This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab.

Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear.

The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ¹  as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ²  ‘Since you fell asleep, ³  no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ⁴ 

“Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ¹  Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! ² 

“I announced events beforehand, ¹  I issued the decrees and made the predictions; ²  suddenly I acted and they came to pass.

Now they come into being, ¹  not in the past; before today you did not hear about them, so you could not say, ‘Yes, ²  I know about them.’

Though at this time your ropes are slack, ¹  the mast is not secured, ²  and the sail ³  is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; ⁴  even the lame will drag off plunder. ⁵ 

Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow ¹  in the desert, streams in the wilderness. ² 

Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹  Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; ²  I know of none.

I announced them to you beforehand; before they happened, I predicted them for you, so you could never say, ‘My image did these things, my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’

Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹  your restoration will quickly arrive; ²  your godly behavior ³  will go before you, and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ⁴ 

Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must ¹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ¹  and I will give you great prosperity, ²  and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ³  Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ⁴ 

Then you will look and smile, ¹  you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ²  For the riches of distant lands ³  will belong to you and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹  Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; ²  there is none but me.

You did not hear, you do not know, you were not told beforehand. ¹  For I know that you are very deceitful; ²  you were labeled ³  a rebel from birth.