Isaiah 15:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.

NIV: In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.

NASB: In their streets they have put on sackcloth; On their housetops and in their public squares Everyone is wailing, overcome with weeping.

CSB: In its streets they wear sackcloth; on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails, falling down and weeping.

NLT: They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.

KJV: In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

NKJV: In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth; On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly.

Isaiah is describing the season of mourning that will come on Moab. This will follow a catastrophic event that will fall on the nation as the judgment of the Lord. Commentators suggest the pivotal event was an invasion by the Assyrians, who conquered nearly all the nations in the region at this time (Isaiah 15:1).

The prophet has said that the men have shaved their heads and beards to express their grief (Isaiah 15:2). He now adds that all the people in the street are dressed in sackcloth. This was a dark, rough material people of the past would put on while mourning instead of their regular clothing. "Sackcloth" is a literal name, since the material is much like burlap or other fabrics intended to cover supplies, not people. Wearing something uncomfortable and unattractive was part of signaling grief and unhappiness. The mourning ritual sometimes included bereaved family members rolling on the ground. It would be quite a sight to find all the men in the nation dressed in this manner, shaved and bald, and perhaps rolling or lying on the ground.

In both private and public spaces, from the housetops to the squares, everyone in Moab will "melt in tears." Their sadness is profound and universally shared.

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).