Books

Proverbs 21

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

Switch Version:

¹ So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself, When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry] And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray, That he will not prevail.

² This is the word which the LORD spoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab's pride and resistance to God were first known].

³ But now the LORD speaks, saying, "Within[2] three years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all[3] the great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account."

⁴ The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel's defense against Assyria]. "Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city And will become a fallen ruin.

⁵ "The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are deserted; They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in, And there will be no one to make them afraid.

⁶ "The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus And the remnant of Aram (Syria); They will be like the [departed] glory of [her ally] the children of Israel," Declares the LORD of hosts.

⁷ "Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel—his might, his population, his prosperity] will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

⁸ "And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears of grain; Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim.

⁹ "Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree," Declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁰ In that day man will have regard for his Maker, And his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence].

¹¹ And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous] altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense altars.

¹² In that day the strong cities of Aram and Israel will be like[2] deserted places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the children of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

¹³ Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold— Therefore you plant[3] lovely plants And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,

¹⁴ In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; Yet [promising as it is] the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away] In the day of sickness and incurable pain.

¹⁵ Oh, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the noise of nations Who roar like the rumbling of mighty waters!

¹⁶ The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters, But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before the storm.

¹⁷ At evening time, now look, sudden terror! Before[4] morning the Assyrians are no more. This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who pillage us.

¹⁸ Woe (judgment is coming) to the land of[1] whirring wings Which is beyond the rivers of[2] Cush (Ethiopia),

¹⁹ Which sends ambassadors by the sea, Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven), To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide.

²⁰ All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it! When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!

²¹ For this is what the LORD has said to me, "I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place, Like shimmering heat above the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

²² For before the harvest, when the blossom is over And the flower becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs [without buds] with pruning knives, And [He will] remove and cut away the spreading branches.

²³ They (warriors) will be left together for the mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will [spend the] summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.

²⁴ At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth (clean shaven), From a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place [of worship] of the[3] name of the LORD of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

²⁵ The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

²⁶ "So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

²⁷ "Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, And mediums and soothsayers.

²⁸ "And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

²⁹ The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.

³⁰ The canals will become foul-smelling, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up, The reeds and the rushes will rot away.

³¹ The meadows by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, And all the sown fields of the Nile Will become dry, be blown away, and be no more.

#	AMP
1	So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself, When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry] And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray, That he will not prevail.
2	This is the word which the LORD spoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab's pride and resistance to God were first known].
3	But now the LORD speaks, saying, "Within[2] three years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all[3] the great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account."
4	The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel's defense against Assyria]. "Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city And will become a fallen ruin.
5	"The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are deserted; They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in, And there will be no one to make them afraid.
6	"The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus And the remnant of Aram (Syria); They will be like the [departed] glory of [her ally] the children of Israel," Declares the LORD of hosts.
7	"Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel—his might, his population, his prosperity] will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
8	"And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears of grain; Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim.
9	"Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree," Declares the LORD, the God of Israel.
10	In that day man will have regard for his Maker, And his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence].
11	And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous] altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense altars.
12	In that day the strong cities of Aram and Israel will be like[2] deserted places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the children of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.
13	Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold— Therefore you plant[3] lovely plants And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,
14	In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; Yet [promising as it is] the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away] In the day of sickness and incurable pain.
15	Oh, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the noise of nations Who roar like the rumbling of mighty waters!
16	The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters, But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before the storm.
17	At evening time, now look, sudden terror! Before[4] morning the Assyrians are no more. This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who pillage us.
18	Woe (judgment is coming) to the land of[1] whirring wings Which is beyond the rivers of[2] Cush (Ethiopia),
19	Which sends ambassadors by the sea, Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven), To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide.
20	All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it! When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!
21	For this is what the LORD has said to me, "I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place, Like shimmering heat above the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
22	For before the harvest, when the blossom is over And the flower becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs [without buds] with pruning knives, And [He will] remove and cut away the spreading branches.
23	They (warriors) will be left together for the mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will [spend the] summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
24	At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth (clean shaven), From a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place [of worship] of the[3] name of the LORD of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].
25	The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
26	"So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
27	"Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, And mediums and soothsayers.
28	"And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
29	The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.
30	The canals will become foul-smelling, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up, The reeds and the rushes will rot away.
31	The meadows by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, And all the sown fields of the Nile Will become dry, be blown away, and be no more.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Holy Bible

Proverbs 21

Select Commentary