Isaiah 16
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,(A)
from Sela in the desert(B)
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
2 Like a bird fleeing,
forced from the nest,
the daughters of Moab
will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 Give us counsel and make a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade that is as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;(C)
do not betray the one who flees.
4 Let my refugees stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab[a] from the aggressor.
When the oppressor has gone,
destruction has ended,
and marauders have vanished from the land,
5 a throne will be established in love,(D)
and one will sit on it faithfully[b]
in the tent of David,
judging and pursuing what is right,
quick to execute justice.
6 We have heard of Moab’s pride(E) –
how very proud he is –
his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,
and his empty boasting.
7 Therefore let Moab wail;
let every one of them wail for Moab.
You who are completely devastated, mourn
for the raisin cakes(F) of Kir-hareseth.(G)
8 For 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(H)
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out
and reached the sea.(I)
9 So I join with Jazer
to weep for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.
Triumphant shouts have fallen silent[c]
over your summer fruit and your harvest.
10 Joy and rejoicing(J) have been removed from the orchard;
no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.(K)
No one tramples grapes[d] in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,(L)
as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.
12 When Moab appears
and tires himself out on the high place(M)
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
it will do him no good.(N)
13 This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab. 14 And now the Lord says, ‘In three years, as a hired worker counts years,(O) Moab’s splendour will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.’
Isaiah 16
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
16 Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Sion.
2 And it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, and as young ones flying out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in the passage of Arnon.
3 Take counsel, gather a council: make thy shadow as the night in the midday: hide them that flee, and betray not them that wander about.
4 My fugitives shall dwell with thee: O Moab, be thou a covert to them from the face of the destroyer: for the dust is at an end, the wretch is consumed: he hath failed, that trod the earth under foot.
5 And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and quickly rendering that which is just.
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogancy, and his indignation is more than his strength.
7 Therefore shall Moab howl to Moab, every one shall howl: to them that rejoice upon the brick walls, tell ye their stripes.
8 For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the nations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama: the branches thereof have reached even to Jazer: they have wandered in the wilderness, the branches thereof are left, they are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will lament with the weeping of Jazer the vineyard of Sabama: I will water thee with my tears, O Hesebon, and Eleale: for the voice of the treaders hath rushed in upon thy vintage, and upon thy harvest.
10 And gladness and joy shall be taken away from Carmel, and there shall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards. He shall not tread out wine in the press that was wont to tread it out: the voice of the treaders I have taken away.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for the brick wall.
12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is wearied on his high places, that he shall go in to his sanctuaries to pray, and shall not prevail.
13 This is the word, that the Lord spoke to Moab from that time:
14 And now the Lord hath spoken, saying: In three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be taken away for all the multitude of the people, and it shall be left small and feeble, not many.
Isaiah 16
New King James Version
Moab Destroyed
16 Send (A)the lamb to the ruler of the land,
(B)From [a]Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a (C)wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the (D)Arnon.
3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the [b]spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 In mercy (E)the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
(F)Judging and seeking justice and hastening (G)righteousness.”
6 We have heard of the (H)pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
(I)But his [c]lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore Moab shall (J)wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations (K)of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.
8 For (L)the fields of Heshbon languish,
And (M)the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the (N)sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
(O)O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For [d]battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 (P)Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore (Q)my [e]heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for [f]Kir Heres.
12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on (R)the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, (S)as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 16:1 Lit. Rock
- Isaiah 16:4 devastator
- Isaiah 16:6 Lit. vain talk
- Isaiah 16:9 Or shouting has
- Isaiah 16:11 Lit. belly
- Isaiah 16:11 Kir Hareseth, v. 7
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
