Isaiah 15:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.

NIV: The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.

NASB: For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Indeed, the grass is withered, the new growth has died, There is no greenery.

CSB: The Waters of Nimrim are desolate; the grass is withered, the foliage is gone, and the vegetation has vanished.

NLT: Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains.

KJV: For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

NKJV: For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate, For the green grass has withered away; The grass fails, there is nothing green.

The Wadi en-Numeira is located on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea. This would be about ten miles, or sixteen kilometers, from the very southern edge of that body of water. Scholars agree that might be the oasis described in this verse as the waters of Nimrim. It would have been another stop for the refugees of Moab in their journey south to Zoar, where they hoped to escape the bloodshed and find a place to settle (Isaiah 15:5).

The problem with this place, known for water, is that there isn't any water to be found. Either due to drought or because so many refugees have come for water at once, they find the place dried up. The grass is withered and the greenery is gone. They cannot even feed their animals, let alone water them.

Things keep deteriorating for the Moabites under this judgment from the Lord. The next verse implies that many people must abandon their animals at this point (Isaiah 15:7).

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).

Accessed 5/6/2024 7:16:29 PM