Bible Strands
Isaiah 15:2
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah pronounces a burden against Moab immediately following the sudden overnight destruction of Ar and Kir.
The words — עָלָה (alah) = it has gone up, and לְ/בֶכִי (le/vechi) = for weeping.
The thread — The prohibition against shaving heads and beards is stated in Leviticus 21:5, while Nebo, Dibon, and Medeba are named in Jeremiah 48:1 and Numbers 21:30 regarding Moab's judgment and military campaigns.
Why it lands — The text records ritual mourning and civic devastation at established religious sites, requiring the reader to acknowledge that judgment reaches institutional centers alongside ordinary populations.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 21:5 Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Jeremiah 48:1 Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.
- Numbers 21:30 But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”
- Deuteronomy 34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead as far as Dan,
- Isaiah 3:24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.
- 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?
- Jeremiah 48:18 Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
- Leviticus 19:27 You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
- Numbers 32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Numbers 32:38 as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.