Lectionary Calendar
Monday, September 1st, 2025
the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Century Version

Isaiah 15:3

In the streets they wear rough cloth to show their sadness. On the roofs and in the public squares, they are crying loudly.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - House;   Sackcloth;   Thompson Chain Reference - Dead, the;   Joy-Sorrow;   Mourning;   Sackcloth;   Weeping;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Houses;   Moabites;   Sackcloth;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - House;   Moabites;   Mourning;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Camel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - House;   Mourning;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Baldness;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ancestor-Worship;   Dibon;   House;   Moab, Moabites;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon ammonites children of ammon;   Dwelling;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Arnon;   Baal (1);   Evil;   Moab;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
In its streets they wear sackcloth;on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,falling down and weeping.
Hebrew Names Version
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, everyone wails, weeping abundantly.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.
New American Standard Bible
In their streets they have put on sackcloth; On their housetops and in their public squares Everyone is wailing, overcome with weeping.
Amplified Bible
In their streets they have wrapped themselves with sackcloth; On their [flat] housetops and in their open squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.
World English Bible
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, everyone wails, weeping abundantly.
Geneva Bible (1587)
In their streetes shall they bee gilded with sackecloth: on the toppes of their houses, and in their streetes euery one shall howle, and come downe with weeping.
Legacy Standard Bible
In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth;On their rooftops and in their squaresEveryone is wailing, dissolved in weeping.
Berean Standard Bible
In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.
Contemporary English Version
In the towns and at home, everyone wears sackcloth and cries loud and long.
Complete Jewish Bible
In the streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their squares, everyone howls and weeps profusely.
Darby Translation
In their streets they are girded with sackcloth; on their roofs, and in their broadways, every one howleth, melted into tears.
Easy-to-Read Version
Everywhere in Moab, on the housetops and in the streets, people are wearing sackcloth. Everyone is crying.
George Lamsa Translation
In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth; on the housetops and in their streets every one shall howl, weeping vehemently.
Good News Translation
The people in the streets are dressed in sackcloth; in the city squares and on the rooftops people mourn and cry.
Lexham English Bible
They gird themselves with sackcloth in its streets; on its roofs and public squares everyone wails, going down in weeping.
Literal Translation
They shall put on sackcloth in the streets; everyone shall howl on their housetops and in their plazas, melting in tears.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In their stretes were they gyrded aboute with sack cloth. In all the toppes of their houses & stretes was there nothinge, but mournynge and wepinge.
American Standard Version
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one waileth, weeping abundantly.
Bible in Basic English
In their streets they are covering themselves with haircloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their public places, there is crying and bitter weeping.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one howleth, weeping profusely.
King James Version (1611)
In their streetes they shall girde themselues with sackecloth: on the toppes of their houses, and in their streetes euery one shall howle, weeping abundantly.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
In her streetes are they girded about with sackcloth: In all the toppes of her houses and streetes shalbe nothyng but mournyng and weepyng.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Gird yourselves with sackcloth in her streets: and lament upon her roofs, and in her streets, and in her ways; howl all of you with weeping.
English Revised Version
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth: on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one howleth, weeping abundantly.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In the meetyng of thre weies therof thei ben gird in a sak, alle yellyng on the housis therof and in the stretis therof; it schal go doun in to wepyng.
Update Bible Version
In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one wails, weeping abundantly.
Webster's Bible Translation
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 English Translation
In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their town squares all of them wail, they fall down weeping.
New King James Version
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
They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.
New Life Bible
In their streets they have dressed themselves with cloth made from hair. On the tops of their houses and in their open spaces everyone is crying with many tears.
New Revised Standard
in the streets they bind on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
In their streets, have they girded them with sackcloth, - On their housetops, and in their broadways, every one is howling - melting in tears;
Douay-Rheims Bible
In their streets they are girded with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets all shall howl and come down weeping.
Revised Standard Version
in the streets they gird on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares every one wails and melts in tears.
Young's Literal Translation
In its out-places they girded on sackcloth, On its pinnacles, and in its broad places, Every one howleth -- going down with weeping.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their housetops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.

Contextual Overview

1 This is a message about Moab: In one night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab, and it was destroyed. In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab, and it was destroyed. 2 The people of Dibon go to the places of worship to cry. The people of Moab cry for the cities of Nebo and Medeba. Every head and beard has been shaved to show how sad Moab is. 3 In the streets they wear rough cloth to show their sadness. On the roofs and in the public squares, they are crying loudly. 4 People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh cry out loud. You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz. Even the soldiers are frightened; they are shaking with fear. 5 My heart cries with sorrow for Moab. Its people run away to Zoar for safety; they run to Eglath Shelishiyah. People are going up the mountain road to Luhith, crying as they go. People are going on the road to Horonaim, crying over their destruction.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

their streets: 2 Samuel 3:31, 2 Kings 6:30, Jonah 3:6-8, Matthew 11:21

on the: Isaiah 15:2, Isaiah 22:1, Deuteronomy 22:8, Jeremiah 19:13, Jeremiah 48:38, Jeremiah 48:39

weeping abundantly: Heb. descending into weeping; or, coming down with weeping, Isaiah 15:5

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 5:12 - the cry Isaiah 3:24 - a girding Isaiah 32:11 - and gird Jeremiah 4:8 - gird Jeremiah 7:29 - Cut Jeremiah 48:37 - every head Lamentations 2:10 - they have girded Ezekiel 7:18 - shall also Amos 8:10 - sackcloth

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
Genesis 13:16
I will make your descendants as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your people.
Genesis 14:14
When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan.
Proverbs 13:12
It is sad not to get what you hoped for. But wishes that come true are like eating fruit from the tree of life.
Proverbs 29:21
If you spoil your servants when they are young, they will bring you grief later on.
Proverbs 30:23
a hated woman who gets married, and a maid who replaces her mistress.
Ecclesiastes 2:7
I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before.
Jeremiah 12:1
Lord , when I bring my case to you, you are always right. But I want to ask you about the justice you give. Why are evil people successful? Why do dishonest people have such easy lives?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In their streets they shall girt themselves with sackcloth,.... Instead of their fine clothes, with which they had used to deck themselves, being a very proud people; see Isaiah 16:6 this was usual in times of distress on any account, as well as a token of mourning for the dead; see Joel 1:8. The word for "streets" might be rendered "villages", as distinct from cities, that were "without" the walls of the cities, though adjacent to them; and the rather, seeing mention is made of streets afterwards:

on the tops of their houses; which were made flat, as the houses of the Jews were, on which were battlements, Deuteronomy 22:8 hither they went for safety from their enemies, or to see if they could spy the enemy, or any that could assist them, and deliver them; or rather, hither they went for devotion, to pray to their gods for help; for here it was usual to have altars erected, to burn incense on to their deities; see

2 Kings 23:12 and in such places the people of God were wont to pray, Acts 10:9:

and in their streets; publicly, as well as privately, where they ran up and down to get from the enemy, and save themselves:

everyone shall howl, weeping abundantly: or, "descending with weeping": the tears running down his cheeks in great abundance, so that his whole body was as it were watered with them; or the meaning may be, that everyone that went up to the temples of the idols, and to the high places, Isaiah 15:2 or to the roofs of the houses, as here, to pray the assistance of their gods, should come down weeping and howling, having no success.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In 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; 2Sa 3:31; 1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 19:1; Job 16:15; the note at Isaiah 3:24).

On the tops of the houses - The roofs of the houses in the East were, and still are, made flat, and were places of resort for prayer, for promenade, etc. The prophet here says, that all the usual places of resort would be filled with weeping and mourning. In the streets, and on the roofs of the houses, they would utter the voice of lamentation.

Shall howl - It is known that, in times of calamity in the East, it is common to raise an unnatural and forced howl, or long-continued shriek. Persons are often hired for this purpose Jeremiah 9:17.

Weeping abundantly - Hebrew, ‘Descending into weeping;’ “that is,” going, as we would say, “deep into it,” or weeping much; immersed as it were in tears (compare Jeremiah 13:17; Jeremiah 14:17).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 15:3. With sackcloth — שק sak. The word is in the plural שקים sakkim, sacks, in one of De Rossi's MSS.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile