Isaiah 16
16
A New Government in the David Tradition
1-4a “Dispatch a gift of lambs,” says Moab,
“to the leaders in Jerusalem—
Lambs from Sela sent across the desert
to buy the goodwill of Jerusalem.
The towns and people of Moab
are at a loss,
New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,
fluttering helplessly
At the banks of the Arnon River,
unable to cross:
‘Tell us what to do,
help us out!
Protect us,
hide us!
Give the refugees from Moab
sanctuary with you.
Be a safe place for those on the run
from the killing fields.’”
4b-5 “When this is all over,” Judah answers,
“the tyrant toppled,
The killing at an end,
all signs of these cruelties long gone,
A new government of love will be established
in the venerable David tradition.
A Ruler you can depend upon
will head this government,
A Ruler passionate for justice,
a Ruler quick to set things right.”
* * *
6-12We’ve heard—everyone’s heard!—of Moab’s pride,
world-famous for pride—
Arrogant, self-important, insufferable,
full of hot air.
So now let Moab lament for a change,
with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors!
What a shame! How terrible!
No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies!
All those lush Heshbon fields dried up,
the rich Sibmah vineyards withered!
Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out
the famous grapevines
That once reached all the way to Jazer,
right to the edge of the desert,
Ripped out the crops in every direction
as far as the eye can see.
I’ll join the weeping. I’ll weep right along with Jazer,
weep for the Sibmah vineyards.
And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh,
I’ll mingle my tears with your tears!
The joyful shouting at harvest is gone.
Instead of song and celebration, dead silence.
No more boisterous laughter in the orchards,
no more hearty work songs in the vineyards.
Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields,
silence—deathly and deadening silence.
My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab,
my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres.
When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray,
he wastes both time and energy.
Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief
is useless. Nothing ever happens.
13-14This is God’s earlier Message on Moab. God’s updated Message is, “In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab’s impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums panhandling handouts.”
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Isaiah 16: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
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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