Isaiah 16
New Living Translation
16 Send lambs from Sela as tribute
to the ruler of the land.
Send them through the desert
to the mountain of beautiful Zion.
2 The women of Moab are left like homeless birds
at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.
3 “Help us,” they cry.
“Defend us against our enemies.
Protect us from their relentless attack.
Do not betray us now that we have escaped.
4 Let our refugees stay among you.
Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past.”
When oppression and destruction have ended
and enemy raiders have disappeared,
5 then God will establish one of David’s descendants as king.
He will rule with mercy and truth.
He will always do what is just
and be eager to do what is right.
6 We have heard about proud Moab—
about its pride and arrogance and rage.
But all that boasting has disappeared.
7 The entire land of Moab weeps.
Yes, everyone in Moab mourns
for the cakes of raisins from Kir-hareseth.
They are all gone now.
8 The farms of Heshbon are abandoned;
the vineyards at Sibmah are deserted.
The rulers of the nations have broken down Moab—
that beautiful grapevine.
Its tendrils spread north as far as the town of Jazer
and trailed eastward into the wilderness.
Its shoots reached so far west
that they crossed over the Dead Sea.[a]
9 So now I weep for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah;
my tears will flow for Heshbon and Elealeh.
There are no more shouts of joy
over your summer fruits and harvest.
10 Gone now is the gladness,
gone the joy of harvest.
There will be no singing in the vineyards,
no more happy shouts,
no treading of grapes in the winepresses.
I have ended all their harvest joys.
11 My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp.
I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.[b]
12 The people of Moab will worship at their pagan shrines,
but it will do them no good.
They will cry to the gods in their temples,
but no one will be able to save them.
13 The Lord has already said these things about Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord says, “Within three years, counting each day,[c] the glory of Moab will be ended. From its great population, only a feeble few will be left alive.”
Read full chapter
Isaiah 16
Common English Bible
16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,[a]
from Sela through the desert
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
2 The daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon are like orphaned birds pushed from the nest.
3 Consider carefully, act justly;
at high noon provide your shade like night.
Hide the outcasts;
keep the fugitives hidden.
4 Let the outcasts of Moab live among you.
Be a hiding place for them from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
when destruction has ceased,
when the trampler has vanished from the land,
5 a throne will be established based on goodness,
and someone will sit faithfully on it in David’s dwelling[b]—
a judge who seeks justice and timely righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s pride,
his great pride,
his outrageous pride and arrogance,
his empty boasting.
7 Therefore, let Moab wail;
let everyone wail for Moab.
Let them moan, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
8 The fields of Heshbon languish.
The vines of Sibmah,
whose honored grapes overpowered masters of nations,
had reached as far as Jazer and strayed to the desert.
Their tendrils spread out and crossed the sea.
9 Therefore, I will weep with Jazer’s weeping for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh.
Cheers have fallen silent concerning your summer fruit and your grain harvest.
10 Joy and happiness have been harvested from the farmland,
and in the vineyards no one sings, no one shouts.
No treader crushes grapes in the wine vats;
I have brought the cheers to an end.
11 Therefore, my heart plays sadly like a harp for Moab,
my inner being for Kir-heres.
12 Even if Moab presents himself,
and Moab wears himself out going to the shrine,
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
he won’t prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord had spoken concerning Moab long ago. 14 But now the Lord has said: In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab, with all its great multitude, will dwindle. The small remnant will be few and feeble.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 16:1 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 16:5 Or tent
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible