Lectionary Calendar
Monday, December 29th, 2025
the Monday after Christmas
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Isaiah 16:11

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Kir-Haraseth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Moabites;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Kir;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Kir-Haraseth;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Harp;   Kir;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kir-Hareseth;   Kir-Haresh;   Kir-Heres;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Kerioth;   Kir-Hareseth;   Medicine;   Moab, Moabites;   Sela;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Kir of Moab, Kirharaseth, , Kirharesh, Kirheres ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Kirharaseth;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon ammonites children of ammon;   Handicraft;   Kir-haraseth;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Kir-Har'aseth;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Arnon;   Astronomy;   Isaiah;   Kir-Hareseth;   Moab;   Music;   Sound;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bowels;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.
Hebrew Names Version
Why my heart sounds like a harp for Mo'av, and my inward parts for Kir-Heres.
King James Version
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
English Standard Version
Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
New American Standard Bible
Therefore my inner being sounds like a harp for Moab. And my heart for Kir-hareseth.
New Century Version
My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song; I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.
Amplified Bible
Therefore my heart sounds like a harp [in mournful compassion] for Moab, And my inner being mourns for Kir-hareseth.
World English Bible
Why my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-heres.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Wherefore, my bowels shall sounde like an harpe for Moab, and mine inwarde partes for Ker-haresh.
Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore my inner being moans like a harp for MoabAnd my inward feelings for Kir‑hareseth.
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir-hareseth.
Contemporary English Version
Deep in my heart I hurt for Moab and Kir-Heres.
Complete Jewish Bible
This is why my heart throbs like a lyre for Mo'av, and everything in me for Kir-Heres.
Darby Translation
Therefore my bowels sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres.
Easy-to-Read Version
So I will hum a sad song for Moab and Kir Heres, like a harp playing a funeral song.
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore my heart shall lament like a harp for Moab, and my soul for the fortified walls which will be destroyed.
Good News Translation
I groan with sadness for Moab, with grief for Kir Heres.
Lexham English Bible
Therefore my heart moans like a harp for Moab and my inner parts for Kir-heres.
Literal Translation
For this reason my belly shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-haresh.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Wherfore my bely robled (as it had bene a lute) for Moabs sake, & myne inwarde membres, for the bryck walles sake.
American Standard Version
Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.
Bible in Basic English
For this cause the cords of my heart are sounding for Moab, and I am full of sorrow for Kir-heres.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Wherefore my heart moaneth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.
King James Version (1611)
Wherefore my bowels shal sound like an harpe for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherfore my bowels shall rumble like an Harpe for Moabs sake, & mine inwarde partes for the cities sake that is made of bricke.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Therefore my belly shall sound as a harp for Moab, and thou hast repaired my inward parts as a wall.
English Revised Version
Wherefore my bowels sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
On this thing my wombe schal sowne as an harpe to Moab, and myn entrails to the wal of bakun tiel stoon.
Update Bible Version
Therefore my insides sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-heres.
Webster's Bible Translation
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-haresh.
New English Translation
So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, my inner being sighs for Kir Hareseth.
New King James Version
Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, And my inner being for Kir Heres.
New Living Translation
My heart's cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.
New Life Bible
So my heart cries with sorrow for Moab like a harp. Inside myself I cry for Kir-hareseth.
New Revised Standard
Therefore my heart throbs like a harp for Moab, and my very soul for Kir-heres.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For this cause, mine inward parts - for Moab, like a lyre, shall make a plaintive sound, - Yea what is within me, for Kir-heres.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for the brick wall.
Revised Standard Version
Therefore my soul moans like a lyre for Moab, and my heart for Kir-he'res.
Young's Literal Translation
Therefore my bowels for Moab as a harp do sound, And mine inward parts for Kir-Haresh.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Therefore my heart intones like a harp for Moab And my inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.

Contextual Overview

6We've heard—everyone's heard!—of Moab's pride, world-famous for pride— Arrogant, self-important, insufferable, full of hot air. So now let Moab lament for a change, with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors! What a shame! How terrible! No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies! All those lush Heshbon fields dried up, the rich Sibmah vineyards withered! Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out the famous grapevines That once reached all the way to Jazer, right to the edge of the desert, Ripped out the crops in every direction as far as the eye can see. I'll join the weeping. I'll weep right along with Jazer, weep for the Sibmah vineyards. And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh, I'll mingle my tears with your tears! The joyful shouting at harvest is gone. Instead of song and celebration, dead silence. No more boisterous laughter in the orchards, no more hearty work songs in the vineyards. Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields, silence—deathly and deadening silence. My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab, my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres. When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray, he wastes both time and energy. Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief is useless. Nothing ever happens. 13This is God 's earlier Message on Moab. God 's updated Message is, "In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab's impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums cadging handouts."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

my: Isaiah 15:5, Isaiah 63:15, Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 31:20, Jeremiah 48:36, Hosea 11:8, Philippians 2:1

Kirharesh: Isaiah 16:7, Kir-hareseth

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 3:25 - Kirharaseth Isaiah 15:1 - Kir Isaiah 21:3 - are Lamentations 1:20 - my bowels Ezekiel 21:6 - with the Philippians 1:8 - in

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.
Exodus 3:7
God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Exodus 3:9
"The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."
1 Samuel 1:20
Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining, "I asked God for him."
Luke 1:13
But the angel reassured him, "Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You're going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He'll achieve great stature with God. "He'll drink neither wine nor beer. He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother's womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God's arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he'll get the people ready for God." Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." But the angel said, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time." Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people. When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn't long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. "So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!" she said. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob's house forever— no end, ever, to his kingdom." Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man." The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. "And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her. Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, You're so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her. On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John." "But," they said, "no one in your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named. Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God! A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this." Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he came and set his people free. He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, and in the very house of David his servant, Just as he promised long ago through the preaching of his holy prophets: Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand; Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said he'd do, What he swore to our father Abraham— a clean rescue from the enemy camp, So we can worship him without a care in the world, made holy before him as long as we live. And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest," will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways, Present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins. Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God's Sunrise will break in upon us, Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace. The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.
Luke 1:63
Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab,.... Making a noise as the harp does, and a mournful one as that, when used at funerals; which it makes when it is stricken or played on with the hand, as these were, through the afflictive and punitive hand of God; and which, when stricken, causes a quavering of the strings, to which the inward trembling of the bowels is compared, and is very expressive of the prophet's sympathy, or those he personates; for, when one string of the harp is touched, the rest sound. For these words, as Kimchi says, are spoken in the language of the Moabites; those that survived lamenting the desolate state of their country, which must be very great and affecting; and to show that it was so is the design of the prophet's expressing himself after this manner; for if it was painful to him, it must be much more so to them; so the Targum,

"wherefore the bowels of the Moabites shall sound as a harp;''

of the sounding of the bowels, see Isaiah 63:15:

and mine inward parts for Kirharesh: the same with Kirhareseth,

Isaiah 16:7 which being a principal city, the destruction of it was greatly laid to heart. The Targum is,

"and their heart shall grieve for the men of the city of their strength;''

it being a strong city, in which they placed their confidence; but being destroyed, and the inhabitants of it, it was very affecting, to which agrees Jeremiah 48:31.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wherefore my bowels - This is also an expression of the deep grief of the prophet in view of the calamities which were coming upon Moab. The “bowels” in the Scriptures are everywhere represented as the seat of compassion, pity, commiseration, and tender mercy Genesis 43:30 : ‘His bowels did yearn upon his brother’ - he deeply felt for him, he greatly pitied him 1 Kings 3:26; Psalms 25:6; Proverbs 12:10; Song of Solomon 5:4; Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 31:20; Philippians 1:8; Philippians 2:1. In classic writers, the word ‘bowels’ denotes the “upper” viscera of victims - the heart, the lungs, the liver, which were eaten during or after the sacrifice (Robinson, “Lex.,” on the word σπλάγχνον splangchnon). In the Scriptures, it denotes the “inward parts” - evidently also the upper viscera, regarded as the seat of the emotions and passions. The word as we use it - denoting the lower “viscera” - by no means expresses the sense of the word in the Scriptures, and it is this change in the signification which renders the use of the very language of the Bible unpleasant or inappropriate. We express the idea by the use of the word “heart” - the seat of the affections.

Shall sound like an harp - The “bowels” are represented in the Scriptures as affected in various modes in the exercise of pity or compassion. Thus, in Lamentations 1:20, Jeremiah says, ‘My bowels are troubled’ (see Lamentations 2:1; Jeremiah 31:20). Job Job 30:27, says, ‘My bowels boiled, and rested not;’ there was great agitation; deep feeling. Thus, Jeremiah 4:19 :

My bowels! My bowels! I am pained at my very heart.

My heart “maketh a noise” in me.

So Isaiah 63:15 : ‘Where is the sounding of thy bowels and mercies?’ The word ‘sound’ here means to make a tumultuous noise; and the whole expression here denotes that his heart was affected with the calamities of Moab as the strings of the harp vibrate when beaten with the plectrum or the band. His heart was deeply pained and affected by the calamities of Moab, and responded to those calamities, as the strings of the harp did to the blow of the plectrum.

Mine inward parts - The expressions used here are somewhat analogous to ours of the “beating of the heart,” to denote deep emotion. Forster says of the savages of the South Sea that they call compassion “a barking of the bowels.”

For Kirharesh - (See the note at Isaiah 16:7.)


 
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