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.”

Moab Destroyed

16 Send (K)the lamb to the ruler of the land,
(L)From [f]Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
For it shall be as a (M)wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the (N)Arnon.

“Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the [g]spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
In mercy (O)the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
(P)Judging and seeking justice and hastening (Q)righteousness.”

We have heard of the (R)pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
(S)But his [h]lies shall not be so.
Therefore Moab shall (T)wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations (U)of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.

For (V)the fields of Heshbon languish,
And (W)the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the (X)sea.
Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
(Y)O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For [i]battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.

10 (Z)Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore (AA)my [j]heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for [k]Kir Heres.

12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on (AB)the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, (AC)as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”

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
  6. Isaiah 16:1 Lit. Rock
  7. Isaiah 16:4 devastator
  8. Isaiah 16:6 Lit. vain talk
  9. Isaiah 16:9 Or shouting has
  10. Isaiah 16:11 Lit. belly
  11. Isaiah 16:11 Kir Hareseth, v. 7

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.

16 Send lambs(AI) as tribute(AJ)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(AK) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(AL)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(AM)
so are the women of Moab(AN)
    at the fords(AO) of the Arnon.(AP)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(AQ)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(AR) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(AS) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(AT)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(AU) will be established;(AV)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[c] of David(AW)
one who in judging seeks justice(AX)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(AY) pride(AZ)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(BA)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(BB) of Kir Hareseth.(BC)
The fields of Heshbon(BD) wither,(BE)
    the vines of Sibmah(BF) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(BG)
which once reached Jazer(BH)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(BI)
    and went as far as the sea.[d](BJ)
So I weep,(BK) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(BL)
    I drench you with tears!(BM)
The shouts of joy(BN) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(BO) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(BP)
    no one sings or shouts(BQ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(BR) out wine at the presses,(BS)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(BT) like a harp,(BU)
    my inmost being(BV) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(BW)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(BX) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(BY)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(BZ) as a servant bound by contract(CA) would count them,(CB) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(CC) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(CD)

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.
  3. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  4. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea

10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And (A)Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.

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10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(A)
    but Moab(B) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.

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Proclamation Against Moab

‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because (A)Moab and (B)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and (C)Kirjathaim. 10 (D)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites (E)may not be remembered among the nations. 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

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A Prophecy Against Moab

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab(A) and Seir(B) said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth(C), Baal Meon(D) and Kiriathaim(E)—the glory of that land. 10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered(F) among the nations; 11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”(G)

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Judgment on Israel

Thus says the Lord:

(A)“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he (B)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of (C)Kerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
And I will cut off (D)the judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the Lord.

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This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(B)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a](C)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(D) and the blast of the trumpet.(E)
I will destroy her ruler(F)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(G)
says the Lord.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities

“I(A) have heard the reproach of Moab,
And (B)the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And (C)made arrogant threats against their borders.
Therefore, as I live,”
Says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Surely (D)Moab shall be like Sodom,
And (E)the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—
(F)Overrun[a] with weeds and saltpits,
And a [b]perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”

10 This they shall have (G)for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
(H)People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all (I)the shores of the nations.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. Possessed by nettles
  2. Zephaniah 2:9 Or permanent ruin

Moab and Ammon

“I have heard the insults(A) of Moab(B)
    and the taunts of the Ammonites,(C)
who insulted(D) my people
    and made threats against their land.(E)
Therefore, as surely as I live,”
    declares the Lord Almighty,
    the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(F) will become like Sodom,(G)
    the Ammonites(H) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
    a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(I) them;
    the survivors(J) of my nation will inherit their land.(K)

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(L)
    for insulting(M) and mocking
    the people of the Lord Almighty.(N)
11 The Lord will be awesome(O) to them
    when he destroys all the gods(P) of the earth.(Q)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(R)
    all of them in their own lands.

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