Isaiah 15:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The Lord Will Judge Moab This is an oracle about Moab: Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Ar of Moab is destroyed! Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Kir of Moab is destroyed!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

מַשָּׂ֖א מוֹאָ֑ב כִּ֠י בְּלֵ֞יל שֻׁדַּ֨ד עָ֤ר מוֹאָב֙ נִדְמָ֔ה כִּ֗י בְּלֵ֛יל שֻׁדַּ֥ד קִיר־מוֹאָ֖ב נִדְמָֽה׃

Transliteration

Maśśāʾ Môʾāḇ kî in layil šuddad ʿār Môʾāḇ nidmâ kî in layil šuddad qîr-Môʾāḇ nidmâ

Grammar Details

• *Maśśāʾ*: construct state, masculine, singular - burden/oracle concerning
• *Môʾāḇ*: proper noun, absolute state - Moab
• *kî*: conjunction - for/because/that
• *layil*: noun, masculine, singular - night
• *šuddad*: pual perfect, 3rd masculine singular - was devastated/laid waste
• *ʿār*: proper noun - Ar (city in Moab)
• *nidmâ*: niphal perfect, 3rd feminine singular - was cut off/destroyed/silenced/brought to ruin
• *qîr*: noun, construct state - wall/city/fortress

Word Meanings

• *Maśśāʾ*: burden/oracle/pronouncement/utterance
• *nidmâ*: was cut off/destroyed/silenced/brought to ruin/ceased to be
• *qîr*: wall/city/fortress of Moab (likely a city name)

Referenced Verses

• Num 21:28 : 28 For fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has consumed Ar of Moab and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
• Isa 11:14 : 14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
• Ezek 25:8-9 : 8 A Prophecy Against Moab“This is what the Sovereign LORD says:‘Moab and Seir say,“Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank, eliminating the cities, including its frontier cities, the beauty of the land– Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over, along with the Ammonites, to the tribes of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
• Amos 2:1-3 : 1 This is what the LORD says:“Because Moab has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. 2 So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn. 3 I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The LORD has spoken!
• Zeph 2:8-9 : 8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah. 9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.” 10 This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 11 The LORD will terrify them, for he will weaken all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the LORD in their own lands.
• Jer 48:1-9 : 1 Judgment Against Moab The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel spoke about Moab.“Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed, it will be destroyed! Kiriathaim will suffer disgrace. It will be captured! Its fortress will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down! 2 People will not praise Moab any more. The enemy will capture Heshbon and plot how to destroy Moab, saying,‘Come, let’s put an end to that nation!’ City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. A destructive army will march against you. 3 Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim,‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction!’ 4 “Moab will be crushed. Her children will cry out in distress. 5 Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith, weeping continually as they go. For on the road down to Horonaim they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction. 6 They will hear,‘Run! Save yourselves! Even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the wilderness!’ 7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials. 8 The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. I, the LORD, have spoken! 9 Set up a gravestone for Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins! Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited.” 10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction! 11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged. 12 But the time is coming when I will send men against Moab who will empty it out. They will empty the towns of their people, then will lay those towns in ruins. I, the LORD, affirm it! 13 The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh. They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel. 14 How can you men of Moab say,‘We are heroes, men who are mighty in battle?’ 15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded. Its finest young men will be slaughtered. I, the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, affirm it! 16 Moab’s destruction is at hand. Disaster will come on it quickly. 17 Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame. Mourn and say,‘Alas, its powerful influence has been broken! Its glory and power have been done away!’ 18 Come down from your place of honor; sit on the dry ground, you who live in Dibon. For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you; he will destroy your fortifications. 19 You who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping. Ask them,‘What has happened?’ 20 They will answer,‘Moab is disgraced, for it has fallen! Wail and cry out in mourning! Announce along the Arnon River that Moab has been destroyed.’ 21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim, 23 on Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon, 24 on Kerioth and Bozrah. It will come on all the towns of Moab, both far and near. 25 Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the LORD, affirm it! 26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me. So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath until he splashes around in his own vomit, until others treat him as a laughingstock. 27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them? 28 Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab. Go and live in the cliffs. Be like a dove that makes its nest high on the sides of a ravine. 29 I have heard how proud the people of Moab are, I know how haughty they are. I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are, what a high opinion they have of themselves. 30 I, the LORD, affirm that I know how arrogant they are. But their pride is ill-founded. Their boastings will prove to be false. 31 So I will weep with sorrow for Moab. I will cry out in sadness for all of Moab. I will moan for the people of Kir Heres. 32 I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. They reached as far as the town of Jazer. The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, and grape crops. 33 Joy and gladness will disappear from the fruitful land of Moab. I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses. No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers, not the shouts of those making wine. 34 Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh will be sounded as far as Jahaz. They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up. 35 I will put an end in Moab to those who make offerings at her places of worship. I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods. I, the LORD, affirm it! 36 So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres. For the wealth they have gained will perish. 37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning. They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow. They will all make gashes in their hands. They will all put on sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops in Moab and in all its public squares there will be nothing but mourning. For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar. I, the LORD, affirm it! 39 Oh, how shattered Moab will be! Oh, how her people will wail! Oh, how she will turn away in shame! Moab will become an object of ridicule, a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.” 40 For the LORD says,“Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab. 41 Her towns will be captured. Her fortresses will be taken. At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened like a woman in labor. 42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation, because she has vaunted herself against the LORD. 43 Terror, pits, and traps are in store for the people who live in Moab. I, the LORD, affirm it! 44 Anyone who flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For the time is coming when I will punish the people of Moab. I, the LORD, affirm it! 45 In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon those trying to escape will stand helpless. For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon. Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon. They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab, the skulls of those war-loving people. 46 Moab, you are doomed! You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed. Your sons will be taken away captive. Your daughters will be carried away into exile. 47 Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune,” says the LORD. The judgment against Moab ends here.
• Isa 14:28 : 28 The Lord Will Judge the Philistines This oracle came in the year that King Ahaz died:
• Isa 16:7 : 7 So Moab wails over its demise– they all wail! Completely devastated, they moan about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.
• Isa 16:11 : 11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, my inner being sighs for Kir Hareseth.
• Isa 25:10 : 10 For the LORD’s power will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.
• Jer 9:26 : 26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the LORD’s sight. Moreover, none of the people of Israel are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”
• Deut 2:9 : 9 Then the LORD said to me,“Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.
• Deut 2:18 : 18 “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab, that is, of Ar.
• 2 Kgs 3:25 : 25 They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered. They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left intact, but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it.
• Exod 12:29-30 : 29 The Deliverance from Egypt It happened at midnight– the LORD attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 30 Pharaoh got up in the night, along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house in which there was not someone dead.
• Isa 13:1 : 1 The Lord Will Judge Babylon This is an oracle about Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
• 1 Thess 5:1-3 : 1 The Day of the Lord Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 3 Now when they are saying,“There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.