Isaiah 15

¹ The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; ² He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. ³ In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. ⁴ And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. ⁵ My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. ⁶ For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. ⁷ Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. ⁸ For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim. ⁹ For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

Study Helps

Glossary

Ar Place v. 1: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet al Balua.
Kir Place v. 1: A wall or fortress, a place to which Tiglath-pileser carried the Syrians captive after he had taken the city of Damascus ( 2 Kings 16:9 ; Amos 1:5 ; 9:7 ). Modern identification: Kerak.
Moab Place v. 1-2, 4-5, 8-9: Biblical region. Modern identification: Kerak.
Dibon Place v. 2: Pining; wasting. (1. ) A city in Moab ( Num. 21:30 ); called also Dibon-gad (33:45), because it was built by Gad and Dimon ( Isa. 15:9 ). Modern identification: Tall Dhiban.
Medeba Place v. 2: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Madaba.
Nebo Place v. 2: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet al Mukhayyat.
Sackcloth People v. 3: Cloth made of black goats’ hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners ( Gen. 37:34 ; 42:25 ; 2 Sam. 3:31 ; Esther 4:1 , 2; Ps. 30:11 , etc. ), and as a sign of repentance ( Matt. 11:21 ).
Elealeh Place v. 4: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Al ‘Al.
Heshbon Place v. 4: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell Hesban.
Jahaz Place v. 4: Trodden down. Modern identification: Khirbet el Medeiyineh.
Eglath-shelishiyah Place v. 5: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Al Safi.
Horonaim Place v. 5: Two caverns, a city of Moab to the south of the Arnon, built, apparently, upon an eminence, and a place of some importance ( Isa. 15:5 ; Jer. 48:3 , 5, 34). Modern identification: El Iraq.
Luhith Place v. 5: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Kathrabba.
Zoar Place v. 5: Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom ( Gen. 19:22 , 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). Modern identification: Al Safi.
Nimrim Place v. 6: The stream of the leopards, a stream in Moab ( Isa. 15:6 ; Jer. 48:34 ); probably the modern Wady en-Nemeirah, a rich, verdant spot at the south-eastern end of the Dead Sea. Modern identification: Wadi en Numeirah.
Brook of the Willows Place v. 7: Biblical body of water. Modern identification: Wadi al Hasa.
Beer-elim Place v. 8: Well of heroes, probably the name given to Beer, the place where the chiefs of Israel dug a well ( Num. 21:16 ; Isa. 15:8 ). Modern identification: Wadi eth Themed.
Eglaim Place v. 8: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Rujm el Jilimeh.
Dibon Place v. 9: Pining; wasting. (1. ) A city in Moab ( Num. 21:30 ); called also Dibon-gad (33:45), because it was built by Gad and Dimon ( Isa. 15:9 ). Modern identification: Tall Dhiban.