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Isaiah 15-16
English Standard Version
Isaiah 15-16
English Standard Version
An Oracle Concerning Moab
15 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Moab.
Because (C)Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because (D)Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple,[a] and to (E)Dibon,
to the high places[b] to weep;
over (F)Nebo and over (G)Medeba
Moab (H)wails.
On every head is (I)baldness;
every beard is shorn;
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 (J)Heshbon and (K)Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as (L)Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to (M)Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the (N)ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to (O)Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of (P)Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 (Q)Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of (R)Dibon[c] are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
(S)a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
16 (T)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (U)Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at (V)the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
(W)make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let (X)the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[d]
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 (Y)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 (Z)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
(AA)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
(AB)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the (AC)raisin cakes of (AD)Kir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and (AE)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore (AF)I weep with (AG)the weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (AH)your summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 (AI)And joy and gladness are taken away from (AJ)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (AK)songs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no (AL)treader treads out wine (AM)in the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (AN)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when (AO)he wearies himself on (AP)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (AQ)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (AR)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (AS)very few and feeble.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
- Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
- Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse
- Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
Isaiah 15-16
New International Version
Isaiah 15-16
New International Version
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!
2 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)
3 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)
4 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.
5 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)
6 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)
7 So the wealth they have acquired(AE) and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer(AF) Elim.
9 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.
16 Send lambs(AI) as tribute(AJ)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(AK) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(AL)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(AM)
so are the women of Moab(AN)
at the fords(AO) of the Arnon.(AP)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(AQ)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(AR) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(AS) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(AT)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(AU) will be established;(AV)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[c] of David(AW)—
one who in judging seeks justice(AX)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(AY) pride(AZ)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(BA)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(BB) of Kir Hareseth.(BC)
8 The fields of Heshbon(BD) wither,(BE)
the vines of Sibmah(BF) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(BG)
which once reached Jazer(BH)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(BI)
and went as far as the sea.[d](BJ)
9 So I weep,(BK) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(BL)
I drench you with tears!(BM)
The shouts of joy(BN) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(BO) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(BP)
no one sings or shouts(BQ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(BR) out wine at the presses,(BS)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(BT) like a harp,(BU)
my inmost being(BV) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(BW)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(BX) to pray,
it is to no avail.(BY)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(BZ) as a servant bound by contract(CA) would count them,(CB) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(CC) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(CD)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
Isaiah 15-16
King James Version
Isaiah 15-16
King James Version
15 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
2 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.
9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
16 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3 Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.
14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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