My 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.

ISAIAH 15:5KJV
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Isaiah 15:5 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 15:5 mean?

Isaiah 15:5 portrays the suffering of Moab, a nation east of Israel, through the voice of someone deeply moved by its disaster. As Moab’s people flee toward other towns, their tears and cries make the loss vivid.

The speaker says, “My heart shall cry out for Moab,” placing personal sorrow alongside the report of people on the road. The climb to Luhith and the way to Horonaim give the scene a sense of movement: the people are not simply hearing bad news; they are fleeing through the land.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 15:5

  • “heart” — לֵב (lev): This word can refer to a person’s inner life, including feelings. Here it makes the speaker’s cry an expression of deep distress.
  • “fugitives” — בְּרִיחַ (beriach): This word can mean someone who has fled. It helps identify the people going toward Zoar as refugees escaping danger.
  • “destruction” — שֶׁבֶר (shever): This word can describe a breaking or a ruin. In the cry raised on the road to Horonaim, it conveys the seriousness of the disaster.

Why Isaiah 15:5 matters

  • The verse gives Moab’s suffering a human voice. The words “my heart” show sympathy for Moab even though the passage speaks of disaster coming upon that nation.
  • The route names make the flight concrete. Zoar, Luhith, and Horonaim are places associated with the people’s journey, so the scene unfolds across a landscape rather than as an unnamed crowd.
  • The phrase “an heifer of three years old” is often understood as a description of Zoar. The comparison to a young female cow gives the place a vivid image within the account of flight.

Where else these words appear

“Luhith” Hebrew H3872 · used in 2 verses

  • Jeremiah 48:5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

“Horonaim” Hebrew H2773 · used in 4 verses

  • Jeremiah 48:3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
  • Jeremiah 48:5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
  • Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

“Zoar” Hebrew H6820 · used in 9 verses

  • Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
  • Genesis 14:8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela(the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
  • Genesis 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

“heifer” Hebrew H5697 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
  • Judges 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
  • Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.