15:2 They went up to the temple, 1
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 2
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 3 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 4
27:10 For the fortified city 5 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 6 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 7
1 tn Heb “house.”
2 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
3 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
4 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
5 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
6 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
7 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.