Old Testament · Prophecy

Isaiah 15

Moab's Ruin

A lament for Moab — not from Moab, but from Isaiah. Even in judgment against Israel's enemies, there is grief.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV

1This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!

2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

3In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.

4Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.

5My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.

6The waters of Nimrim are dried up, and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone, and the greenery is no more.

7So they carry their wealth and belongings over the Brook of the Willows.

8For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; it is heard in Beer-elim.

9The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring more upon Dimon— a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon the remnant of the land.

Understand This

Isaiah 15, explained

What Isaiah 15 is saying

This oracle against Moab describes the sudden, devastating destruction of its major cities. The Moabites flee in panic, weeping as they go, and the once-fertile land becomes desolate. Even Isaiah expresses sympathy, with his own heart crying out for Moab.

The background behind it

Moab, Israel's neighbor east of the Dead Sea, shared ancestral ties through Lot. The cities named—Ar, Kir, Dibon, Medeba—are attested in the Mesha Stele and other Ancient Near Eastern inscriptions, confirming the geography.

Themes running underneath

Judgment on the nations is not delivered with glee. The prophet's own compassion for Moab reveals that divine justice does not preclude grief over suffering.

Why it still matters

It is possible to acknowledge that consequences are deserved while still grieving the pain they cause. Prophetic truth-telling and empathy are not opposites.

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Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.