Isaiah 15:3

Isaiah 15:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth; On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.

Context of Isaiah 15:3

1An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone. 2He 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; in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears. 4Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles. 5My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;

Isaiah 15:3 word by word

בְּחוּצֹתָ֖יו חָ֣גְרוּ שָׂ֑ק עַ֣ל גַּגּוֹתֶ֧יהָ וּבִרְחֹבֹתֶ֛יהָ כֻּלֹּ֥ה יְיֵלִ֖יל יֹרֵ֥ד בַּבֶּֽכִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• In their streetsחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• they shall girdחָגַרchâgar · to girdH2296
• themselves with sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• on the topsגָּגgâg · roofH1406
• of their houses, and in their streetsרְחוֹבrechôb rechôb · street/plazaH7339
• every one shall howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
• weepingבְּכִיbekîy · weepingH1065
• abundantlyיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381

Cross-references for Isaiah 15:3

• 2 Samuel 3:31Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier.
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body—
• Jonah 3:6The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
• Matthew 11:21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
• Isaiah 15:2He 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;
• Isaiah 22:1The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,
• Deuteronomy 22:8"When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
• Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—all the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.'"
• Jeremiah 48:38On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord.
• Isaiah 15:5My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;

Commentaries on Isaiah 15:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3With sackcloth - שק sak . The word is in the plural שקים sakkim, sacks, in one of De Rossi's MSS.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3In their streets - Publicly. Everywhere there shall be lamentation and grief. Some shall go into the streets, and some on the tops of the houses. They shall gird themselves with sackcloth - The common token of mourning; and also worn usually in times of humiliation and fasting. It was one of the outward acts by which they expressed deep sorrow (Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 19:1; Job 16:15; the note at Isaiah 3:24). On the tops of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9This message of judgment and sorrow was about Moab's fall. The many references to Moabite places show that Isaiah knew Moab well.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. tops of ... houses--flat; places of resort for prayer, &c., in the East (Ac 10:9). weeping abundantly--"melting away in tears." Horsley prefers "descending to weep." Thus there is a "parallelism by alternate construction" [Lowth], or chiasmus; "howl" refers to "tops of houses." "Descending to weep" to "streets" or squares, whither they descend from the housetops.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 15:3

• House
• Sackcloth

In the dictionaries

• Camel
• Cry
• Arnon
• Baal (1)
• Canon of the Old Testament
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Isaiah
• Moab; Moabites
• Palestine

Commentaries on Isaiah 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings