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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Isaiah 16
16
1They have sent lambs
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2Like fluttering birds,
like scattered nestlings,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
3“Give counsel,
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
hide the outcasts,
betray not the fugitive;
4let the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a refuge to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples under foot
has vanished from the land,
5then a throne will be established in steadfast love
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6We have heard of the pride of Moab,
how proud he was;
of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence—
his boasts are false.
7Therefore let Moab wail,
let every one wail for Moab.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth.
8For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Ele-aleh;
for upon your fruit and your harvest
the battle shout has fallen.
10And joy and gladness are taken away
from the fruitful field;
and in the vineyards no songs are sung,
no shouts are raised;
no treader treads out wine in the presses;
the vintage shout is hushed.#16.10 Gk: Heb I have hushed
11Therefore my soul moans like a lyre for Moab,
and my heart for Kir-heres.
12And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.
13This is the word which the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14But now the Lord says, “In three years, like the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America