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Isaiah 15

Isaiah 15 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Isaiah 15 is a short oracle of judgment against Moab. The chapter moves quickly from ruined cities to mourning crowds, dried-up water sources, and people fleeing with what they can carry. It presents grief, collapse, and the reach of divine judgment across the land.

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What happens in Isaiah 15?

The chapter announces disaster against Moab, starting with the destruction of major cities in a single night. The people respond with loud mourning, shaved heads, sackcloth, and public lament. Even the soldiers are shaken. The prophet speaks with deep sorrow over Moab as fugitives flee from one place to another. Water sources dry up, vegetation fails, and survivors carry their possessions across the border. The final verse intensifies the scene by describing bloodshed and further danger for the remnant.

Isaiah 15 begins a brief section focused on Moab, a nation east of Israel. It follows earlier warnings in Isaiah and continues the theme of God bringing down proud powers and exposing human weakness. The chapter is part of a larger set of judgments in which nearby nations are shown that no land is outside God's rule.

Themes to notice

  • JudgmentThe chapter shows sudden destruction coming on Moab as an act of divine justice.
  • MourningPublic grief fills the cities, showing the depth of loss and fear among the people.
  • CollapseDry water sources, fleeing survivors, and ruined places picture a nation falling apart.

Questions for Isaiah 15

  • What details in this chapter show how sudden and severe Moab's disaster is?
  • Why does the passage spend so much time describing the people's mourning and fear?
  • How does Isaiah 15 help you think about God's rule over nations and human security?

Read the full text of Isaiah 15 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Isaiah 15

The Burden against Moab

1This is the burden against Moab:

Ar in Moab is ruined,

destroyed in a night!

Kir in Moab is devastated,

destroyed in a night!

2Dibon goes up to its temple

to weep at its high places.

Moab wails over Nebo,

as well as over Medeba.

Every head is shaved,

every beard is cut off.

3In its streets they wear sackcloth;

on the rooftops and in the public squares

they all wail, falling down weeping.

4Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;

their voices are heard as far as Jahaz.

Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out;

their souls tremble within.

5My heart cries out over Moab;

her fugitives flee as far as Zoar,

as far as Eglath-shelishiyah.

With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith;

they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.

6The waters of Nimrim are dried up,

and the grass is withered;

the vegetation is gone,

and the greenery is no more.

7So they carry their wealth and belongings

over the Brook of the Willows.

8For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab.

Their wailing reaches Eglaim;

it is heard in Beer-elim.

9The waters of Dimon are full of blood,

but I will bring more upon Dimon—

a lion upon the fugitives of Moab

and upon the remnant of the land.

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