Isaiah 15:5

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, ¹ 

and for the fugitives ²  stretched out ³  as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. ⁴ 

Isaiah 16:14

16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years ⁵  Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.” ⁶ 

[15:5]  ¹ tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.

[15:5]  ² tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.

[15:5]  ³ tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”

[16:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “in three years, like the years of a hired worker.” The three years must be reckoned exactly, just as a hired worker would carefully keep track of the time he had agreed to work for an employer in exchange for a predetermined wage.

[16:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the splendor of Moab will be disgraced with all the great multitude, and a small little remnant will not be strong.”