Isaiah 16
16
1Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land,#16:1. Referring to the king of Judah. from Sela through the desert, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.#16:1. “The daughter of Zion” is Jerusalem. 2The Moabite women at the fords of the Arnon#16:2. This was the ancient boundary between the Moabites and the Amorites. After the Israelites conquered the Amorites, their territory was meant to have been taken over by the tribes of Reuben and Dan, yet they did not fully approach this border. What seems to be happening here is that these inhabitants of Moab are wondering whether they should cross the river and leave their homeland. are like birds fluttering around when their nest is destroyed. 3Think about it and make a decision. Make your shadow as invisible at midday as during the night. Hide the refugees; don't betray them as they run away.#16:3. Some believe these words are from the Moabites to the people of Judah, others see them as the prophet's advice to the Moabites, encouraging them to look after refugees from Judah. 4Let my refugees stay among you, Moab.#16:4. Or “Let my refugees from Moab stay among you.” Hide them from our enemies until the destroyer is no more, the destruction is over, and the aggressive invaders have gone.
5Then a kingdom will be set up based on trustworthy love, and on its throne will sit a faithful king from the line of David. He will judge fairly, and will be passionately committed to doing what is right.
6We know all about the pride of the Moabites, how terribly vain and conceited they are, completely arrogant! But their boasting is false. 7All the Moabites grieve for Moab. They all mourn the loss of the raisin cakes#16:7. Not only a valuable food item, but also much used in pagan worship festivals. of Kir-hareseth, all of them destroyed. 8Heshbon's fields have dried up, as have Sibmah's grapevines. The rulers of the nations have trampled down the vines that once branched out to Jazer and east towards the desert, and west as far as the sea.
9So I cry with Jazer for Sibmah's vines; I soak Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Nobody shouts in celebration over your summer fruit and your harvest any more. 10Joy and happiness are gone. Nobody celebrates in the harvest fields or the vineyards; nobody shouts happily. Nobody treads grapes in the winepresses. I have stopped their cheering. 11Heartbroken I cry for Moab like sad music on a harp; deep inside I weep for Kir-hareseth. 12The Moabites go and wear themselves out worshiping at their high places. They go to their shrines to pray, but it does them no good.
13This is the message that the Lord has already delivered about Moab. 14But now the Lord speaks again, and says, In three years, just as a contract worker precisely counts years, Moab's glory will turn into something to be laughed at. Despite there being so many Moabites now, soon there will only be a few feeble people left.
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Isaiah 16: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 16
16
More Troubles for Moab
1Send lambs#16.1 lambs: The main product of Moab. as gifts
to the ruler of the land.
Send them across the desert
from Sela#16.1 Sela: A town in Edom. to Mount Zion.
2The women of Moab
crossing the Arnon River
are like a flock of birds
scattered from their nests.
3Moab's messengers say
to the people of Judah,
“Be kind and help us!
Shade us from the heat
of the noonday sun.
Hide our refugees!
Don't turn them away.
4Let our people live
in your country
and find safety here.”
Moab, your cruel enemies
will disappear;
they will no longer attack
and destroy your land.
5Then a kingdom of love
will be set up,
and someone from David's family
will rule with fairness.
He will do what is right
and quickly bring justice.
Moab's Pride Is Destroyed
6We have heard of Moab's pride.
Its people strut and boast,
but without reason.
7Tell everyone in Moab
to mourn for their nation.
Tell them to cry and weep
for those fancy raisins#16.7 fancy raisins: The Hebrew text has “raisin-cakes,” which could mean either the rich produce or the prosperous farmers.
of Kir-Hareseth.
8Vineyards near Heshbon
and Sibmah
have turned brown.
The rulers of nations
used to get drunk
on wine from those vineyards#16.8 The rulers … vineyards: Or “The rulers of nations have destroyed those vineyards.”
that spread to Jazer,
then across the desert
and beyond the sea.
9Now I mourn like Jazer
for the vineyards
of Sibmah.
I shed tears for Heshbon
and for Elealeh.
There will be no more
harvest celebrations
10or joyful and happy times,
while bringing in the crops.
Singing and shouting are gone
from the vineyards.
There are no joyful shouts
where grapes were pressed.
God has silenced them all.
11Deep in my heart I hurt
for Moab and Kir-Heres.
12It's useless for Moab's people
to wear themselves out
by going to their altars
to worship and pray.
13The Lord has already said all of this about Moab. 14Now he says, “The contract of a hired worker is good for three years, but Moab's glory and greatness won't last any longer than that. Only a few of its people will survive, and they will be left helpless.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.