Isaiah 16
16
Chapter 16
Moab's troubles
1We must send sheep as gifts to the ruler of our land. Send them from Sela across the desert. Send them to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. #16:1 The Moabite leaders are deciding what they should do.
2Moab's women are standing at the shore of Arnon river. They want to go across. They are like birds that people have chased out of their nests.
3The Moabites say, ‘Tell us what we should do! Help us in our troubles! Give us some shade in the middle of the day! Hide the people who are escaping! Our enemies are chasing us. Do not let them find us. 4Let us escape from Moab and come to live among you. Our enemy wants to destroy us. Please keep us safe!’
Yes, one day, the cruel enemy will have gone. He will no longer attack the land and destroy it. 5One of David's descendants will rule as king. He will be true and honest. He will judge people in a fair way. He will quickly bring justice among his people.
6The people of Judah say, ‘We know how proud Moab's people are. We have heard how they boast about themselves. They think that they can do anything that they want. But all their pride is empty and useless!’
7Because of their troubles, Moab's people weep. They are all very upset. They are sad because there are no more sweet raisins from Kir-Hareseth!
8Yes, nothing grows in Heshbon's fields. There are no grapes on Sibmah's vines. The rulers of other nations have destroyed the vineyards. The branches of those vines reached as far as Jazer, and the desert. They even grew to go across the sea. #16:8 The vines are a picture of Moab's strength. Other nations enjoyed the good things that they received from Moab. 9Because of that, I weep for the vines of Sibmah, as Jazer weeps. I pour out my tears all over you, Heshbon and Elealeh. Your people no longer sing because they are happy at harvest time. There is no more fruit on your trees or crops in your fields. 10Nobody is happy in the fields. Nobody sings or shouts with joy in the vineyards. Nobody squeezes the grapes to make wine. I have caused all the happy noise to stop.
11So I cry deep inside me for Moab. I cry like the sad music of a harp. I am very upset for Kir-Hareseth.
12Moab's people go to their altars and temples to pray for help from their gods. But they will only become tired. Their prayers will be useless.
13That is the message that the Lord has already spoken about Moab. 14But now the Lord says, ‘In three years' time, all Moab's glory will have gone. Count every day of those years, as if you are working to receive money. After that, there will only be a few of Moab's people who are still alive. Now they are many and they are strong. But by then they will be few and weak.’
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MissionAssist 2018
Isaiah 16
16
1Send lambs to the ruler of the land,#2Kg 3:4
from Sela in the desert#2Kg 14:7; Is 42:11
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
2Like a bird fleeing,
forced from the nest,
the daughters of Moab
will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3Give us counsel and make a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade that is as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;#1Kg 18:4
do not betray the one who flees.
4Let my refugees stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab#16:4 Or you; Moab — be a refuge for him from the aggressor.
When the oppressor has gone,
destruction has ended,
and marauders have vanished from the land,
5a throne will be established in love,#Is 9:6–7; 32:1; 55:4; Dn 7:14; Mc 4:7; Lk 1:33
and one will sit on it faithfully#16:5 Or continually
in the tent of David,
judging and pursuing what is right,
quick to execute justice.
6We have heard of Moab’s pride#Jr 48:29; Am 2:1; Ob 3–4; Zph 2:8,10 —
how very proud he is —
his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,
and his empty boasting.
7Therefore let Moab wail;
let every one of them wail for Moab.
You who are completely devastated, mourn
for the raisin cakes#2Sm 6:19; 1Ch 16:3; Sg 2:5; Hs 3:1 of Kir-hareseth.#2Kg 3:25; Jr 48:31
8For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards
and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled its choice vines
that reached as far as Jazer#Nm 21:32; Jos 13:25
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out
and reached the sea.#Jr 48:32
9So I join with Jazer
to weep for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.
Triumphant shouts have fallen silent#16:9 Or Battle cries have fallen
over your summer fruit and your harvest.
10Joy and rejoicing#Is 24:8; Jr 48:33 have been removed from the orchard;
no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.#Jdg 9:27; Is 24:7; Am 5:11,17
No one tramples grapes#16:10 Lit wine in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the shouting.
11Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,#Is 15:5; 63:15; Jr 48:36; Hs 11:8; Php 2:1
as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.
12When Moab appears
and tires himself out on the high place#1Kg 18:29
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
it will do him no good.#Is 15:2
13This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab. 14And now the Lord says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts years,#Jb 7:1; 14:6; Is 21:16 Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.”
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