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Chapter 15

Moab[a]

[b]An oracle concerning Moab:

Having been laid waste in a single night,
    Ar of Moab is destroyed.
Having been laid waste in a single night,
    Kir of Moab is destroyed.
The daughter of Dibon goes up
    to the high places to weep.
Moab wails unceasingly
    over Nebo and Medeba.
Every head has been shaved,
    every beard has been cut off.
In the streets they wear sackcloth;
    on the roofs and in the public squares
    everyone wails and collapses in tears.
Hesbon and Elealeh cry out in distress;
    their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
As a result, the bravest of Moab’s warriors cry out
    and their hearts grow faint.
My heart cries out for Moab;
    her fugitives have arrived close to Zoar,
    at Eglath-shelishiyah.
They climb the slope of Luhith,
    weeping as they make their ascent;
on the road to Horonaim
    they emit heart-rending cries.
The waters of Nimrim
    have become a desolate waste.
The grass is parched,
    the plants have withered away,
    and nothing green can be seen.
Therefore, the people carry away
    across the Ravine of the Willows
whatever possessions they can manage
    and the savings they have accumulated.
Their cry of distress has echoed
    around the land of Moab.
Their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim;
    it can be heard even to the land of Beer-elim.
The waters of Dimon are filled with blood,
    but I have far worse in store for Dimon:
a lion for those who are fleeing from Moab,
    as well as for those who are left on its soil.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:1 Moab, ancient rival and enemy of Israel, was devastated during the Assyrian war of 701 B.C.
  2. Isaiah 15:1 The names are those of places belonging at that time to the kingdom of Moab.

A Pronouncement against Moab

15 A pronouncement concerning Moab:(A)

Ar in Moab is devastated,(B)
destroyed in a night.
Kir in Moab is devastated,
destroyed in a night.
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 chopped short.

In its streets they wear sackcloth;
on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,
falling down and weeping.
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.
My heart cries out over Moab,
whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,(D)
to Eglath-shelishiyah;
they go up the Ascent of Luhith weeping;
they raise a cry of destruction
on the road to Horonaim.

The Waters of Nimrim(E) are desolate;
the grass is withered, the foliage is gone,
and the vegetation has vanished.
So they carry their wealth and belongings
over the Wadi of the Willows.(F)
For their cry echoes
throughout the territory of Moab.
Their wailing reaches Eglaim;
their wailing reaches Beer-elim.
The Waters of Dibon[b] are full of blood,(G)
but I will bring on Dibon even more than this—
a lion for those who escape from Moab,
and for the survivors in the land.(H)

Footnotes

  1. 15:2 Or wails over Nebo and over
  2. 15:9 DSS, some LXX mss, Vg; MT reads Dimon, twice in this v.