Isaiah 16
Revised Geneva Translation
16 Send a lamb to the ruler of the world from the rock of the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter Zion.
2 For it shall be as a bird that flies, and a nest forsaken. The daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3 “Gather a counsel, execute judgment, make your shadow as the night in the midday. Hide those who are chased out. Do not betray him who has fled.
4 “Let My banished dwell with you. Moab, be their shelter from the face of the destroyer. For the extortioner shall end. The destroyer shall be consumed, the oppressor shall cease from the land.
5 “And in mercy shall the throne be prepared. And He shall sit upon it in steadfastness, in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hastening justice.”
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab (he is very proud), its pride and its arrogance and its indignation. But not so its lies.
7 Therefore, Moab shall howl to Moab. Everyone shall howl. For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn. Yet they shall be stricken.
8 For the vineyards of Heshbon are cut down, the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the heathen have broken its principal vines. Branches stretched themselves out and went over the sea.
9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer, and of the vine of Sibmah, O Heshbon! And Elealeh, I will make you drunk with my tears, because upon your summer fruits, and upon your harvest, a shouting has fallen.
10 And gladness is taken away, and joy, out of the plentiful field. And in the vineyards shall be no singing or shouting for joy. The treader shall not tread wine in the wine presses. I have caused the rejoicing to cease.
11 Therefore, my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my core for Kir Heres.
12 And when it shall appear that Moab shall be weary of its high places, then shall it come to its temple to pray, but it shall not prevail.
13 This is the Word that the LORD has spoken against Moab since that time.
14 And now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years (as the years of a hireling) the glory of Moab shall be despised in all the great multitude. And the remnant shall be very small and feeble.”
Isaiah 16
EasyEnglish Bible
Moab's troubles
16 We must send sheep as gifts to the ruler of our land. Send them from Sela across the desert. Send them to Mount Zion in Jerusalem.[a]
2 Moab's women are standing at the shore of Arnon river. They want to go across. They are like birds that people have chased out of their nests.
3 The Moabites say, ‘Tell us what we should do! Help us in our troubles! Give us some shade in the middle of the day! Hide the people who are escaping! Our enemies are chasing us. Do not let them find us. 4 Let us escape from Moab and come to live among you. Our enemy wants to destroy us. Please keep us safe!’
Yes, one day, the cruel enemy will have gone. He will no longer attack the land and destroy it. 5 One of David's descendants will rule as king. He will be true and honest. He will judge people in a fair way. He will quickly bring justice among his people.
6 The people of Judah say, ‘We know how proud Moab's people are. We have heard how they boast about themselves. They think that they can do anything that they want. But all their pride is empty and useless!’
7 Because of their troubles, Moab's people weep. They are all very upset. They are sad because there are no more sweet raisins from Kir-Hareseth!
8 Yes, nothing grows in Heshbon's fields. There are no grapes on Sibmah's vines. The rulers of other nations have destroyed the vineyards. The branches of those vines reached as far as Jazer, and the desert. They even grew to go across the sea.[b] 9 Because of that, I weep for the vines of Sibmah, as Jazer weeps. I pour out my tears all over you, Heshbon and Elealeh. Your people no longer sing because they are happy at harvest time. There is no more fruit on your trees or crops in your fields. 10 Nobody is happy in the fields. Nobody sings or shouts with joy in the vineyards. Nobody squeezes the grapes to make wine. I have caused all the happy noise to stop.
11 So I cry deep inside me for Moab. I cry like the sad music of a harp. I am very upset for Kir-Hareseth.
12 Moab's people go to their altars and temples to pray for help from their gods. But they will only become tired. Their prayers will be useless.
13 That is the message that the Lord has already spoken about Moab. 14 But now the Lord says, ‘In three years' time, all Moab's glory will have gone. Count every day of those years, as if you are working to receive money. After that, there will only be a few of Moab's people who are still alive. Now they are many and they are strong. But by then they will be few and weak.’
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