Isaiah 15:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.

NIV: A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!

NASB: The pronouncement concerning Moab: Certainly in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; Certainly in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

CSB: A pronouncement concerning Moab: Ar in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night. Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night.

NLT: This message came to me concerning Moab: In one night the town of Ar will be leveled, and the city of Kir will be destroyed.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed,

Isaiah begins a new oracle from the Lord, this one about the nation of Moab. This oracle, or prophecy, extends through the end of the next chapter. Some of the content parallels what is written in Jeremiah 48. The Lord may have directed both Jeremiah and Isaiah to revise an existing oracle about Moab to warn of the coming judgment of the Lord.

Israel had a long history with Moab. The Moabites were descended from Abraham's nephew Lot (Genesis 19:30–38). Moab's territory at this time extended east from the Dead Sea to the wilderness. The Moabites were most often an enemy of Israel. The two nations were in frequent conflict, from the time of the wilderness wandering (Numbers 25:1–3; 31:15–17) all the way through to Israel's King Ahab (2 Kings 3:4) and King Jehoram (2 Kings 3:5–27). Still, the two nations shared a kinship and coexisted peacefully for long seasons of their history.

The prophet's vision points forward in time, just three years from the time of his writing (Isaiah 16:14). The events that will unfold will bring about the mourning expressed in Chapter 15 and 16. Those events led to the attack and destruction of one Moabite city after another. This was apparently by an invading army from the north, like the Assyrians.

The oracle says Moab is ruined. This is because the city of Ar is destroyed in a night, as is the city of Kir. The location of Ar in Moab is unknown to modern scholars. Commentators report that Kir is likely Kir-hareseth, the capital of Moab at the time. It was east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon River.

Isaiah 15:1–9 describes the great suffering coming to the Moabites when the Lord's judgment falls on their cities. This judgment is likely in the form of invading Assyrian armies from the north. Moab will be undone as one city after another is laid waste. The people will weep before their false god, Chemosh, who did not save them. In mourning, the men will be bald, clean-shaven, and dressed in sackcloth. Refugees of the lost cities will stream south to escape the slaughter. One oasis will be dried up while the water supply of another city is full of blood.

Isaiah's next divine prophecy is against Moab. This nation is Israel's longtime neighbor to the east of the Dead Sea. He describes them as "undone" after the Moabite cities of Ar and Kir are laid waste in a night. The people go to the temple of their god to weep at the destruction. Everyone grieves, and the cry sent up is heard throughout the nation. Fugitives of the slaughter flee south toward the city of Zoar. They find a much-needed oasis is dried up. Meanwhile, the water supply of another city is full of blood. Even after all this, more suffering is to come to the people of Moab.

This follows a series of predictions about Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia (Isaiah 13—15). Here begins Isaiah's prophecy about great suffering to come on the people of Moab. After sudden destruction, Moab is shattered. The people weep before the false god who did not save them from the slaughter. Every man is bald and clean-shaven in mourning over all the losses. Fugitives of the massacre flee for their lives, heading south to Zoar, where they only find more devastation. The next chapter explains Moab's request to take refuge in Israel, and the further catastrophe they will endure.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).