Therefore my inner being sounds like a harp for Moab. And my heart for Kir-hareseth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres.
- KJV Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
- 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.
- 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 cries out for Moab! Her nobles flee to Zoar, to Eglath Shelishiyah; for they go up by the ascent of Luhith with weeping; for on the way to Horonaim, they raise up a cry of destruction.
- Phil 2:1If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
- Jer 48:36Therefore my heart sounds for Moab like pipes, and my heart sounds like pipes for the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the abundance that he has gotten has perished.
- Isa 63:15Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me.
- Hos 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
- Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh.
- Jer 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can’t hold my peace; because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.