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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.

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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 Message about Moab

15 This message came to me concerning Moab:

In one night the town of Ar will be leveled,
    and the city of Kir will be destroyed.
Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn.
    They will go to their sacred shrines to weep.
They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba,
    shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.
They will wear burlap as they wander the streets.
    From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.
The people of Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out;
    their voices will be heard as far away as Jahaz!
The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror.
    They will be helpless with fear.

My heart weeps for Moab.
    Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah.
Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith.
    Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim.
Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up!
    The grassy banks are scorched.
The tender plants are gone;
    nothing green remains.
The people grab their possessions
    and carry them across the Ravine of Willows.
A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab
    from one end to the other—
    from Eglaim to Beer-elim.
The stream near Dibon[a] runs red with blood,
    but I am still not finished with Dibon!
Lions will hunt down the survivors—
    both those who try to escape
    and those who remain behind.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:9 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, some Greek manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads Dimon; also in 15:9b.