Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres.
- BSB Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir-heres.
- NKJV Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, And my inner being for Kir Heres.
- NASB Therefore my inner being sounds like a harp for Moab. And my heart for Kir-hareseth.
- NLT My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Isaiah's heart throbs like a harp for Moab, his inmost being moved for Kir Heres. His compassion for the stricken nation runs deep.
Overview
The prophet describes his inner grief vibrating like the strings of a lyre over Moab's suffering. This tender lament for a foreign people reveals a heart shaped by God's own mercy. Such compassion amid judgment points to the gospel's offer of mercy even to those outside the covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 15:5My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
- Phil 2:1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
- Jer 48:36Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
- Isa 63:15Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
- Hos 11:8How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
- Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
- Jer 4:19My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 16:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.