Isaiah 16
1Send the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
2For it will be that as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so will the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.
3Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive!
4Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. For the extortionist is brought to nothing. Destruction ceases. The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.
6We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing.
7Therefore Moab will wail for Moab. Everyone will wail. You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth, utterly stricken.
8For the fields of Heshbon languish with the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations have broken down its choice branches, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness. Its shoots were spread abroad. They passed over the sea.
9Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah. I will water you with my tears, Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the battle shout has fallen.
10Gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there will be no singing, neither joyful noise. Nobody will tread out wine in the presses. I have made the shouting stop.
11Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres.
12It will happen that when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, and comes to his sanctuary to pray, that he will not prevail.
13This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in time past.
14But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as a worker bound by contract would count them, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Isaiah continues his oracle against Moab, calling for tribute to Judah and urging compassion for Moabite refugees fleeing destruction. The prophet balances judgment with mercy, acknowledging Moab's pride while expressing genuine sorrow for their coming devastation. The chapter concludes with a specific timeline—within three years, Moab's glory will be reduced to contempt, leaving only a small, feeble remnant.
Context
This chapter completes the two-part oracle against Moab that began in chapter 15, continuing Isaiah's series of judgments against foreign nations.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-5Call for Tribute and RefugeIsaiah urges Moab to send tribute and seeks protection for Moabite refugees, pointing to the coming Davidic ruler who will establish justice.
- 6-9Moab's Pride and Coming DesolationThe prophet acknowledges Moab's notorious pride while expressing personal grief over the destruction of their fertile lands and vineyards.
- 10-12End of Joy and Failed ReligionAll celebration ceases from Moab's fields, and their religious practices prove powerless against the coming judgment.
- 13-14Timeline of JudgmentThe LORD specifies that within three years, Moab's glory will be brought to contempt with only a small remnant surviving.
Oracle Against Moab
15:1–16:14A prophetic oracle announcing God's judgment upon Moab, describing widespread destruction and mourning throughout the nation. Despite the judgment, there are hints of compassion and future restoration through submission to God's authority.
geographic
Dibon's appearance in both Israel's conquest narratives and this judgment oracle creates a literary bridge between Moab's historical defeats and prophetic destruction.
Isaiah 16:2
Isaiah 10:14lexicalMy hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered a…
Proverbs 27:8lexicalAs a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
Isaiah 16:5
Proverbs 29:14lexicalThe king who fairly judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever.
Zechariah 7:9lexical“Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his b…
Proverbs 25:5lexicalTake away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Proverbs 20:28lexicalLove and faithfulness keep the king safe. His throne is sustained by love.
1 Kings 3:6lexicalSolomon said, “You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, because he walked before you in tru…
Isaiah 16:6
Jeremiah 48:29lexical“We have heard of the pride of Moab. He is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of h…
Jeremiah 48:30lexicalI know his wrath,” says the LORD, “that it is nothing; his boastings have done nothing.
Isaiah 16:8
Jeremiah 48:32lexicalWith more than the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah. Your branches passed over the sea. They reached…
Numbers 32:3lexical“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
Deuteronomy 32:32lexicalFor their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison grapes. Their clusters are bi…
Habakkuk 3:17lexicalFor even though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield…
Isaiah 16:9
Jeremiah 48:32lexicalWith more than the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah. Your branches passed over the sea. They reached…
Numbers 32:3lexical“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
Numbers 32:37lexicalThe children of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
Jeremiah 48:34lexicalFrom the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, to Egl…
Isaiah 15:4lexicalHeshbon cries out with Elealeh. Their voice is heard even to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud. Their sou…
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Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter