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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,
    and it was destroyed.
In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab,
    and it 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.
Every head and beard has been shaved to show how sad Moab is.
In the streets 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 with 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,
    crying as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim,
    crying over their destruction.
But the water of Nimrim has dried up.
    The grass has dried up,
and all the plants are dead;
    nothing green is left.
So the people gather up what they have saved
    and carry it across the Ravine of the Poplars.
Crying is heard everywhere in Moab.
    Their crying is heard as far away as the city Eglaim;
    it 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 cool place to sleep in the summer.

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.