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Isaías 15

ARC · Chapter 15/66

1Pezo de Moab. Certamente de noite foi destruida Ar de Moab, e foi desfeita: certamente de noite foi destruida Kir de Moab, e foi desfeita.

2Vae subindo a Bayith, e a Dibon, aos logares altos, a chorar: por Nebo e por Medeba Moab uivará; sobre todas as suas cabeças haverá calva, e toda a barba será rapada.

3Cingiram-se de saccos nas suas ruas: nos seus terraços e nas suas praças todos andam uivando, e veem descendo e chorando.

4Assim Hesbon como Eleale, andam gritando, até Jahas se ouve a sua voz; pelo que os armados de Moab fazem grande grita, a sua alma lhes será penosa.

5O meu coração dá gritos por Moab: fugiram os seus fugitivos até Zoar, como a novilha de tres annos: porque vae subindo com choro pela subida de Luhith, porque no caminho de Horonaim levantam um lastimoso pranto.

6Porque as aguas de Nimrim serão uma pura assolação; porque já seccou o feno, pereceu a herva, e não ha verdura alguma.

7Pelo que a abundancia que ajuntaram, e o de mais que guardaram, ao ribeiro dos salgueiros o levaram.

8Porque o pranto rodeará aos limites de Moab; até Eglaim chegará o seu uivo, e ainda até Beerelim chegará o seu uivo

9Porquanto as aguas de Dimon estão cheias de sangue, porque ainda accrescentarei a Dimon os sobejos; a saber, leões contra aquelles que escaparem de Moab, como tambem contra as reliquias da terra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A detailed lament over the destruction of Moab, Israel's neighboring nation east of the Dead Sea. Entire cities weep, flee, and despair in the face of an imminent catastrophe.

Explanation

Moab was an ancient kingdom descended from Lot (Abraham's nephew, Genesis 19:37) and had a historical relationship of tension and kinship with Israel — it was from there that Ruth came, great-grandmother of King David. The chapter is unusual in its tone: instead of triumph, Isaiah genuinely laments Moab's suffering, showing compassion even for a people historically hostile to Israel. The wealth of specific city names (Ar, Kir, Nebo, Heshbon) reflects detailed geographical knowledge of the Transjordan region. The application today is that announcing judgment on injustice does not mean rejoicing over someone else's suffering — one can weep even over the punishment of enemies.

Fun facts

  • Moab was a neighbor and distant relative of Israel: the book of Ruth tells the story of a Moabite woman who became the great-grandmother of King David, showing how complex the relations between the two peoples were.
  • Isaiah's tone of genuine grief for Moab ('my heart cries out for Moab') is unusual among the Bible's prophecies against foreign nations, most of which are more triumphant.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaías 15:1Ar, Kir, Bajith, Dibon, Nebo, and Medeba are cities in the territory of Moab, east of the Dead Sea. The chapter is a detailed lament, city by city, over the destruction of this neighboring people of Judah, and it sounds more like weeping for them than a threat.
  2. Isaías 15:2A shaved head and a cut-off beard were traditional signs of mourning in the ancient world. Moabites doing this in public paint the picture of an entire people in collective mourning after an invasion.
  3. Isaías 15:3Continues the scene of mourning: people dressed in sackcloth in the streets, weeping on the rooftops and in the squares, going down in tears — the complete public mourning of Moab in the face of the destruction announced at the start of the chapter.
  4. Isaías 15:4The cities of Heshbon, Elealeh, and Jahaz cry out together in despair, and even Moab’s armed soldiers are terrified, their souls filled with anguish — the panic reaches even those who should be defending the territory.
  5. Isaías 15:5Comparing Moab’s weeping to a young heifer’s cry is an idiomatic expression from the region for a particularly sharp and desperate sound of lament. It also appears in other ancient texts to describe cries of pain.
  6. Isaías 15:6The waters of Nimrim, once a source of life for the region, dry up completely — withered grass, dead vegetation, no green plant left standing — an image of farmland ruined by war.
  7. Isaías 15:7Facing this destruction, the people of Moab carry away everything they managed to save and flee to the “brook of the willows,” a border point, trying to escape to safe territory outside Moab.
  8. Isaías 15:8The weeping and wailing spread across all of Moab’s borders, reaching distant cities like Eglaim and Beer-elim — the mourning covers the entire region, end to end.
  9. Isaías 15:9The waters of Dimon, probably another name for Dibon, become full of blood, and the punishment continues: lions will attack the few Moabites who managed to escape — not even the survivors are safe.

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