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 16:6-7

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 

16:7 So Moab wails over its demise ⁶  –

they all wail!

Completely devastated, they moan

about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. ⁷ 

[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.”

[16:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”

[16:7]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”