Isaiah 16
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
2 Then, like [b](D)fleeing birds or scattered [c]nestlings,
The daughters of (E)Moab will be at the fords of the (F)Arnon.
3 “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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 (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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 16:1 Petra in Edom
- Isaiah 16:2 Or fluttering
- Isaiah 16:2 Lit nest
- Isaiah 16:3 Lit Set
- Isaiah 16:3 Lit in the midst of the noon
- Isaiah 16:4 As in the versions; M.T. My banished ones, as for Moab
- Isaiah 16:6 Lit not so
- Isaiah 16:11 Lit entrails murmur
- Isaiah 16:11 Lit inward part
- Isaiah 16:14 Lit the years of a hireling
Isaiah 16
International Standard Version
Moab’s Destruction
16 “Send a lamb to the ruler of the land,
from Selah,[a] by way of the desert,
to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion.[b]
2 Like fluttering birds,
like an abandoned nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon River.[c]
3 “Give us advice;
reach a decision!
Cast your shadow as if night had come
at high noon.
Shelter the fugitives,
And don’t betray a single refugee.
4 Let the fugitives[d] from Moab
settle among you;
be a shelter to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor comes to an end,
and destruction has[e] ceased,
and the marauder[f] has[g] vanished from the land,
5 then a throne will be established in gracious love,
and there will sit in faithfulness—
in the Tent of David—
one who judges, seeks justice,
and is swift to do what is right.”
6 “We’ve heard about Moab’s pride—
so very proud he became!—[h]
his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
therefore he is alone.[i]
7 Therefore, let Moab not[j] wail,
let everyone wail for Moab.
Lament and grieve deeply
for the ruined remains[k] of Kir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon wither,
as well as the vines of Sibmah.[l]
The rulers of the nations
have struck down its choicest vines,
which once reached Jazer
and pushed to the desert.
Its shoots spread out
and passed over the sea.”
Isaiah Weeps for Moab
9 “Therefore I weep with the tears of Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah.
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh—
for the shouts of joy over your summer fruit
and your grain harvest have ended.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards,
in the vineyards people will sing no songs,[m]
and[n] no cheers are raised.
No vintner[o] treads out wine in the presses,
because I’ve put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore my insides[p] moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my innermost being[q] for Kir-hareseth.
12 When Moab appears,
when he arrives[r] upon the high place
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
he will not prevail.”
13 This was the message that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken again: “Within three years, like the years of a contract worker,[s] Moab’s glory will be brought into contempt, in spite of all its great multitude, and its survivors will be very few and[t] of no importance.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 16:1 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Sela; LXX reads not the rock
- Isaiah 16:1 I.e. Mt. Zion
- Isaiah 16:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks River
- Isaiah 16:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads my fugitives
- Isaiah 16:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads have
- Isaiah 16:4 Lit. the one who tramples underfoot
- Isaiah 16:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads have
- Isaiah 16:6 So 1QIsaa MTmss; cf. Jer 48:29; MT reads how very proud he was
- Isaiah 16:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read but his boasts mean nothing
- Isaiah 16:7 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks not
- Isaiah 16:7 Or for the raisin cakes
- Isaiah 16:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX include the rest of v. 8: The rulers … vine of Sibmah in v. 9
- Isaiah 16:10 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads no songs are sung
- Isaiah 16:10 So 1QIsaa MTmss; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 16:10 Lit. treader
- Isaiah 16:11 Or heart; lit. bowels
- Isaiah 16:11 Or my very soul
- Isaiah 16:12 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read tires himself
- Isaiah 16:14 I.e. as if carefully counted pursuant to an employment contract; cf. Isa 21:16
- Isaiah 16:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks and
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