Isaiah 15:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.

NIV: So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

NASB: Therefore the abundance which they have acquired and stored up, They carry it off over the brook of Arabim.

CSB: So they carry their wealth and belongings over the Wadi of the Willows.

NLT: The people grab their possessions and carry them across the Ravine of Willows.

KJV: Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.

NKJV: Therefore the abundance they have gained, And what they have laid up, They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.

Isaiah's oracle from the Lord continues to describe the future southward travel of the Moabite refugees. They are coming from their destroyed cities in the north toward the city of Zoar in the nation of Edom, just south of the Dead Sea (Isaiah 15:5).

Their arrival at a place Isaiah knew as the waters of Nimrim is met with more despair. Hoping to find grass and water for their animals at this oasis, the people instead found it dried up and all the greenery dead. Modern scholars call this location the Wadi en-Numeirah, about ten miles, or sixteen kilometers, from the southern edge of the Dead Sea (Isaiah 15:6).

This verse implies that not finding water at this crucial point in the trip may mean that some of the refugees had to leave their animals behind. This would mean they would no longer have them to haul the belongings they had brought from home. As a result, the people may have had to carry their possessions themselves on foot. That, of course, would mean many of those possessions would have to be discarded. These few things they carried were all they had left in the world, their life savings. Those who measured their existence in the "abundance of their possessions," as Jesus described it (Luke 12:15), must have reached the low point of their lives. Jesus said this is the sorry fate of everyone who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21).

Isaiah concludes that they will carry these possessions over the "Book of the Willows," or the "Ravine of the Poplars," depending on the translation. Scholars believe this to be the Zered River, the border between Moab and Edom. Reaching it would have finally provided water and brought them close to their destination of the city of Zoar.

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).