Therefore let Moab wail, let every one wail for Moab: The connector Therefore introduces this verse as a conclusion to the comment about the nation’s pride in the previous verse. New Jerusalem Bible begins with “And so.” Let Moab wail, let every one wail for Moab is literally “let wail Moab, for Moab all let wail.” This chiastic construction in Hebrew strongly urges the people of Moab and everyone else to lament over what happened to Moab. Most modern translations see only the Moabites as the addressees for these two commands. Revised English Bible has “let Moab wail; let all the Moabites wail indeed.” New International Version is similar even though it changes the commands to statements: “the Moabites wail, they wail together for Moab.” New Jerusalem Bible has an interesting rendering: “Moab is wailing for Moab, wailing, every one of them.” As noted earlier, the verb wail, repeated here, echoes the use of this same verb in 15.2-3 and 8.

Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth: For Revised Standard Version the Hebrew verb rendered Mourn is an imperative, but some versions use the future tense (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or the present tense (New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation changes this second person verb to third person to fit the context better. Even though Hebrew Old Testament Text Project argues against this, translators may do this for naturalness. The phrase utterly stricken emphasizes the extent of Moab’s devastation. Stricken renders a Hebrew adjective that comes from a verb meaning “strike” or “beat.” It is a challenge to relate utterly stricken with the verb Mourn. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “You shall moan most pitifully,” which describes the manner in which the people mourn. However, utterly stricken describes the Moabites, so it is better to say “Mourn, you who are utterly beaten.” For utterly stricken, Good News Translation has “They will be driven to despair,” but this is not accurate enough.

For the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth: The versions have various renderings for the Hebrew noun translated raisin-cakes. The only other places where this noun occurs in the Old Testament is 2 Sam 6.19; 1 Chr 16.3; Song 2.5; Hos 3.1. Gesenius’ Hebrew lexicon suggests “foundations [of a city wall]” (so King James Version). This sense seems to come from a Syriac version. New English Bible and Revised English Bible have “prosperous farmers.” This rendering may come from a suggestion that the Hebrew term here refers to living comfortably, as in Arabic. New International Version says “men” to harmonize this text with Jer 48.31. We recommend following the majority tradition, which has raisin-cakes. Apparently they were made of raisins (dried grapes) pressed together to form a small, solid block of dried fruit, ready to be eaten. Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch say “[baked] cakes of raisins.” Good News Translation “fine food” is generally correct, but the key idea of raisins is missing. Translators should try to mention (dried) fruit if they lack a specific term for “raisin.”

The significance of the raisin-cakes is not known. BDB suggests it was used for trade, while others, like Good News Translation, believe it was an item of (fine) food, one that may have been a stimulant. The town of Kir-hareseth is probably mentioned because these cakes were produced there. Good News Translation names the town “Kir Heres” as in 16.11, following its principle of identifying the same persons and places always by the same name. New International Version uses the name “Kir Hareseth” in both passages.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• So let Moab’s people wail, let everyone wail for Moab. Mourn, you Moabites who are utterly defeated, for the loss of the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

• Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab. You Moabites who are completely devastated, be in mourning for the loss of the dried grapes from Kir-hareseth.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .