Isaiah 16
16
1Send lambs to the ruler of the land.#16:1 Masoretic Text; Targum “They have sent lambs to the ruler of the land.”
Send lambs from Sela through the desert to my people at Mount Zion.
2Moab’s daughters are like fluttering birds,
like scattered nestlings,
at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.
3Give us advice.
Make a decision.
At high noon make your shadow as dark as night.
Hide the fugitives.
Don’t betray the refugees.
4Let the fugitives from Moab stay with you a while. Be their refuge from the destroyer.
Ruthless people will come to an end.
The destruction will end.
The one who tramples others will be gone.
5Then the Lord will set up a trusted king.
He will rule faithfully.
He is from the tent of David.
He judges and searches for justice.
He is quick to do what is right.
6We’ve heard of the arrogance of Moab’s people.
They are very arrogant.
We’ve heard of their boasting, arrogance, and conceit,
but their boasts aren’t true.
7That is why Moab will wail.
Everyone will wail for Moab.
Mourn and grieve over the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.
8The fields of Heshbon and the vineyards of Sibmah wither.
Rulers of the nations have cut off their grapes.
The grapevines ⌞once⌟ reached as far as Jazer
and strayed out into the desert.
Their shoots had spread out over the sea.
9I will cry for the grapevines of Sibmah
as Jazer cries for them.
I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh.
The shouts of joy for your ripened fruits
and your harvest will be silenced.
10Joy and delight have vanished from the orchards.
No songs are sung.
No shouts are raised.
No one stomps on grapes in the winepresses,
because I have put an end to the shouts of joy.
11That is why my heart mourns for Moab like a harp.
My soul mourns for Kir Hareseth.
12When the people of Moab appear at the worship site,
they will only wear themselves out.
They will come into the holy place to pray,
but they won’t be able to.
13This is the message that the Lord spoke about Moab in the past. 14But now the Lord says, “Moab’s honor will be despised within three years. I will count them like workers count the years left of their contracts. In spite of their great number, the survivors will be very few and powerless.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 16: GW
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC