Isaiah 15:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;

NIV: Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.

NASB: The people have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

CSB: Dibon went up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails on Nebo and at Medeba. Every head is shaved; every beard is chopped short.

NLT: Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.

KJV: He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

NKJV: He has gone up to the temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; On all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off.

This oracle against Moab is describing the response to a terrible judgment that will fall on the nation. Isaiah wrote that because two of the major cities have been destroyed, including the capital, Moab is defeated (Isaiah 15:1). The judgment has apparently taken the form of invading armies with Assyria as the most likely attacker.

Now, the prophet begins to record the response of the people of Moab, describing them as "he." This follows the common biblical practice of referring to a nation through its primary founder (Isaiah 27:6; Obadiah 1:6) The people have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, a major city just north of the Arnon River. They also have gone to the high places used for worship. In fact, these spots may all have been in or near the city of Dibon. This city was the center of the worship of the false Moabite god Chemosh. The people weep before this idol despite his inability to save them from destruction.

In addition, Isaiah reports that the people will go to Nebo and to Medeba to wail and mourn. Mount Nebo is a high mountain at the north end of the Dead Sea. The city of Nebo may have been nearby, and likely was destroyed as well. Medeba is a city just south of Heshbon, over the border in the territory of Ammon. Medeba, too, may have been wiped out.

The nation will enter an official state of mourning. The men all shave their heads bald and shave off their beards. The normal appearance for men at the time was an unshaved head, though perhaps cut short, and a long beard. Only in a times of official grief and mourning would all the men shave off their beards and hair together.

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).