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A Prophecy Against Moab

15 Here is a prophecy against Moab that the Lord gave me.

The city of Ar in Moab is destroyed.
    It happened in a single night.
Kir in Moab is also destroyed.
    It happened in a single night.
The people of Dibon go up to their temple to worship.
    They go to their high places to weep.
    The people of Moab cry over the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
All their heads are shaved.
    All their beards have been cut off.
In the streets they wear the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.
    On their roofs and in the market places
    all of them are crying.
They fall down flat with their faces toward the ground.
    And they weep.
The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out.
    Their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.
So the fighting men of Moab cry out.
    Their hearts are weak.

My heart cries out over Moab.
    Some who run away get as far as Zoar.
    Others run all the way to Eglath Shelishiyah.
Others go up the hill to Luhith.
    They are weeping as they go.
Still others travel the road to Horonaim.
    They sing a song of sadness because their town is being destroyed.
The waters at Nimrim are dried up.
    And so is the grass.
The plants have died.
    Nothing green is left.
The people are trying to escape
    through the Valley of the Poplar Trees.
They are carrying with them the wealth
    they have collected and stored up.
Their loud cries echo along the border of Moab.
    They reach as far as Eglaim.
    Their songs of sadness reach all the way to Beer Elim.
The waters of the city of Dimon are full of blood.
    But the Lord will bring even more trouble on Dimon.
He will bring lions against those who run away from Moab.
    They will also attack those who remain in the land.

A Prophecy Against Moab(A)

15 A prophecy(B) against Moab:(C)

Ar(D) in Moab is ruined,(E)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(F) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(G) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(H) to weep;
    Moab wails(I) over Nebo(J) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(K)
    and every beard cut off.(L)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(M)
    on the roofs(N) and in the public squares(O)
they all wail,(P)
    prostrate with weeping.(Q)
Heshbon(R) and Elealeh(S) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(T)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(U) over Moab;(V)
    her fugitives(W) flee as far as Zoar,(X)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(Y)
    they lament their destruction.(Z)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(AA)
    and the grass is withered;(AB)
the vegetation is gone(AC)
    and nothing green is left.(AD)
So the wealth they have acquired(AE) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(AF) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]
a lion(AG) upon the fugitives of Moab(AH)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  2. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.