What is the meaning of Isaiah 16:7?

Therefore let Moab wail;

• “Therefore” ties back to Isaiah 16:6, where the pride of Moab is unmasked. Judgment is the inevitable result.

• Wailing is the sound of a nation suddenly confronted with the holiness of God (Isaiah 15:3; Jeremiah 48:20).

• Pride that once boasted in wealth, vineyards, and fortified cities now melts into lament—showing the truth of Proverbs 16:18 and James 4:6.

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let them wail together for Moab.

• The grief is communal; no one is exempt. As in Jeremiah 48:31, “I will wail for Moab, I will cry out for all Moab,” even outsiders are drawn into the sorrow.

• Collective mourning highlights how sin’s fallout never stays private (Joshua 7:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:26).

• National identity built on self-reliance crumbles under divine discipline (Zephaniah 2:8-11).

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Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,

• Raisin cakes—once celebrated delicacies (2 Samuel 6:19)—now symbolize lost abundance and idolatrous pleasures (Hosea 3:1).

• Kir-hareseth (also Kir-heres) was Moab’s pride, famed for vineyards (Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 48:36). Its specialty product is gone, so the city’s very name triggers mourning.

• When God removes prosperity, false worship is exposed for the empty sweetness it is (Psalm 16:4; Revelation 18:11-14).

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you who are utterly stricken.

• The phrase singles out survivors left stunned by sudden devastation (Nahum 3:19).

• “Utterly stricken” underscores total helplessness—a literal, physical collapse that mirrors spiritual bankruptcy (Jeremiah 14:17; Isaiah 1:5-6).

• God’s righteous judgment leaves no room for self-rescue, driving people to recognize their need for His mercy (Psalm 51:17; Luke 15:14-17).

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summary

Isaiah 16:7 paints a vivid picture of Moab’s pride meeting God’s justice. The wailing is universal, the luxuries are lost, and the people are shattered. Prosperity, cultural identity, and idol-soaked pleasures cannot save when the Lord moves in judgment. The verse calls readers to humble dependence on Him, shunning pride and counterfeit joys before they, too, are swept away.