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God’s Message to Moab

15 This is a message about Moab:

In one night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab.
    That night the city was destroyed.
In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab.
    That night the city was destroyed.
The people of Dibon go to the places of worship to cry.
    The people of Moab cry for the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
Everyone has shaved his head and beard to show how sad he is.
In the streets at Moab they wear rough cloth to show their sadness.
    On the roofs[a] and in the public squares,
they are crying loudly.
People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh cry out loud.
    You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
    They are shaking from fear.

My heart cries with sorrow for Moab.
    Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
    They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
People are going up the mountain road to Luhith.
    They are crying as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim.
    They cry out loud over their destruction.
But the water of Nimrim has dried up.
    The grass has dried up.
All the plants are dead.
    Nothing green is left.
So the people gather up what they have saved.
    They carry those things and cross the Ravine of the Poplars.
Crying is heard everywhere in Moab.
    Their crying is heard as far away as the city Eglaim.
    Their crying is heard as far away as Beer Elim.
The water of the city Dibon is full of blood.
    And I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy.
    But I will send lions to kill them.

Footnotes

  1. 15:3 roofs In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer.

Proclamation Against Moab

15 The (A)burden[a] against Moab.

Because in the night (B)Ar of (C)Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
He has gone up to the [b]temple and Dibon,
To the high places to weep.
Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;
(D)On all their heads will be baldness,
And every beard cut off.
In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;
On the tops of their houses
And in their streets
Everyone will wail, (E)weeping bitterly.
Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,
Their voice shall be heard as far as (F)Jahaz;
Therefore the [c]armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;
His life will be burdensome to him.

“My(G) heart will cry out for Moab;
His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,
Like [d]a three-year-old heifer.
For (H)by the Ascent of Luhith
They will go up with weeping;
For in the way of Horonaim
They will raise up a cry of destruction,
For the waters (I)of Nimrim will be desolate,
For the green grass has withered away;
The grass fails, there is nothing green.
Therefore the abundance they have gained,
And what they have laid up,
They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.
For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,
Its wailing to Eglaim
And its wailing to Beer Elim.
For the waters of [e]Dimon will be full of blood;
Because I will bring more upon Dimon,
(J)Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,
And on the remnant of the land.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:1 oracle, prophecy
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Heb. bayith, lit. house
  3. Isaiah 15:4 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. loins
  4. Isaiah 15:5 Or The Third Eglath, an unknown city, Jer. 48:34
  5. Isaiah 15:9 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Vg. Dibon; LXX Rimon

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.
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;
in the streets they wear sackcloth;
    on the housetops and in the squares
    everyone wails and melts in tears.
(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.
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;
the waters of (P)Nimrim
    are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
    the greenery is no more.
(Q)Therefore the abundance they have gained
    and what they have laid up
they carry away
    over the Brook of the Willows.
For a cry has gone
    around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
    her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
  3. Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse