Isaiah 15–16

An Oracle Concerning Moab

15An ^woracle concerning ^fMoab.

Because ^gAr of Moab is laid waste in a night,

Moab is undone;

because ^hKir of Moab is laid waste in a night,

Moab is undone.

²He has gone up to the temple,¹ and to ⁱDibon,

to the high places² to weep;

over ^jNebo and over ⁱMedeba

Moab ^kwails.

On every head is ^lbaldness;

every beard is shorn;

³in the streets they wear sackcloth;

on the housetops and in the squares

everyone wails and melts in tears.

^4mHeshbon and ^mElealeh cry out;

their voice is heard as far as ⁿJahaz;

therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;

his soul trembles.

⁵My heart cries out for Moab;

her fugitives flee to Zoar,

to ⁿEglath-shelishiyah.

For at the ^oascent of Luhith

they go up weeping;

on the road to ^oHoronaim

they raise a cry of destruction;

⁶the waters of ^pNimrim

are a desolation;

the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,

the greenery is no more.

^7qTherefore the abundance they have gained

and what they have laid up

they carry away

over the Brook of the Willows.

⁸For a cry has gone

around the land of Moab;

her wailing reaches to Eglaim;

her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.

⁹For the waters of ^rDibon³ are full of blood;

for I will bring upon Dibon even more,

^sa lion for those of Moab who escape,

for the remnant of the land.

16^tSend the lamb to the ruler of the land,

from ^uSela, by way of the desert,

to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

²Like fleeing birds,

like a scattered nest,

so are the daughters of Moab

at ^vthe fords of the Arnon.

³“Give counsel;

grant justice;

^wmake your shade like night

at the height of noon;

shelter the outcasts;

do not reveal the fugitive;

⁴let ^xthe outcasts of Moab

sojourn among you;

be a shelter to them¹

from the destroyer.

When the oppressor is no more,

and destruction has ceased,

and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,

^5ythen a throne will be established in steadfast love,

and on it will sit in faithfulness

in the tent of David

one who judges and seeks justice

and is swift to do righteousness.”

^6zWe have heard of the pride of Moab—

how proud he is!—

^aof his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;

in his idle boasting he is not right.

⁷Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,

^blet everyone wail.

Mourn, utterly stricken,

for the ^craisin cakes of ^dKir-hareseth.

⁸For the fields of Heshbon languish,

and ^ethe vine of Sibmah;

the lords of the nations

have struck down its branches,

which reached to Jazer

and strayed to the desert;

its shoots spread abroad

and passed over the sea.

⁹Therefore ^fI weep with ^ethe weeping of Jazer

for the vine of Sibmah;

I drench you with my tears,

O Heshbon and Elealeh;

for over ^gyour summer fruit and your harvest

the shout has ceased.

^10hAnd joy and gladness are taken away from ⁱthe fruitful field,

and in the vineyards no ^jsongs are sung,

no cheers are raised;

no ^ktreader treads out wine ^lin the presses;

I have put an end to the shouting.

¹¹Therefore ^mmy inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,

and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

¹²And when Moab presents himself, when ⁿhe wearies himself on ^othe high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

¹³This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab ^pin the past. ¹⁴But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, ^qlike the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be ^rvery few and feeble.”