Isaiah 15

Chapter context

What is happening in Isaiah 15?

holinessjudgmentremnantmessiah

Isaiah 15 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as oracles of judgment and holiness. Isaiah is one of Scripture’s grandest prophetic books, moving from holy judgment to consolation, servant imagery, and new-creation hope. Read this chapter with the wider themes of holiness, judgment, and remnant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

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.