Heshbon cries out with Elealeh. Their voice is heard even to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud. Their souls tremble within them.
Parallel Translations
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Heshbon cries out with Elealeh. Their voice is heard even to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud. Their souls tremble within them.
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And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
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And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even unto Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul is faint within him.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Isaiah 15:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, to Eglath Shelishiyah; for the waters of Nimrim will also become desolate.
- Genesis 27:46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?”
- Numbers 11:15 If you treat me this way, please kill me right now, if I have found favor in your sight; and don’t let me see my wretchedness.”
- Numbers 21:23 Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel.
- Numbers 32:3-4 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land which Yahweh struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock; and your servants have livestock.”
- Deuteronomy 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
- Joshua 13:18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
- Judges 11:20 But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
- 1 Kings 19:4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. Then he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough. Now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
- Job 3:20-22 “Why is light given to him who is in misery, life to the bitter in soul, Who long for death, but it doesn’t come; and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
- Job 7:15-16 so that my soul chooses strangling, death rather than my bones. I loathe my life. I don’t want to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
- Isaiah 16:8-9 For the fields of Heshbon languish with the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations have broken down its choice branches, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness. Its shoots were spread abroad. They passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah. I will water you with my tears, Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the battle shout has fallen.
- Jeremiah 8:3 Death will be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Jeremiah 20:18 Why did I come out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
- Jonah 4:3 Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
- Jonah 4:8 When the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
- Revelation 9:6 In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 15:4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their…
Isa 15:4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard [even] unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
Ver. 4. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh.] See on Isa 15:2.
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The armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out.] As being faint hearted and unwilling to fight, because to no purpose.
His life shall be grievous to him.] Heb., His soul shall be ill-affected to him, or, for himself; that is, say some, all his care shall be for himself; let others shift as they can.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Heshbon and Elealeh; two other Moabitish cities; of which…
Heshbon and Elealeh; two other Moabitish cities; of which see Num 21:25,26; 32:3,37.
Jahaz another city in the utmost borders of Moab, Num 21:23, called also Jahazah, Jos 21:36.
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The armed soldiers, who should be, and use to be, the most courageous.
His life shall be grievous unto him; the Moabites shall generally long for death, to free themselves from those dreadful calamities which they perceive unavoidably coming upon them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh,.... Two other cities…
And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh,.... Two other cities in the land of Moab. The first of these was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who took it from the Moabites, Num 21:25 it came into the hands of the Reubenites, Num 32:3 and afterwards was again possessed by the Moabites, Jer 48:2. Josephus (t) calls it Essebon, and mentions it among the cities of Moab; it goes by the name of Esbuta in Ptolemy (u); and is called Esbus by Jerom (w), who says it was a famous city of Arabia in his time, in the mountains over against Jericho, twenty miles distant from Jordan; hence we read of the Arabian Esbonites in Pliny (x). Elealeh was another city of Moab, very near to Heshbon and frequently mentioned with it, Isa 16:9. Jerom says (y) that in his time it was a large village, a mile from Esbus, or Heshbon. By these two places are meant the inhabitants of them, as the Targum paraphrases it, who cried for and lamented the desolation that was coming, or was come upon them:
their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz; sometimes called Jahazah, Jos 13:18 it was a frontier town, at the utmost borders of the land, Num 21:23 hence the cry of the inhabitants of the above cities is said to reach to it, which expresses the utter destruction that should be made; see Jer 48:34 this is thought to be the same place Ptolemy (z) calls Ziza. Jerom (a) calls it Jazza, as it is in the Septuagint here, and says that in his time it was shown between Medaba and Deblathai.
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Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; not as when they go to battle, with courage and cheerfulness, as some have thought; but through fear, and as in great terror and distress; and so it signifies, that not only the weak and unarmed inhabitants, men and women, should be in the utmost confusion and consternation, but the soldiers that should fight for them, and defend them; who were accoutred, or "harnessed", as the word signifies, and were "girt" and prepared for war, as the Targum renders it; even these would be dispirited, and have no heart to fight, but lament their sad case:
his life shall be grievous to everyone; the life of every Moabite would be a burden to him; he would choose death rather than life; so great the calamity: or the life of every soldier; or "his soul shall cry out", grieve or mourn for "himself" (b); for his own unhappy case; he shall only be concerned for himself, how to save himself, or make his escape; having none for others, for whose defence he was set, and for whom he was to fight; but would have no concern for his king or country, only for himself.
(t) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. (u) Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. P. 137. (w) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 90. M. (x) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 11. (y) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 90. M. (z) Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. p. 137. (a) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 92. F. (b) "anima ejus vociferabit sibi", Pagninus & Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Heshbon - Two other Moabitish cities. Jahaz - Another…
Heshbon - Two other Moabitish cities. Jahaz - Another city in the utmost borders of Moab. Soldiers - Who use to be the most courageous.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The armed soldiers - "The very loins"]…
Verse 4. The armed soldiers - "The very loins"] So the Septuagint, ἡ οσφυς, and the Syriac. They cry out violently, with their utmost force.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 15:4. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh —…
Isa 15:4. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh — Two other Moabitish cities; of which see Num 21:25-26; Num 32:3; Num 32:37. Their voice shall be heard unto Jahaz — Another city in the utmost borders of Moab. The armed soldiers shall cry out — Even the warriors themselves, who should defend the state, shall lose all their spirit and courage, and join in the general lamentation and dismay: see Jer 48:34; Jer 48:41. His life shall be grievous unto him — The Moabites shall generally long for death, to free them from those dreadful calamities which they perceive unavoidably coming upon them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And Heshbon shall cry - This was a celebrated…
And Heshbon shall cry - This was a celebrated city of the Amorites, twenty miles east of the Jordan Jos 13:17. It was formerly conquered from the Moabiltes by Sihon, and became his capital, and was taken by the Israelites a little before the death of Moses Num 21:25. After the carrying away of the ten tribes it was recovered by the Moabites. Jeremiah Jer 48:2 calls it ‘the pride of Moab.’ The town still subsists under the same name, and is described by Burckhardt. He says, it is situated on a hill, southwest from El Aal (Elealeh). ‘Here are the ruins of an ancient town, together with the remains of some edifices built with small stones; a few broken shafts of columns are still standing, a number of deep wells cut in the rock, and a large reservoir of water for the summer supply the inhabitants.’ (“Travels in Syria,” p. 365.)
And Elealeh - This was a town of Reuben about a mile from Heshbon Num 32:37. Burckhardt visited this place. Its present name is El Aal. ‘It stands on the summit of a hill, and takes its name from its situation - Aal, meaning “the high.” It commands the whole plain, and the view from the top of the hill is very extensive, comprehending the whole of the southern Belka. El Aal was surrounded by a well built wall, of which some parts yet remain. Among the ruins are a number of large cisterns, fragments of walls, and the foundations of houses, but nothing worthy of notice. The plain around it is alternately chalk and flint.’ (“Travels in Syria,” p. 365.)
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Even unto Jahaz - This was a city east of Jordan, near to which Moses defeated Sihon. It was given to Reuben Deu 2:32, and was situated a short distance north of Ar, the capital of Moab.
The armed soldiers of Moab - The consternation shall reach the very army. They shall lose their courage, and instead of defending the nation, they shall join in the general weeping and lamentation.
His life shall be grievous - As we say of a person who is overwhelmed with calamities, that his life is wearisome, so, says the prophet, shall it be with the whole nation of Moab.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Itself. Every one shall deplore his own distress.
Itself. Every one shall deplore his own distress.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Heshbon--an Amorite city, twenty miles east of Jordan; taken…
Heshbon--an Amorite city, twenty miles east of Jordan; taken by Moab after the carrying away of Israel (compare Jer. 48:1-47).
Elealeh--near Heshbon, in Reuben.
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Jahaz--east of Jordan, in Reuben. Near it Moses defeated Sihon.
therefore--because of the sudden overthrow of their cities. Even the armed men, instead of fighting in defense of their land, shall join in the general cry.
life, &c.--rather, "his soul is grieved" (Sa1 1:8) [MAURER].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Heshbon, and other cities north, and back to…
4. Heshbon, and other cities north, and back to the south again, join in the cry. Heshbon, an ancient royal residence of the Amorites, (Num_21:26, seq.,) on falling into the hands of the Israelites, was assigned to Reuben, (Jos_13:17;) then to Gad as a city of the Levites.
Jahaz — This place would seem to have lain eastward toward the desert, as may be inferred from Num_21:23, and Deu_2:32, for it was from there that Sihon marched down into the wilderness against the Israelite warriors who conquered him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. (Cf. Jer_48:34.) Heshbon and Elealeh (often mentioned together)…
4. (Cf. Jer_48:34.) Heshbon and Elealeh (often mentioned together) are respectively about 4 and 6 miles N.E. of Nebo. Heshbon, once the capital of the Amorites (Num_21:26) and afterwards an Israelitish city (Num_32:37; Jos_13:17; Jos_21:39), is at the time of the prophecy in the possession of Moab. The site of Jahaz, where Sihon gave battle to the Israelites (Num_21:23), has not been discovered; probably it was some distance south from Heshbon.
the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out] omit “shall” with R.V. Cf. ch. Isa_33:7. The “heroes of Moab” are mentioned in a similar plight in Jer_48:41.
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his life shall be grievous unto him] Rather, as in R.V., his soul trembleth within him (ethical dative).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh . .…
(4) And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh . . .—Of the places thus named (1) Heshbon (now Heshan) was twenty miles east of the Jordan, on a line from the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. It is first mentioned as in the power of Sihon king of the Amorites (Num_21:26). On his overthrow it was assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num_32:37), and became a city of the Levites (Jos_21:39). It had probably fallen into the hands of the Moabites, to whom it had originally belonged (Num_21:26). Its ruins exhibit architecture of various periods, Jewish, Roman, and Saracenic; (2) Elealeh, obviously near Heshbon, had shared its fate (Num_32:3; Num_32:37). The ancient name still attaches to its ruins in the form El-A’al; (3) Jahaz was the scene of the battle between Sihon and the Israelites (Num_21:23; Deu_2:32; Jdg_11:20), and was also within the region assigned to Reuben (Jos_13:10) north of the Arnon. The language of Isaiah implies that it was at some distance from the other two cities. Their cry was to be heard even there. In the Moabite inscription it appears as annexed to Dibon (Records of the Past, xi. 167). Eusebius (Onomast.) names it as between Medeba and Debus, the latter name being probably identical with Dibon. The panic is intensified by the fact that even the “armed soldiers” of Moab are powerless to help, and can only join in the ineffectual wailing.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Heshbon shall cry. Heshbon, now Hesban, lay about twenty…
Heshbon shall cry. Heshbon, now Hesban, lay about twenty miles east of the Jordan, nearly on the parallel of its embouchure into the Dead Sea. It was the capital city of Sihon, (Num_21:21) who took it from the Moabites. On the partition of Palestine among the tribes of Israel, it was assigned to Reuben; (Num_32:37 Jos_13:17) but at a later time we find it reckoned to Gad. (1Ch_6:81) We do not know at what time Moab recovered Heshbon, but may conjecture that it was one of the conquests of Mesha, though it is not mentioned on the Moabite Stone. And Elealeh. Elealeh is commonly united with Heshbon. (Num_32:3, 37 Isa_16:9 Jer_48:34) It is probably identical with the modern El-A"al, a ruined town on the top of a rounded hill, little more than a mile north of Hesban. Even unto Jahaz. Jahaz lay considerably to the south of Hesh-ben, probably not very far north of the Arnon. It must have been in the vicinity of Dibon, since Mesha, on taking it from the Israelites, annexed it to the territory of that city (Moabite Stone, II 19-21). It was the scene of the great battle between Sihon and the Israelites under Moses. (Num_21:23) His life shall be grievous unto him; rather, his soul shall be grieved within him. The Moabite people is personified (Cheyne).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 15:4 Heshbon was the former capital of Sihon (Num…
15:4 Heshbon was the former capital of Sihon (Num 21:23-26). • Elealeh was located close to Heshbon. • Jahaz was between Heshbon and the Arnon River (see Jer 48:34).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.