In their streets they are girded with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets all shall howl and come down weeping.
בְּחוּצֹתָ֖יו חָ֣גְרוּ שָׂ֑ק עַ֣ל גַּגּוֹתֶ֧יהָ וּבִרְחֹבֹתֶ֛יהָ כֻּלֹּ֥ה יְיֵלִ֖יל יֹרֵ֥ד בַּבֶּֽכִי׃
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
In its thoroughfares they adorned themselves with garments: in the thoroughfares where they revered false gods. In its high places and its plazas, all lamenting, overwhelmed by sorrow: in its elevated spaces, where they worshipped the celestial beings.
In following His path, you shall clothe yourselves in mourning, laments echoing through His sanctuaries, streets, and hills. All will utter cries of sorrow. Heshbon raised its voice, speaking until it resonated. This prophecy vividly illustrates cities gripped by profound fear. When war descended upon them, and dire straits afflicted both their towns and their dwellings, people rushed through public squares and alleys, crying out. The vulnerable—women and children—fled in terror, weeping when they beheld the ranks of the enemy and envisioned the impending devastation. Therefore, weep; Heshbon raised its voice until it was heard.
These cities, renowned as the most martial in the land of Moab, will eventually raise a cry so great that it shall not be whispered in silence but declared openly for all to hear. The inhabitants will have abandoned their typical bravery, becoming utterly disheartened, losing their strength, courage, and resolve.
The Prophet admonishes those led astray by the wicked, urging them to mourn on the mountains as they renounce the pleasures that entice them. In their sorrow for the wide path they have followed, they are called to seek the narrow and constrained way. With genuine repentance, they are to clothe themselves in humility and adopt a sorrowful demeanor, allowing their distress to be visibly evident as a testament to their change of heart, marking the places where they have erred. Everywhere, in every sanctuary and community, they are implored to raise their voices in lament. The Prophet likens the lofty and empty pursuits of worldly knowledge to temples, highlighting the decay of understanding akin to the stagnant waters of Moab.
In their midst, they shall cover themselves with a mournful shroud; throughout the terraces and streets, the cries of despair shall resonate with deep sorrow. This mourning will be collective, as the anguish breaks forth into public lamentation, leaving no women, maidens, children, or the elderly within their homes untouched; the sorrow of servitude will not alleviate their shame or frailty.
The interpretation regarding verses 3 to 9 reveals that Moab shall lament, with every head shaven and every beard stripped. At the crossroads, they shall don garments of woe, and on the roofs and in the streets, there shall be wails transforming into cries of desolation. Heshbon and Elealeh shall lift their voices, echoing all the way to Jahaz; even the warriors of Moab will lament, their inner turmoil laid bare. My heart will grieve for Moab; the strong shall rise up to Sihor, a young heifer; for their ascent to Luif shall be marked by tears, and the path to Oronaim will be filled with cries of anguish, as the waters of Nemrim are abandoned, the foliage withered, the grains lost, and all green life perishes.
In accordance with the gravity of their plight and their reckoning, they shall find their way to the river lined with willows; the sound of mourning shall reverberate around Moab’s boundaries, reaching Agallim's mourning and to Elim's well, for the waters of Dimon are saturated with blood. I will add to Dimon those fleeing from the lion of Moab and the remnants of the land. As this prophecy conveys a singular message, I shall present it as a whole, briefly addressing its particular elements through allegorical insight. Nabo signifies a throne or prophecy, Medabah – a wilderness, Heshbon – designs, Elealeh – ascension, Jatzah – that which is ordained, Sigor – small, Luif – tears, Oronaim – valley of sorrow, Nemrim – leopards or rebels, Agallim – bullocks or dunes, Elim – strong ones or rams, and Dimon – significant suffering.
Consequently, all doctrines that oppose the truth, birthed from the human mind in the darkened haze of deception, lie desolate as night falls, and the judgments overseen beneath the walls falter. They are silenced forever, their entire assembly turned to repentance and lamentation over Naboah, which stands for prophecy, and over Medabah, devoid of fruitful growth, likened instead to a barren wilderness where wild beasts roam, referenced in Psalm 28:9: "And he shall open the oak trees." There shall be cries of distress, and the adornments of eloquence will be stripped away, leaving them bare and deformed. If their beards appeared to symbolize strength, when shorn by the Bridegroom of the Church, they will appear feeble and effeminate.
At their crossroads, in the streams of deception, each person, led by their desires, will drape themselves in the mantle of repentance. On the rooftops and balconies, where once they felt exalted and in the public squares, they shall not enter by the narrow path leading to life but by the broad road leading to death, where cries shall echo. They will recognize the futility of their aspirations, as embodied in Heshbon, and the hollowness of their arrogant pride seen in Elealeh, such that their voices will reach the depths of their misdeeds and their own confessions revealing the divine commandments they had dismissed as false.
Thus, those once deemed strong in Moab, now acknowledging their error, will begin to hope for salvation as their souls cry out for themselves. Therefore, the prophet speaks with compassion to those whose souls lament, saying, "My heart shall weep for Moab," calling them to repentance. The supports once believed strong in heresy shall fail, leading them to Sihor, which denotes smallness, and they will find themselves diminished rather than empowered. Yet this small repentance, if steadfast, will usher them towards true salvation; it signifies the three-year-old heifer, reflective of the perfect sacrifice Abraham was instructed to offer, yearning for the inheritance of the Lord (Genesis 15).
From repentance, they will ascend through Luif, the tears of remorse. Through this sorrowful passage, they shall raise cries of brokenness to the Lord, enabling them to declare, “Sacrifice to God a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart God will not despise” (Psalm 51:19). This will come to fruition, as the waters of Nemrim, embodying the teachings of heretics—depicted as leopards or rebellious ones—will be forsaken and rendered void. These leopards, whose spots do not fade as noted in Jeremiah (Jer. 13), and the apostates, splattered across the land of sin, acknowledged in the Psalms, "They that transgress transgress the whole sinful earth” (Psalm 118:19). Every green blade and grain that once flourished in their words has dried up. The weight of their sins has prompted divine visitation, whereby punishment unveiled the God whom they failed to see in kindness.
Ultimately, they shall be led to the valley of willows, devoid of any remaining fruit. The nature of these trees is such that whoever consumes their sap is said to have no offspring. Thus, the saints who compromised their integrity amid worldly distractions hung their instruments of worship upon the willows along Babylon’s rivers (Psalm 136). The whole perimeter of Moab resonates with the cries of those seeking repentance or mourning from their failings, striving through weeping to offer the calves of their lips to reach the fountain of the Lord’s strong ones, signifying Elim. Concerning the waters of Dimon—symbolizing deep anguish—that have caused many to stumble, it will be clear that these have not brought salvation, but rather destruction. Therefore, the prophetic declaration assures that upon those shedding tears, referred to as Dimon, tribulation will intensify, multiplying their suffering, that they may fully repent and escape the lion of Moab, ultimately having God as their ruler, often translated as the lion of God; I will refrain from exploring this translation further due to discrepancies with the Hebrew text and because the interpretation is evident through the discussed explication.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS