The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 15
Chapter XV · Vol. III, p. 1165
The lamentable state of Moab.
1 The burden1 of Moab. Because ain the night Arb of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;2 because in the night cKir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence:
B.C. cir. 726.
1 Denunciation of heavy judgments, ch.13.1; 21.1; 22.1. 2 Ki.9.25. Je.23.33,36. Am.2.1-3. ch.25.10. Je.48.1-47. Eze.25.8-11. Zep.2.8-11.
a 1 Th.5.1-3. Je.4.20. Job 27.20; 34.20,25; 36.20. Ex.12.29.
2 Or, cut off, ch.6.11. Zep.1.11.
c ch.16.7,11. Je.48.31,36.
2 He is gone up to dBajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo,e and over Medeba: gon all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
d Jos.13.17. Nu.21.30; 32.34. Je.48.23. Eze.25.9.
e Nu.32.3,38. Je.48.1,22. Nu.21.30. Jos.13.9.
g Je.48.37,38; 7.29. Eze.7.18. Mi.1.16. ch.3.24. Le.19.27,28; 21.5. De.14.1. Job 1.20. ch.3.24; 22.12.
3 In their streets they shall gird themselves withh sackcloth: ion the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.3
h Joel 1.8,13. 2 Sa.3.31. ch.3.24. Eze.7.18.
i De.22.8; ch.22.1. Je.48.38, or 2 Ki.23.12. Je.19.13. Zep.1.5.
3 Heb. descending into weeping or coming down with weeping.
4 And jHeshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall kcry out: his life shall be grievous unto him.
5 Myl heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar,4 an heifer of three years old:5 for by the mounting up of Luhith nwith weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.6
l ch.16.7-11. Je.48.31-39; 4.19,20. Eze.19.1; 27.1; 30.2-4; 32.2. ch.21.3.
4 Zoar lay on the south-eastern border of Moab, close to the shore of the Dead Sea. This therefore is one of the routes that fugitives would naturally take when fleeing from the invaders of their country. There may too be an allusion in the statement to Lot's flight from the cities of the plain of Sodom.—P.
5 Or, to the borders thereof, even as an heifer, Ge.19.22; 14.2.
n Je.48.3-5,34,38, with 1 Sa.6.7,12.
6 For the waters of oNimrim shall be desolate:7 for the hay8 is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.9
o Nu.32.3,36. Je.48.36.
7 Heb. desolations.
8 Hay. Every herbaceous plant; for hay, properly so called, was not made in the East.—C.
9 All being destroyed by the Assyrians.
7 Therefore pthe abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.1
p ch.5.29; 10.6. Na.2.12.
1 Euphrates or Babylonia, or valley of the Arabians, Ps.137.1,2.
8 For the cry is gone qround about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim,2 and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim.3
9 For the waters of Dimon4 shall be full of blood: for I will bring 5more6 upon Dimon, rlions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
4 i.e. bloody, 2 Ki.3.19,22. Je.48.18.
5 Heb. additions, Ro.2.5,8,9.
6 More. The robber after the soldier.—C.
r Je.48.40,44; 15.2,3. Am.5.19. Le.26.22. 2 Ki.17.25,26. Je.5.26,27.
Notes
Ver. 1. Joshua spared Moab by divine command, because the people were the descendants of Lot, De. 2. 9, but they made most unkind returns. Moab caused one of Israel's greatest sins, De. 23. 3; Eglon king of Moab oppressed Israel eighteen years; pride, bloodshed, and idolatry filled up the measure of her guilt. This prophecy against her is the emblem and specimen of God's judgments upon the unkindness and quarrels of churches and nations of cognate descent. C.——Moab was situated on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It extended from Heshbon on the north to the borders of Edom on the south, and on the east lay the great desert of Arabia. It is a high table-land, and though in parts rocky, the soil is rich and the pasture luxuriant. It was on Mount Nebo, near its northern border, that Moses died. P.
Ver. 3. On the tops of their houses. The roofs of eastern houses lay almost universally flat; the people lived much upon them—a mild climate inviting to the open air. C.
Ver. 5. 'Her fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, to Eglath the third' (Lightfoot), Eglath-Shelashiah being the proper name of a place.—'For the steep of Luhith with weeping they ascend; yea, in the way to either Horon they raise a wail of destruction.' C.
Ver. 6. Nimrim was a town in the plain of the Jordan at the foot of the mountains of Moab, a short distance north of the Dead Sea. In the midst of the ruins is a copious fountain. The region round it is abundantly watered, and is celebrated for the luxuriance of its pastures. When the waters of Nimrim would fail, it would be a certain sign of general desolation. P.
Reflections.—Destruction and anguish in tremendous triumph follow sin through impenitent cities and nations. Sudden and unexpected ruin awaits haughty transgressors. And to call on idols or creatures when God is our enemy is but to add to our anguish. The wealth which men eagerly gain but invites the invader, tempts the robber, and endangers the owner. It increases the owner's care and grief, while it assists his enemy to destroy him, and if hardened sinners escape one judgment, they prepare for another. But if such be the case of a ravaged nation, alas! the terrors, the torments, the howlings woe. Who shall abide with devouring fire? Who shall dwell with everlasting dispair.