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16 (A)Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From [a](B)Sela by way of the wilderness to the (C)mountain of the daughter of Zion.
Then, like [b](D)fleeing birds or scattered [c]nestlings,
The daughters of (E)Moab will be at the fords of the (F)Arnon.
“Bring us counsel, make a decision;
[d]Cast your (G)shadow like night [e]at high noon;
(H)Hide those banished, do not reveal the one who flees.
Let the [f]banished of Moab sojourn with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
(I)Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.
And a (J)throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of (K)David;
Moreover, he will seek justice
And be prompt in righteousness.

(L)We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his lofty pride, pride, and fury;
(M)His idle boasts are [g]false.
Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the (N)raisin cakes of (O)Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
For the fields of (P)Heshbon have languished, the vines of (Q)Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;
(R)Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
Therefore I will (S)weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O (T)Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your (U)summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10 (V)Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful orchard;
In the (W)vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or shouts of jubilation,
No (X)treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my [h](Y)inner being moans like a harp for Moab
And my [i]inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will be when Moab (Z)appears,
When he (AA)wearies himself upon his (AB)high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which Yahweh spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14 But now Yahweh speaks, saying, “Within three years, as [j](AC)a hired man would count them, the glory of (AD)Moab will be dishonored along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and not mighty.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 16:1 Petra in Edom
  2. Isaiah 16:2 Or fluttering
  3. Isaiah 16:2 Lit nest
  4. Isaiah 16:3 Lit Set
  5. Isaiah 16:3 Lit in the midst of the noon
  6. Isaiah 16:4 As in the versions; M.T. My banished ones, as for Moab
  7. Isaiah 16:6 Lit not so
  8. Isaiah 16:11 Lit entrails murmur
  9. Isaiah 16:11 Lit inward part
  10. Isaiah 16:14 Lit the years of a hireling

16 Send the tribute ram for the ruler of the land,

from Selah toward the wilderness,
to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
At the fords of the Arnon, the daughters of Moab will be
like birds fleeing from a scattered nest.

Get advice and make a decision.
At high noon make your shade as dark as night.
Hide the refugees.
Do not betray the fugitive.
Let the refugees from Moab stay with you.
        Be a hiding place for them from the face of the destroyer.

For the extortionist is no longer present.
Violence has ceased,
and the oppressors have disappeared from the land.
A throne will be established in mercy.
In the tent of David a judge will sit on the throne in truth,
seeking justice, eager to bring righteousness.

We have heard about Moab’s pride,
about his egotistical conceit.
His pride, his arrogance, and his boasting are nothing but self-delusion.
Therefore Moab will wail for Moab.
Everyone will wail.
Completely devastated, you will mourn for the raisin cakes
    of Kir Hareseth.

Look, the fields of Heshbon wither,
along with the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations have trampled the choice vines,
    which reached even to Jazer,
    which spread out into the wilderness.
Their shoots were spread out all the way to the sea.
Therefore I will weep as Jazer weeps for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
because the noisy celebration over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvest has been silenced.
10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the rich fields.
In the vineyards there will be no cries of joy or happy shouting.
No one will tread out wine from the wine presses.
I have put a stop to the cheering.
11 That is why my deepest feelings moan like a lyre for Moab,
and everything inside me is poured out for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab presents himself on the high place,
he only wears himself out.
When he goes to his shrine to pray,
he will accomplish nothing.
13 This is the word that the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab.

14 But now the Lord also says, “Within three years, as a worker bound by contract would count them, the glory of Moab will fade away despite its noisy crowd, and those who remain will be few and feeble.”

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