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An Oracle Concerning Moab

15 The [a]oracle concerning (A)Moab.

Surely in a night (B)Ar of Moab is destroyed and ruined;
Surely in a night Kir of Moab is destroyed and ruined.
They have gone up to the [b]temple and to (C)Dibon, even to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba;
Everyone’s head is (D)bald and every beard is cut off.
In their streets they have girded themselves with (E)sackcloth;
(F)On their rooftops and in their squares
Everyone is wailing, [c](G)dissolved in weeping.
(H)Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out,
Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz;
Therefore [d]the armed men of Moab make a loud shout;
His soul trembles within him.
My heart cries out for Moab;
Those who flee from her are as far as (I)Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah,
For they go up the (J)ascent of Luhith weeping;
Surely on the road to Horonaim they keep awake with crying in distress (K)over their destruction.
For the (L)waters of Nimrim are [e]desolate.
Surely the grass is dried up, the tender grass has [f]completely ceased,
There is (M)no green thing.
Therefore the (N)abundance they have made and stored up
They carry off over the brook of [g]Arabim.
For the cry has gone around the territory of Moab,
Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim.
For the waters of Dimon are full of [h]blood;
Surely I will put added woes upon Dimon,
A (O)lion upon those of Moab who have escaped and upon the remnant of the land.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:1 Or burden of
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Lit house
  3. Isaiah 15:3 Lit going down in weeping
  4. Isaiah 15:4 Or the loins of
  5. Isaiah 15:6 Lit desolations
  6. Isaiah 15:6 Lit come to an end
  7. Isaiah 15:7 Or the poplars
  8. Isaiah 15:9 Heb dam (a wordplay)

A Prophecy Against Moab

15 An oracle against Moab.

In one night, Ar[a] of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.
In one night, Kir of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.
They have gone up to the temple at Dibon,
up to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba.
Every head is shaved.
Every beard is cut off.
They wear sackcloth in their streets.
On the rooftops and in the public squares, everyone wails.
They all collapse in tears.
Heshbon cries out with Elealeh.
Their voice is heard even in Jahaz.
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their spirit is weak.

My heart cries out for Moab!
Her refugees[b] flee to Zoar,
to Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the Ascent of Luhith,
    weeping all the way.
On the way to Horonaim,
    they weep continuously over their destruction.
The waters of Nimrim are dried up.
The grass has withered away.
The vegetation has died,
and no green thing remains.
So they will carry across the Ravine of Poplars[c]
    whatever remains from the wealth they acquired
    and from the supplies they stored up.
For a cry has echoed around the borders of Moab.
The wailing reaches to Eglaim
and all the way to Be’er Elim.
For the waters of Dimon are full of blood,[d]
and I will bring still more on Dimon.
I will bring a lion upon the refugees of Moab
and upon the survivors who remain in the land.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:1 Ar and the parallel terms in this chapter are names of cities in Moab. In general, the list moves from north to south.
  2. Isaiah 15:5 Or protectors, literally the bars of her gates
  3. Isaiah 15:7 Probably the ravine on the border between Moab and Edom
  4. Isaiah 15:9 The Hebrew word for blood (dam) sounds like the name of the city of Dimon. Dimon may be a pun on the name Dibon, the capital city of Moab.