Isaiah 16
16
A Plea for Mercy
1Send a flock of lambs from the rock # 16:1 Or possibly a place in Edom called Sela (see 2 Kings 14:7). Sela means “rock” or “cliff.” of the desert
as a gift to the leaders in Jerusalem, # 16:1 Or “Send a lamb of the lord of the land.” This would have been a gift of tribute sent to secure Judah’s protection.
to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion.
2At the banks of the River Arnon, the women of Moab
are like newly hatched, fluttering birds.
3They say, “Make a decision!
Give us shelter. # 16:3 Or “Make your shade like night at noon.” Hide the fugitives. Don’t betray them!
4Allow the Moabite fugitives to stay with you.
Be a shelter for them from the destroyer!”
One day the oppressor will be no more.
The destroyer # 16:4 Or “Destruction.” will come to an end,
and the tyrant will vanish from the land.
5Then a government of unfailing love # 16:5 Or “a throne,” a metonymy for a king or government being established. will be established,
with a faithful king in the tabernacle of David,
passionate for justice and swift to do what is right.
Moab’s Demise
6We have heard about Moab’s pride.
How haughty she is—filled with arrogance and insolence,
with nothing more than empty boasts!
7So now Moab will wail;
everyone will wail over the ruin of their country.
Lament and grieve for the foundations of Kir-Hareseth. # 16:7 Or “over the raisin cakes [delicacies] of Kir-Hareseth [wall of earthen potsherds]” or “You shall care for those who dwell in Seth” (LXX).
8All the lush fields of Heshbon are dried up.
The vineyards of Sibmah have struck down the lords of nations, # 16:8 “The lords of the nations have broken down its vines.”
whose vines reached northward to Jazer # 16:8 Modern Sumia, a suburb of Heshbon.
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out and extend across the Dead Sea. # 16:8 Moab’s spreading, creeping vines of Heshbon (“stronghold”) become a metaphor for the tentacles of pride that spread throughout the heart of man.
9So I weep along with Jazer over the vines of Sibmah.
I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, # 16:9 Elealeh is a city. Elealeh means “a mighty one [God] ascends.” See Num. 32:37.
for the shouts of joy over the harvest
of fruit and grain have ceased.
10Joyful celebrations are stilled in the orchards;
in the vineyards, no one sings or shouts,
and no one treads out wine in the presses.
I have silenced your gleeful shouts.
11Like harp strings, my heartstrings throb for Moab, # 16:11 Even for pride-filled Moab, God’s heart was moved with compassion.
and my inner being sighs for your broken walls, Kir-Hareseth. # 16:11 Or “for Kir-Hareseth [wall of earthen potsherds].”
12When Moab comes to their high places
to plead with all their might
and enter their temples to pray, it will have no effect.
13This was the word the Lord Yahweh spoke in the past about Moab, 14but now the Lord Yahweh says, “In exactly three years, # 16:14 Or “in three years as the years of [or “counted by”] a hireling.” the splendor of Moab and her huge population will shrink to nothing; only a small and feeble remnant will remain.”
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Isaiah 16: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationIsaiah 16
16
1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land,#tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).
from Sela in the desert#tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
2 At the fords of the Arnon#tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest.#tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”
3 “Bring a plan, make a decision!#sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.
Provide some shade in the middle of the day!#tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.
Hide the fugitives! Do not betray#tn Heb “disclose, uncover.” the one who tries to escape!
4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live#tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.” among you.
Hide them#tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.” from the destroyer!”
Certainly#tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5. the one who applies pressure will cease,#tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.
the destroyer will come to an end,
those who trample will disappear#tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem. from the earth.
5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;
he will rule in a reliable manner,
this one from David’s family.#tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”
He will be sure to make just decisions
and will be experienced in executing justice.#tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”
6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,
their great arrogance,
their boasting, pride, and excess.#tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.
But their boastful claims are empty!#tn Heb “not so his boasting.”
7 So Moab wails over its demise#tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.” –
they all wail!
Completely devastated, they moan
about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.#tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”
8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,
as well as the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,
which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;
their shoots spread out and cross the sea.
9 So I weep along with Jazer#tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).
over the vines of Sibmah.
I will saturate you#tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”). with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly
over your fruit and crops.#tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”
10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,
and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;
no one treads out juice in the wine vats#tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.” –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end.#sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp,#tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.
my inner being sighs#tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure. for Kir Hareseth.#tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).
12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places,#tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective!#tn Heb “when he appears, when he grows tired, Moab on the high places, and enters his temple to pray, he will not prevail.” It is possible that “when he grows tired” is an explanatory gloss for the preceding “when he appears.”
13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years#tn Heb “in three years, like the years of a hired worker.” The three years must be reckoned exactly, just as a hired worker would carefully keep track of the time he had agreed to work for an employer in exchange for a predetermined wage. Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.”#tn Heb “and the splendor of Moab will be disgraced with all the great multitude, and a small little remnant will not be strong.”
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