What does God say He will drench Heshbon and Elealeh with in Isaiah 16:9?

In Isaiah 16:9, God expresses profound sorrow over the destruction that has come upon Moab, which includes the cities of Heshbon and Elealeh. The phrase about drenching these areas with "His tears" is a metaphorical representation of God's deep compassion and grief for the suffering of His people due to the calamities that have befallen them. This imagery implies that God's emotional investment and heartbreak are so intense that they overflow like tears, illustrating His responsiveness to human pain and the consequences of sin.

This emotional tone underscores the seriousness of the situation in Moab and God's character as a loving yet sorrowful figure, indicating that He does not take joy in the judgment and destruction but rather feels the weight of the loss deeply. This aligns with the broader themes found in Isaiah, where God is depicted as a sovereign being who desires repentance and peace rather than destruction. The imagery of tears serves to highlight God's relationship with His creation, illustrating that He cares for their plight and is affected by their turmoil.