Isaiah 15:2
New International Version
Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.

New Living Translation
Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.

English Standard Version
He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;

Berean Standard Bible
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

King James Bible
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

New King James Version
He has gone up to the temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; On all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off.

New American Standard Bible
The people have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

NASB 1995
They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

NASB 1977
They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

Legacy Standard Bible
They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

Amplified Bible
They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba; Everyone’s head is shaved, and every beard is cut off [in mourning].

Christian Standard Bible
Dibon went up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails on Nebo and at Medeba. Every head is shaved; every beard is chopped short.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Dibon went up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails on Nebo and at Medeba. Every head is shaved; every beard is cut off.

American Standard Version
They are gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab waileth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.

Contemporary English Version
Everyone in Dibon has gone up to the temple and the shrines to cry and weep. All of Moab is crying. Heads and beards are shaved because of what happened at Nebo and Medeba.

English Revised Version
He is gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The people of Dibon go to the temple, to the worship sites, to cry. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved bald, and every beard is cut off.

Good News Translation
The people of Dibon climb the hill to weep at the shrine. The people of Moab wail in grief over the cities of Nebo and Medeba; they have shaved their heads and their beards in grief.

International Standard Version
He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. His head is completely bald, and every beard is shaved off.

Majority Standard Bible
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

NET Bible
They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off.

New Heart English Bible
They have gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. On every head is baldness. Every beard is cut off.

Webster's Bible Translation
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard shorn.

World English Bible
They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He has gone up to Bajith and Dibon, "" The high places—to weep, "" Moab howls on Nebo and on Medeba, "" Baldness [is] on all its heads, every beard cut off.

Young's Literal Translation
He hath gone up to Bajith and Dibon, The high places -- to weep, On Nebo and on Medeba Moab howleth, On all its heads is baldness, every beard cut off.

Smith's Literal Translation
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The house is gone up, and Dibon to the high places to mourn over Nabo, and over Medaba, Moab hath howled: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard shall be shaven.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The house has ascended with Dibon to the heights, in mourning over Nebo and over Medeba. Moab has wailed. There will be baldness on all of their heads, and every beard will be shaven.

New American Bible
Daughter Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; Over Nebo and over Medeba Moab is wailing. Every head is shaved, every beard sheared off.

New Revised Standard Version
Dibon has gone up to the temple, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They have gone up to the house of Ribon, to the high places, to weep; Moab shall howl over Nebo and over Medeba; on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They came up to the house of Ribun on the high places to weep for Nabu and for Medeba; Moab howls and baldness is on all its heads and every beard is shaved
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
He is gone up to Baith, and to Dibon, To the high places, to weep; Upon Nebo, and upon Medeba, Moab howleth; On all their heads is baldness, Every beard is shaven.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Grieve for yourselves; for even Debon, where your altar is, shall be destroyed: thither shall ye go up to weep, over Nabau of the land of Moab: howl ye: baldness shall be on every head, and all arms shall be wounded.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
An Oracle Concerning Moab
1This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night! 2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off. 3In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 48:37-38
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth. / On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 27:31
They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

Job 1:20
Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

Micah 1:16
Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.

Jeremiah 47:5
The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?

2 Samuel 10:4
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

Isaiah 22:12
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.

Jeremiah 4:8
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”

Ezekiel 7:18
They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

Matthew 11:21
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Luke 10:13
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

Revelation 18:19
Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”

James 4:9
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

Matthew 6:16
When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.


Treasury of Scripture

He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

is gone

Isaiah 16:12
And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

Joshua 13:17
Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon,

Jeremiah 48:18,22,23
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds…

Moab

Isaiah 15:3
In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

Isaiah 14:31
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

Isaiah 16:7
Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

Nebo

Numbers 32:3,38
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, …

Deuteronomy 34:1
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

Jeremiah 48:1
Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

Medeba

Numbers 21:30
We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

Joshua 13:16
And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;

all

Isaiah 3:24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

Isaiah 22:12
And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

Leviticus 19:27,28
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard…

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Isaiah 15
1. The lamentable state of Moab














Dibon goes up to its temple
The city of Dibon, located in the territory of Moab, was a significant center of worship and political activity. The phrase "goes up" suggests an act of pilgrimage or ascent, indicating the importance of the temple as a place of worship and lamentation. In the Hebrew context, "going up" often implies approaching a place of divine encounter or judgment. The temple here is likely a pagan shrine, reflecting Moab's idolatrous practices. This ascent to the temple signifies a desperate plea for divine intervention amidst impending doom.

to its high places to weep
High places were elevated sites often used for worship in ancient Near Eastern cultures, including Israel and its neighbors. These locations were thought to be closer to the divine realm. The act of weeping at these high places underscores the depth of Moab's distress and the futility of their idolatrous practices. Historically, high places were centers of both legitimate and illegitimate worship, and here, they symbolize Moab's misplaced trust in false gods.

Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba
Nebo and Medeba were prominent cities in Moab, known for their strategic and cultural significance. The wailing over these cities indicates widespread mourning and a recognition of impending loss. In the Hebrew tradition, wailing is a profound expression of grief, often associated with national calamity or divine judgment. This lamentation reflects Moab's awareness of the severity of their situation and the ineffectiveness of their gods to save them.

Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off
Shaving the head and cutting off the beard were traditional signs of mourning and humiliation in the ancient Near East. These acts symbolize deep sorrow and a state of disgrace. In the Hebrew context, the beard was a symbol of dignity and honor, and its removal indicated a loss of status and respect. This imagery conveys the totality of Moab's despair and the comprehensive nature of their impending judgment. The physical acts of shaving and cutting are outward manifestations of an inward acknowledgment of defeat and subjugation.

(2) He is gone up to Bajith . . .--The noun is better taken not as a proper name, but as "the house" or "temple" of the Moabite god. In this and in the "high places" (Bamoth) we may probably recognise the Bamoth-baal (high places of Baal) which appears in Joshua 13:17, side by side with Dibon, and the Beth-Bamoth of the Moabite stone (Records of the Past, xi. 167). That stone was, it may be noted, found at Diban, which stands on two hills, and represents the ancient city of that name. What the prophet sees as following on the destruction of Ar and Kir is the terror which leads men to join in solemn processional prayers to the temples of their gods.

Nebo.--Not the mountain that bore that name as such (Deuteronomy 34:1), but a city named after the same deity. Mesha boasts of having taken it, and slain seven thousand men (Records of the Past, xi. 166). Medeba is named by him (ib.) as having been taken by Omri, and held by the Israelites for forty years.

On all their heads shall be baldness . . .--This, originally, perhaps, sacrificial in its character, became at a very early period a symbol of intensest sorrow among Eastern nations. It was forbidden to Israel, probably as identified with the worship of other deities than Jehovah (Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1; Job 1:20; Micah 1:16; Amos 8:10). . . .

Verse 2. - He is gone to Bajith; rather, he is gone to the temple. Probably the temple of Baal at Beth-baal-meon is intended. Beth-baal-meon is 'mentioned in close connection with Dibon in Joshua 13:17. And to Dibon. Diboa is mentioned in Numbers 21:30; Numbers 32:3, 34; Joshua 13:9, 17; Jeremiah 48:18, 22. It was an ancient Moabite town of considerable importance, and has recently been identified with the site called Diban, where the Moabite Stone was found. This place is situated in the country east of the Dead Sea, about three miles north of the river Arnon, on the old Roman road connecting Rabbath-Moab with Hesh-bob. The town seems to have gained in importance from the fact that it was the birthplace of Chemosh-Gad, Mesha's father (Moabite Stone, 1. 2). Mesha added to its territory (ibid., 1.21). It is extremely probable that it was the site of one of the Moabite "high places," and was therefore naturally one of the places whereto the Moabites, when afflicted, went up" to weep." Over Nebo, and over Medeba. Nebe and Medeba were also ancient Moabite towns. Nebo is mentioned in Numbers 32:3, 38; Numbers 33:47; 1 Chronicles 5:8; Jeremiah 48:1, 22. It seems to have lain almost midway between Beth-baal-meon (Main) and Medeba, about three or four miles south-east of Heshbon. Medeba obtains notice in Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, 16; 1 Chronicles 19:7. Mesha says that it was taken from the Moabites by Omri, King of Israel, but recovered by himself at the end of forty 'years (Moabite Stone, 11. 7-9). It lay south-east of Hesh-ben, at the spot which still retains the old name - Madeba. It has been suggested that there was at Nebo a shrine of the Baby-Ionian god so named; but this is to assume a resemblance which the facts at present known do not indicate, between the Moabite and Babylonian religions. On all their heads shall be baldness. The practice of cutting off the hair in mourning was common to the Jews (Isaiah 22:12; Micah 1:16) with various other nations; e.g., the Persians (Herod., 9:24), the Greeks, the Macedonians (Pint., 'Vit. Pelop.,' § 34), the primitive Arabs (Krehl, 'Religion der voris-lamit. Araber,' p. 33, note 1), and the North American Indians (Bancroft,' Native Races of America'). It was probably intended, like lacerations, and ashes on the head, as a mere disfigurement,

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Dibon
וְדִיבֹ֛ן (wə·ḏî·ḇōn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1769: Dibon -- a city in Moab, also a place in Judah

goes up
עָלָ֨ה (‘ā·lāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

to its temple
הַבַּ֧יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

to weep
לְבֶ֑כִי (lə·ḇe·ḵî)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1065: A weeping, a dripping

at its high places.
הַבָּמ֖וֹת (hab·bā·mō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 1116: An elevation

Moab
מוֹאָ֣ב (mō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4124: Moab -- a son of Lot,also his descendants and the territory where they settled

wails
יְיֵלִ֔יל (yə·yê·lîl)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3213: To howl, make a howling

over
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Nebo,
נְב֞וֹ (nə·ḇōw)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5015: Nebo -- a city in Moab, also a mountain in Moab

as well as over
וְעַ֤ל (wə·‘al)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Medeba.
מֵֽידְבָא֙ (mê·ḏə·ḇā)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4311: Medeba -- a city in Moab

Every
בְּכָל־ (bə·ḵāl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

head
רֹאשָׁ֣יו (rō·šāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

is shaved,
קָרְחָ֔ה (qā·rə·ḥāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7144: Baldness, bald spot

every
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

beard
זָקָ֖ן (zā·qān)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 2206: Beard, chin

is cut off.
גְּרוּעָֽה׃ (gə·rū·‘āh)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular
Strong's 1639: To scrape off, to shave, remove, lessen, withhold


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 15:1
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