Isaiah 15:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.

NIV: Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.

NASB: For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab, Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its howling to Beer-elim.

CSB: For their cry echoes throughout the territory of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; their wailing reaches Beer-elim.

NLT: A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab from one end to the other — from Eglaim to Beer-elim.

KJV: For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.

NKJV: For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab, Its wailing to Eglaim And its wailing to Beer Elim.

The judgment of God has come on the people of the nation of Moab. Foreign invaders have wiped out several of their cities (Isaiah 15:1–2). The survivors have trudged south to escape the bloodshed and find a new place to settle (Isaiah 15:5). This judgment has not yet taken place at the time of Isaiah writing, but his oracle from the Lord says that it will in three years' time (Isaiah 16:14).

Now Isaiah emphasizes just how difficult the suffering of the people is. The sound of their grief has gone around the land of Moab reaching both Eglaim and Beer-elim. Scholars do not know the locations of these two cities. They suggest that perhaps one is in the south and the other in the north. It's possible that the loud weeping of a large group of people could be heard from extremely far away; more likely is that news of the disaster is traveling through the area. Either way, the point is clear: The Moabites were in great anguish. The destruction and loss of life from one end of the nation to the other is agonizing. Everyone was suffering.

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 4/30/2024 12:22:53 AM