“‘Then Moab

Shall be ashamed

Of Chemosh,

As the house of Israel

Was ashamed

Of Bethel,

Their confidence.

How can you say?

‘We are heroes!

We are the mighty warriors!

The destroyer of Moab

With his towns

Has come up.

The choicest

Of his young men

Have gone down

To slaughter.’

Says the King,

Whose name is

Yahweh of hosts.”

King Yahweh was speaking about Moab, since it was going to be ashamed of their national god Chemosh since his towns were going to be destroyed. Chemosh was compared to the northern Israelite worshiping place of Bethel, the competing place with Jerusalem for worshippers, before the northern kingdom collapsed. There may even have been some Chemosh worshippers in Jerusalem. However, Moab with its heroes and mighty warriors would not be able to withstand the coming attack. Many of its best young men would be slaughtered in the coming invasion.