New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Isaiah 15
1
Here is a message the Lord gave me about Moab. The city of Ar in Moab is destroyed. It happened in a single night. Kir in Moab is also destroyed. It happened in a single night.
Reference
2
The people of Dibon go up to their temple to worship. They go to their high places to sob. The people of Moab cry over the cities of Nebo and Medeba. All of their heads are shaved. All of their beards have been cut off.
Reference
3
In the streets they wear black clothes. On their roofs and in the market places all of them are crying. They fall down flat with their faces toward the ground. And they sob.
4
The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out. Their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. So the fighting men of Moab cry out. Their hearts are weak.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 48:34
5
My heart cries out over Moab. Some who run away get as far as Zoar. Others run all the way to Eglath Shelishiyah. Others go up the road to Luhith. They are sobbing as they go. Still others travel the road to Horonaim. They sing a song of sadness because their town is being destroyed.
Reference
📍 Locations
6
The waters at Nimrim are dried up. And so is the grass. The plants have died. Nothing green is left.
Reference
📍 Nimrim
Parallel theme
Numbers 32:36
7
The people are trying to escape through the Valley of the Poplar Trees. They are carrying with them the wealth they have collected and stored up.
Reference
📍 Brook of the Willows
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 48:36
8
Their loud cries echo along the border of Moab. They reach as far as Eglaim. Their songs of sadness reach all the way to Beer Elim.
📍 Locations
9
The waters of the city of Dimon are full of blood. But the Lord will bring even more trouble on Dimon. He will bring lions against those who run away from Moab. They will also attack those who remain in the land.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Kings 17:25
Summary of Isaiah 15
Isaiah 15 is a short but emotionally powerful prophecy describing the coming devastation of Moab.
The chapter moves rapidly from city to city, showing that the disaster will affect the entire nation rather than a single settlement.
Important Moabite cities such as Ar, Kir, Heshbon, Elealeh, and Dimon are associated with mourning, destruction, and flight.
The people respond with traditional signs of grief, including shaved heads, beards, sackcloth, and public crying.
The emotional intensity of the chapter is especially striking because Isaiah does not describe Moab's suffering with cold detachment.
He repeatedly expresses sorrow as he watches refugees flee and hears the cries of a devastated population.
The disaster affects both people and the land itself.
Water sources dry up, vegetation disappears, agricultural areas are damaged, and people carry away their possessions as they flee.
The chapter therefore presents judgment as something that reaches into cities, families, agriculture, economy, military strength, and everyday life.
Moab was a neighboring kingdom east of the Dead Sea, and its relationship with Israel and Judah was complicated, involving periods of conflict, competition, and interaction.
Isaiah's prophecy reflects the unstable political environment of the ancient Near East, where smaller kingdoms could suddenly become victims of much larger military powers.
The chapter's final image of blood in the waters emphasizes the terrible human cost of war and judgment.
The overall message is that national strength and security can disappear suddenly, and when judgment comes, it can affect every part of society; yet Isaiah's sorrow for Moab also shows that God's judgment is presented with a recognition of human suffering rather than simple celebration over an enemy's destruction.
The chapter moves rapidly from city to city, showing that the disaster will affect the entire nation rather than a single settlement.
Important Moabite cities such as Ar, Kir, Heshbon, Elealeh, and Dimon are associated with mourning, destruction, and flight.
The people respond with traditional signs of grief, including shaved heads, beards, sackcloth, and public crying.
The emotional intensity of the chapter is especially striking because Isaiah does not describe Moab's suffering with cold detachment.
He repeatedly expresses sorrow as he watches refugees flee and hears the cries of a devastated population.
The disaster affects both people and the land itself.
Water sources dry up, vegetation disappears, agricultural areas are damaged, and people carry away their possessions as they flee.
The chapter therefore presents judgment as something that reaches into cities, families, agriculture, economy, military strength, and everyday life.
Moab was a neighboring kingdom east of the Dead Sea, and its relationship with Israel and Judah was complicated, involving periods of conflict, competition, and interaction.
Isaiah's prophecy reflects the unstable political environment of the ancient Near East, where smaller kingdoms could suddenly become victims of much larger military powers.
The chapter's final image of blood in the waters emphasizes the terrible human cost of war and judgment.
The overall message is that national strength and security can disappear suddenly, and when judgment comes, it can affect every part of society; yet Isaiah's sorrow for Moab also shows that God's judgment is presented with a recognition of human suffering rather than simple celebration over an enemy's destruction.