Isaiah 16
16
Moab’s Destruction
(Zephaniah 2:8–11)
1Send the tribute lambs
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela in the desert
to the mount of Daughter Zion.
2Like fluttering birds
pushed out of the nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon:
3“Give us counsel;
render a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;
do not betray the one who flees.
4Let my fugitives stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.”
When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased,
and the oppressors have vanished from the land,
5in loving devotion #16:5 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant. a throne will be established
in the tent of David.
A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness
will sit on it in faithfulness.
6We have heard of Moab’s pomposity,
his exceeding pride and conceit,
his overflowing arrogance.
But his boasting is empty.
7Therefore let Moab wail;
let them wail together for Moab.
Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,
you who are utterly stricken.
8For the fields of Heshbon have withered,
along with the grapevines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled its choicest vines,
which had reached as far as Jazer
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots had spread out
and passed over the sea.#16:8 Or and had gone as far as the sea; that is, probably the Dead Sea
9So I weep with Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench Heshbon and Elealeh
with my tears.
Triumphant shouts have fallen silent
over your summer fruit and your harvest.
10Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard;
no one sings or shouts in the vineyards.
No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses;
I have put an end to the cheering.
11Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp,
my inmost being for Kir-heres.#16:11 Kir-heres is a variant of Kir-hareseth; see verse 7.
12When Moab appears on the high place,
when he wearies himself
and enters his sanctuary to pray,
it will do him no good.
13This is the message that the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14And now the Lord says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts the years, Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, with all her many people. And those who are left will be few and feeble.”
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Isaiah 16: BSB
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.
Isaiah 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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