Isaiah 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 15
Moab[a]
1 Oracle on Moab:
Laid waste in a night,
Ar of Moab is destroyed;
Laid waste in a night,
Kir of Moab is destroyed.
2 Daughter Dibon has gone up
to the high places to weep;
Over Nebo and over Medeba
Moab is wailing.
Every head is shaved,
every beard sheared off.[b](A)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth,
and on the rooftops;
In the squares
everyone wails, streaming with tears.(B)
4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
they are heard as far as Jahaz.
At this the loins of Moab tremble,
his soul quivers within him;(C)
5 My heart cries out for Moab,
his fugitives reach Zoar,
Eglath-shelishiyah:
The ascent of Luhith
they ascend weeping;
On the way to Horonaim
they utter rending cries;(D)
6 The waters of Nimrim
have become a waste,
The grass is withered,
new growth is gone,
nothing is green.
7 So now whatever they have acquired or stored away
they carry across the Wadi of the Poplars.
8 The cry has gone round
the territory of Moab;
As far as Eglaim his wailing,
even at Beer-elim his wailing.
9 [c]The waters of Dimon are filled with blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon:
Lions for those who are fleeing from Moab
and for those who remain in the land!
Footnotes
- 15:1–16:14 Both the historical situation reflected in this oracle against Moab and the date of composition are uncertain. Variants of the same poem are found in Jer 48, and there are connections with Nm 21:27–30 as well.
- 15:2 Shaved…sheared off: traditional signs of grief.
- 15:9 There is a play on words between “Dimon” and dam, the Hebrew word for blood.
Isaiah 15
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.
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.
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