Isaiah 15-16

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Ar in Moab is devastated,^(B)
destroyed in a night.
Kir in Moab is devastated,
destroyed in a night.
² Dibon went up to its temple
to weep at its high places.
Moab wails on Nebo and at^[a] Medeba.
Every head is shaved;
every beard is cut off.
³ In its streets they wear sackcloth;
on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,
falling down and weeping.
⁴ Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.^(C)
Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out,
and they tremble.^[b]
5 My heart cries out over Moab,
whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,^(D)
to Eglath-shelishiyah;
they go up the slope of Luhith weeping;
they raise a cry of destruction
on the road to Horonaim.
⁶ The waters of Nimrim^(E) are desolate;
the grass is withered, the foliage is gone,
and the vegetation has vanished.
⁷ So they carry their wealth and belongings
over the Wadi of the Willows.^(F)
8 For their cry echoes
throughout the territory of Moab.
Their wailing reaches Eglaim;
their wailing reaches Beer-elim.
⁹ The waters of Dibon^[c] are full of blood,^(G)
but I will bring on Dibon^[d] even more than this—
a lion for those who escape from Moab,
and for the survivors in the land.^(H)

16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,^(I)
from Sela in the desert^(J)
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
² Like a bird fleeing,
forced from the nest,
the daughters of Moab
will be at the fords of the Arnon.

³ Give us counsel and make a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade that is as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;^(K)
do not betray the one who flees.
⁴ Let my refugees stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab^[e] from the aggressor.

When the oppressor has gone,
destruction has ended,
and marauders have vanished from the land.
⁵ Then in the tent of David
a throne will be established by faithful love.^(L)
A judge who seeks what is right
and is quick to execute justice
will sit on the throne forever.

⁶ We have heard of Moab’s pride^(M)—
how very proud he is—
his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,
and his empty boasting.
⁷ Therefore let Moab wail;
let every one of them wail for Moab.
Mourn, you who are completely devastated,
for the raisin cakes^(N) of Kir-hareseth.^(O)
8 For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards
and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled its choice vines
that reached as far as Jazer^(P)
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out
and reached the Dead Sea.^(Q)
9 So I join with Jazer
to weep for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.
Triumphant shouts have fallen silent^[f]
over your summer fruit and your harvest.
¹⁰ Joy and rejoicing^(R) have been removed from the orchard;
no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.^(S)
No one tramples grapes^[g] in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the shouting.
¹¹ Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,^(T)
as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.
¹² When Moab appears on the high place,
when he tires^[h] himself out^(U)
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
it will do him no good.^(V)