Isaiah 15:5-8

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 

15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; ⁵ 

the grass is dried up,

the vegetation has disappeared,

and there are no plants.

15:7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,

they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.

15:8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;

their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. 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.”

[15:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”

[15:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”