Chapter 15
15:1 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it is silent: because the wall of Moab is destroyed in the night, it is silent.
15:2 The house is gone up, and Dibon to the high places to mourn over Nabo, and over Medaba, Moab has howled: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard shall be shaven.
15:3 In their streets they are girded with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets every howling shall come down weeping.
15:4 Hesebon shall cry, and Eleale, their voice is heard even to Jasa. For this shall the well appointed men of Moab howl, his soul shall howl to itself.
15:5 My heart shall cry to Moab, the bars thereof shall flee unto Segor a heifer of three years old: for by the ascent of Luith they shall go up weeping: and in the way of Oronaim they shall lift up a cry of contrition.
15:6 For the waters of Nemrim shall be desolate, for the grass is withered away, the spring is faded, all the greenness is perished.
15:7 According to the greatness of their work, is their visitation also: they shall lead them to the torrent of the willows.
15:8 For the cry is gone round about the border of Moab: the howling thereof unto Gallim, and unto the well of Elim the cry thereof.
15:9 For the waters of Dibon are filled with blood: for I will bring more upon Dibon: the lion upon them that shall flee of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
432 . The burden of Moab . In this part, he threatens against the Moabites—who were descended from Moab, the firstborn of Lot (Gen 19:37)—because they rejoiced in the destruction of the sons of Israel by the Assyrians and Chaldeans, by whom nevertheless they themselves were destroyed, although afterwards. And this is divided into two parts:
in the first, he threatens their destruction;
in the second, he sets out the condition of their destruction: send forth the lamb (ch. 16).
The first of these is divided into two:
in the first, he threatens destruction by the Assyrians;
in the second, by the Babylonians: they shall lead them to the torrent (Isa 15:7).
The first of these is divided into three:
in the first, he indicates, from their sorrow, the magnitude of the punishment;
in the second, the manner and order of the punishment: the bars thereof (Isa 15:5);
in the third, the reckoning of the magnitude of the punishment: according to the greatness of their work (Isa 15:7).
433 . He shows the magnitude of their sorrow as to three things,
namely, through the silence of stupor;
through the tears of sorrow: the house is gone up (Isa 15:2);
through the compassion of enemies: my heart shall cry to Moab (Isa 15:5).
Stupor occurs from the privation of the things in which someone trusts. Now they trusted in the royal city from which they hoped to receive help, and in their fortifications: and therefore, he says: the burden of Moab , that is, this is the vision of the burden of Moab, that is, the province of the Moabites; it is silent , from its stupor, because Ar , the royal city, is laid waste in the night , literally, because of grave tribulation; and because the wall , of fortification, is laid waste in the night , Moab is silent : if thieves had gone in (Obad 1:5).
434 . The house is gone up . Here he shows the magnitude of their punishment from the magnitude of their weeping, and he sets out three things.
First, he foretells their weeping, both as to those who weep: the house , namely, the royal house, and Dibon , a certain noble city; and as to the place: is gone up to mourn , that is, to weep, to the high places , in which they offered sacrifices to idols, that they might seek help in their mourning; and as to the matter: Moab , the entire province, has howled over Nabo and over Medaba , certain cities which had been destroyed: make you mourning as for an only son (Joel 2).
435 . Second, he describes the manner of their mourning, according to the custom of the ancients, who grew their beard and hair in time of joy and cut them in time of sadness, as it says in Job 1:20: having shaven his head, he fell down upon the ground . On all their heads shall be baldness , above: and instead of curled hair, baldness (Isa 3:24).
436 . Third, he excludes any limit to their weeping, both as to diversity of place: for every , that is, in every manner, howling , shall be, on the tops of their houses , which had level places for sitting, and in their streets shall come down weeping , from the high places to which they had ascended weeping, so that there was weeping in the mountains and in the valleys. Hesebon shall cry , weeping, and Eleale , which were cities that were, indeed, in the land of the kingdom of Moab; their voice is heard even to Jasa , which is another city of Moab. And as to the diversity of those who weep: for this , evil, shall the well appointed men , namely, well appointed for fighting, not just old men, and together with others but also to itself , when it stands alone; his soul , for mourning proceeds from the innermost of the heart: upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning (Jer 48:3).
437 . Note on the words, the wall is destroyed in the night (Isa 15:1), that night has darkness,
and first, the darkness of the original stain: let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said: a man child is conceived (Job 3:3);
second, the darkness of actual sin: they that sleep, sleep in the night (1 Thess 5:7);
third, the darkness of the ignorance of the unbeliever: the night is passed, and the day is at hand (Rom 13:12).
438 . Second, night has dread:
first, the dread of oppressing despair: a tempest shall oppress him in the night (Job 27:20);
second, the dread of present affliction: her lamp shall not be put out in the night (Prov 31:18);
third, the dread of eternal damnation: they themselves being fettered with the bonds of darkness, and a long night . . . were pleasing to the eternal providence (Wis 17:2).
439 . Third, night has the quiet of contemplation,
in which is first the desire of fervent love, below: my soul has desired you in the night (Isa 26:9);
second, the sacrifice of confession of sin: I rose at midnight to confess to you (Ps 118[119]:62);
third, the silence of divine consolation: for while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, your Almighty word came leaping down from heaven from your royal throne (Wis 18:14–15).
440 . My heart . Here he shows the magnitude of their punishment from the compassion of their enemies, for the prophet himself suffers with them; to Moab , that is, for the affliction of Moab: I will watch over you (Jer 48:31).
The bars . Here he describes the manner and order of their punishment, and he sets out three things.
First, the destruction of their land, the bars , that is, the strength or the borders, thereof , of Moab, are deserted, unto Segar , one of the five cities that was destroyed, Genesis 10, which was in the land of Moab, a heifer , because of lust, of three years old , when animals are in their vigor and ardor; or of three years old , because it fell by the third tremor of the earthquake, after Lot had left: Egypt is like a fair and beautiful heifer (Jer 46:20).
Second, the captivity of their men: for by the ascent of Luith , a certain slope, or a certain village, from which they were led captive, they shall go up , to Moab, led captive. And in the way of Oronaim , a certain city of Moab, through which they crossed, they shall lift up a cry of contrition : the soldier is led away captive (Nah 2:7).
Third, the barrenness of their fields, for the waters , that is, the land of Moab will be so barren it will be like the territory around the town of Nemrim , which is by the sea, because its waters are salty and bitter; not indeed because of the waters, but by the judgment of God, the grass , already arisen, is withered away ; the spring , as to what was sprouting; the greenness , of trees already arisen: he has turned rivers into a desert (Ps 106[107]:33).
442 . According to the greatness . Here the reckoning of the magnitude of their punishment is set out: their work , of sin; their visitation , vengeance: according to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be (Deut 25:2).
443 . They shall lead them to the torrent . Here he threatens destruction by the Babylonians, where some were held captive, and as to this he says: the Chaldeans shall lead them , Moab, to the torrent , the Euphrates, beside Babylon, of the willows , which thrive by the river: upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept (Ps 136[137]:1). Some of them were killed, and as to this he says: for the cry is gone round about , of those who weep, or of the Chaldean warriors. For the waters of Dibon , the name of a city, in which they practiced their lusts because of the pleasantness of the place: the Moabites ran into the waters of Dibon (2 Kngs 3). Some remained, afflicted by various persecutions: for I will bring more , punishments, upon Dibon , to which the Jews had fled, upon them that shall flee of Moab , from the Assyrians; and upon the remnant of the land , whom the Assyrians sent away; the lion : literally, beasts that were killing them, or a raging enemy, namely the Chaldeans, above: for all this his indignation is not turned away (Isa 9:12).