Isaiah 16
16
1Send them forth,#Send them forth: the Hebrew text is disturbed; it could also be understood to refer to tribute (a lamb) sent from Moab to Zion, presumably to encourage the king to receive the Moabite refugees. hugging the earth like reptiles,
from Sela across the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.
2Like flushed birds,
like scattered nestlings,
Are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.#The Arnon: principal river of Moab. #Nm 21:13.
3#Directed to Jerusalem, which should receive the suffering Moabites with mercy, as befits the city of David’s family, who were partly descended from Ruth the Moabite; and cf. 1 Sm 22:3–4. This would be a gracious act on Judah’s part, since its relations with Moab were strained at best. Offer counsel, take their part;
at high noon make your shade like the night;
Hide the outcasts,
do not betray the fugitives.
4Let the outcasts of Moab live with you,
be their shelter from the destroyer.
When there is an end to the oppressor,
when destruction has ceased,
and the marauders have vanished from the land,
5A throne shall be set up in mercy,
and on it shall sit in fidelity,
in David’s tent,
A judge upholding right,
prompt to do justice.#Is 9:6; 11:3–4; 32:1; Jer 23:5; Ps 89:14; Prv 20:28.
6We have heard of the pride of Moab,
how very proud he is,
Of his haughtiness, pride, and arrogance
that his empty words do not match.#Jer 48:29–30.
7#Moab had been prosperous; now it has become a desert. Therefore let Moab wail,
let everyone wail for Moab;
For the raisin cakes#Raisin cakes: masses of dried compressed grapes used as food (cf. 2 Sm 6:19; 1 Chr 16:3; Sg 2:5), and also in the worship of other gods (Hos 3:1). of Kir-hareseth
let them sigh, stricken with grief.
8The terraced slopes of Heshbon languish,
the vines of Sibmah,
Whose clusters once overpowered
the lords of nations,
Reaching as far as Jazer
winding through the wilderness,#Wilderness: i.e., eastward. Sea: i.e., westward.
Whose branches spread forth,
crossing over the sea.
9Therefore I weep with Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
Heshbon and Elealeh;
For on your summer fruits and harvests
the battle cry#Battle cry…shout of joy: the same Hebrew word (hedad), which normally refers to the joyful shout of those treading the grapes (cf. Jer 25:30), here is used both for the triumphant shout of the enemy (v. 9) and for the vintagers’ shout, which has ceased. has fallen.#Is 15:5; Jer 48:32.
10From the orchards are taken away
joy and gladness,
In the vineyards there is no singing,
no shout of joy;
In the wine presses no one treads grapes,
the vintage shout is stilled.#Is 24:8.
11Therefore for Moab
my heart moans like a lyre,
my inmost being for Kir-hareseth.#Is 15:5; Jer 48:36.
12#In vain do the Moabites appeal to their god Chemosh. When Moab wears himself out on the high places,
and enters his sanctuary to pray,
it shall avail him nothing.#Jer 48:13.
13#A prose application of the preceding poetic oracle against Moab (15:1–16:12); cf. Jer 4:8. Like the years of a hired laborer: the fixed period of time for which the hired laborer contracted his services; cf. Is 21:16. That is the word the Lord spoke against Moab in times past. 14But now the Lord speaks: In three years, like the years of a hired laborer, the glory of Moab shall be empty despite all its great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and weak.#Dt 15:18.
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Isaiah 16: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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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.