Isaiah – Chapter 15

Old Testament9 Verses

1The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it is silent: because the wall of Moab is destroyed in the night, it is silent.

2The 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.

3In their streets they are girded with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets all shall howl and come down weeping.

4Hesebon shall cry, and Eleale, their voice is heard even to Jasa. For this shall the well appointed men of Moab howl, his soul shall howl to itself.

5My heart shall cry to Moab, the bars thereof shall flee unto Segor a heifer of three years old: for by the ascent of Luith they shall go up weeping: and in the way of Oronaim they shall lift up a cry of destruction.

6For the waters of Nemrim shall be desolate, for the grass is withered away, the spring is faded, all the greenness is perished.

7According to the greatness of their work, is their visitation also: they shall lead them to the torrent of the willows.

8For the cry is gone round about the border of Moab: the howling thereof unto Gallim, and unto the well of Elim the cry thereof.

9For the waters of Dibon are filled with blood: for I will bring more upon Dibon: the lion upon them that shall flee of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

Reflection for Today

When the Church proclaims Isaiah Chapter 15 at Mass or in the Liturgy of the Hours, she treats this text as the living voice of God.

In the four senses of Scripture—literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical—the Church finds rich meaning in Isaiah Chapter 15. At the moral level, discernment and obedience to God challenges us to examine conscience and amend our lives (CIC 2466).

As you continue through Isaiah, carry this chapter's lesson into your family, parish, and work. Catholic faith is always ecclesial—God speaks to us as members of Christ's Body, not as isolated individuals.

💡Catholic Reflection • Church Teachings

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