Isaiah 15:8

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

their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. ¹ 

Isaiah 16:2

16:2 At the fords of the Arnon ² 

the Moabite women are like a bird

that flies about when forced from its nest. ³ 

Isaiah 16:6

16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,

their great arrogance,

their boasting, pride, and excess. ⁴ 

But their boastful claims are empty! ⁵ 

Isaiah 16:11

16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, ⁶ 

my inner being sighs ⁷  for Kir Hareseth. ⁸ 

[15:8]  ¹ tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”

[16:2]  ² tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[16:2]  ³ tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”

[16:6]  ³ tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.

[16:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “not so his boasting.”

[16:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.

[16:11]  ⁵ tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).