destroyed from [being] a people, because 43 he hath magnified [himfelf] against the LORD. Fear,

and the pit, and the fnare, [fhall be] upon thee, O 44 inhabitant of Moab, faith the LORD. He that fleeth from the fear fhall fall into the pit; and he that get. eth up out of the pit fhall be taken in the fnare: for I will bring upon it, [even] upon Moab, the year of 45 their vifitation, faith the LORD. They that filed flood under the shadow of Hefhbon because of the force or fortifications of Hefbbon, thinking they should be fafe there: but a fire fhall come forth out of Hefhbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones; the Chaldeans fhall take it, lay up their ammunition there, and destroy thofe turbulent creatures with which the 46 country abounds. Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemofh perifheth: for thy fons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

47

I.

Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab, fome of them shall be restored in the latter days, faith the LORD; which may refer to the converfion of the gentiles in gospel times. Thus far [is] the judgment of Moab.

REFLECTION S.

ET us attend to that awful denunciation, v. 10.

L. Curfed vt he that doeth the work of the Lord deceit

fully, and curfed be he that keepeth his fword back from blood. Tho' it be bloody work, yet God commanded it to be done upon thofe wicked people; who, to all their other crimes, added, what was peculiarly difpleafing to him, rejoicing and infulting over the miseries of others, and of Ifrael in particular. We are not called out to fuch work as this; but only to fuch fervices as are reasonable and delightful. To do it deceitfully, or negligently, is not to do it

to

to the purpofe; or to pretend to do it out of regard to God, when our only aim is to ferve our own intereft; or without that life and zeal, which we ought to discover. The more excellent the work is to which we are called, the more awful will be the curfe of doing it deceitfully. Let us therefore be stedfaft and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

2. See what danger there is in profperity, v. 11. Moab, tho' fo very wicked, enjoyed long profperity, and that, by their abuse of it, helped to make them more fo. This is too common in our day; because men have no changes, they fear not God, think they are as good as they need to be; or that God is not difpleafed with their fins. What little reafon have we to be fond of profperity, or to envy those who enjoy it! This fhows us why God chooses an afflicted state for his people; and how reafonable it is in them to acquiefce

in it.

3. See how odious pride is to God. This is particularly specified as the predominant fin in Moab, v. 29. it is feveral times mentioned in various expreffions. It is a temper very hateful to God, efpecially when it fhows itself in taking pleasure in the poverty or calamities of others. The whole of the chapter in this connection, confirms Solomon's obfervation, that pride goeth before deftruction, and an haughty Spirit before a fall.

CHA P. XLIX.

Contains a collection of prophecies against several of the neighbouring nations.

I

ONCERNING the Ammonites, thus faith the LORD; Hath Ifrael no fons? hath he no heirs? are they quite extinct, doth not Judah still survive? why [then] doth their king, or, Milcom, inherit Gad, 2 and his people dwell in his cities? Therefore, behold, the days come, faith the LORD, that I will caufe an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah, the chief city of the Ammonites; and it fhall be a defolate heap, and her daughters the leffer cities fhall be burned with fire:

then