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Isaiah 15

KJV · Chapter 15/66

1The 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;

2He 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.

3In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

4And 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.

5My 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.

6For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

7Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.

8For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer–elim.

9For 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.

📖 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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. Isaiah 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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