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Isaiah 16

KJV · Chapter 16/66

1Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

3Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

4Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

5And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

6We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

7Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir–hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

8For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

9Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.

10And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.

11Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir–haresh.

12And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The lament over Moab continues: the prophet asks for refuge for Moabite fugitives in Judah and mourns the destruction of its vineyards and cities. At the end, a specific deadline is given: in three years Moab's glory will be almost entirely wiped out.

Explanation

The chapter directly continues the subject of the previous one, with Isaiah suggesting that Moab should seek protection under David's throne ('the tabernacle of David') instead of trusting in its own pride, cited as a defining trait of the Moabite people. The mention of the vineyards of Sibmah and Jazer shows that wine agriculture was the region's economic pride, and its destruction meant the total collapse of the local economy. The deadline of 'three years, as the years of a hired worker' (an exact count, not rounded) demonstrates the precision of Isaiah's prophecies, fulfilled when Assyria invaded the region. Today's application is that pride often keeps us from accepting help or refuge even when it is available.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'years of a hired worker' refers to the precise count a contracted laborer kept of his time of service — used here to emphasize that the prophetic deadline would be exact, not approximate.
  • The vineyards of Sibmah and Heshbon were famous in the region for producing high-quality wine, and archaeologists have found evidence of ancient wine presses in the area that today corresponds to Jordan.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 16:1Sending lambs was the standard way a vassal kingdom paid tribute to its overlord. Here Moab is advised to send this tribute to Judah in search of protection, a common political custom among small kingdoms of the time.
  2. Isaiah 16:2Describes Moabite refugees crossing the fords of the Arnon River like startled birds pushed out of the nest — an image of a people in flight, disoriented, seeking shelter after losing their own home.
  3. Isaiah 16:3A request directed at Moab: to give shelter and protection to the refugees, like shade at noonday, hiding the fugitives instead of handing them over to danger.
  4. Isaiah 16:4Continues the request for refuge: that Judah’s outcasts may live in Moab as a temporary shelter until the oppressor, probably Assyria, is gone and the destruction passes — a plea for solidarity between neighboring peoples.
  5. Isaiah 16:5In the middle of the lament over Moab, the text briefly shifts subject and projects hope onto David’s throne. The idea of a just king coming from that line appears as a contrast to the chaos in the rest of the chapter.
  6. Isaiah 16:6Changes tone: Moab’s extreme pride is already well known, its arrogance and fury — but the text warns that this excessive confidence will not hold up against the destruction to come.
  7. Isaiah 16:7As a result of this pride, all of Moab will weep for itself, mourning the already-destroyed foundations of the city of Kirhareseth — pride turns into mourning.
  8. Isaiah 16:8Describes the agricultural devastation: the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah, famous in the region, are destroyed by invaders, and their branches, which once spread far away, now lie only in ruin.
  9. Isaiah 16:9The narrator himself is moved by this loss, promising to weep along with Jazer over the vine of Sibmah, because the joy of the summer harvest has disappeared.
  10. Isaiah 16:10Continues the mourning over the lost harvest: there is no more feasting or singing in the vineyards, no one treads the grapes in the winepresses — all of Moab’s agricultural joy has been silenced.
  11. Isaiah 16:11An expression of deep, personal sorrow: the “bowels,” the seat of emotion in Hebrew language, sound like a harp with sadness over Moab.
  12. Isaiah 16:12Describes the futility of Moab’s religion: when the exhausted people go to pray at their high places and their sanctuary, they will not get any real help — the Moabite gods cannot save them.
  13. Isaiah 16:13A transition sentence: this was the word the LORD had already spoken about Moab before, preparing the more specific announcement in the next verse about a three-year deadline.
  14. Isaiah 16:14Counting time in “the years of an hireling” meant using the precision of a labor contract, since a hired worker had a fixed term and would not stay a single extra day. The verse is saying that the timing of Moab’s fall is exact, not a vague forecast.

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