1
An oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to ruin; surely in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste and brought to ruin!
2
The daughter of Dibon goes up to the high places to weep; Moab laments over Nebo and over Medeba. On all their heads is baldness, and every beard is cut off.
3
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops and in their broad places everyone wails, with tears flowing down.
4
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles within him.
5
My heart cries out for Moab; his fugitives have reached Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For by the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the way to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction.
6
For the waters of Nimrim are desolate; the grass is withered away, the tender grass fails, there is no green thing.
7
Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have stored up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.
8
For the cry has gone around the borders of Moab; its wailing reaches to Eglaim, and its wailing to Beer-elim.
9
For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; yet I will bring upon Dibon still more— a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.
💔😭🔥 Summary of Isaiah 15 – Lament over Destroyed Moab
Isaiah 15 is a prophecy of judgment against Moab, a neighboring nation of Israel that was often at enmity with it. Yet unlike the harsher tone against Babylon, this oracle is filled with lament and sorrow. Moab’s chief cities, Ar and Kir, are destroyed in a single night, and the whole land weeps. This is not merely military ruin — it is a shared grief under the Lord’s wrath. Even God’s own heart is pictured as moved by Moab’s suffering (see the following chapter).
📌 1. Destruction in a Night (verses 1–2)
“Ar of Moab is laid waste in a single night… Kir of Moab is laid waste in a single night…”
- Two chief cities of Moab fall swiftly and suddenly
- The people go up to the shrines and high places — not to give thanks, but to weep and shave their heads as a sign of mourning
🎯 This sudden fall shows how unsafe human strength is without God.
📌 2. Weeping Everywhere (verses 3–5)
“In the streets they wear sackcloth… my heart trembles for Moab…”
- Every city — Elealeh, Nebo, Medeba — is filled with cries and grief
- Even the Lord says, “my heart trembles for Moab” (verse 5) — showing divine compassion even in judgment
🎯 The Lord does not delight in suffering, even when He brings righteous judgment.
📌 3. Moab Flees and Loses Hope (verses 6–9)
“For the waters of Nimrim are dried up… their cry reaches as far as Eglaim…”
- The waters dry up, the harvest fails, and the people flee with what little they can carry
- The nation becomes a picture of spiritual decline and social ruin
🎯 If the water of life is absent, any nation will die in both spirit and body.
📖 Main Lessons
- The fall of a nation can happen in a single night — we must not be proud of our own strength
- The Lord may be angry, yet still be compassionate
- Moab’s ruin shows that a people living in pride and idolatry will at last fall
- Lament is not weakness, but an admission that without God there is no hope
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
Jesus wept over Jerusalem that was to be destroyed — a parallel to the weeping over Moab
➡️ The Messiah also wept over a city that refused God’s way of peace
“The Lord is not slow concerning His promise… but is patient toward you, because He desires that all should turn and not perish.”
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
🎯 Moab is a warning that anyone who feels secure outwardly may fall inwardly — without repentance, there is no protection.
🕊️ “In a night Ar of Moab is laid waste…” – Isaiah 15:1
🕊️ “My heart trembles for Moab…” – Isaiah 15:5
🕊️ “For the waters of Nimrim are dried up…” – Isaiah 15:6
🕊️ “Their cry reaches as far as Eglaim…” – Isaiah 15:8
