Isaiah 16:4

4 Let my refugees stay with you; be a refuge for Moab[a] from the aggressor. When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ended, and marauders have vanished from the land.

Isaiah 16:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 16:4

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee
Not whom God had cast out, but who were the Lord's people, and whom he owns as such, though cast out by the enemy, or obliged to flee, and quit their country; let these be sojourners in thy land; let them continue awhile there; let them dwell privately and peaceably: Moab, be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler:
that is, O king of Moab, or kingdom of Moab, as the Targum, hide and protect the Jews that shall flee to thee for shelter, from the face of the spoiler of their land and substance, Sennacherib king of Assyria; and, to encourage them to do these things, it is suggested that they would not be long troublesome to them, and would quickly be in a capacity of requiting them, and of being serviceable to them in like distress: for the extortioner is at an end;
or "the squeezer", or "wringer out" F1; that oppressed them, and wrung their property out of their hands; that milked them out of their substance, and even sucked their blood; meaning the Assyrian monarch, whose time was short, and an end was soon put to all his schemes and oppressions: the spoiler ceaseth:
out of the land, being obliged to depart out of it: the oppressors are consumed out of the land:
the Assyrian army, and its officers, who were all consumed in one night by an angel, ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Umh) "expressor", Pagninus, Montanus; "emunctor, [vel] emulsor", Vatablus.

Isaiah 16:4 In-Context

2 Like a bird fleeing, forced from the nest, the daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 Give us counsel and make a decision. [Shelter us] at noonday with shade that is as dark as night. Hide the refugee; do not betray the one who flees.
4 Let my refugees stay with you; be a refuge for Moab from the aggressor. When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ended, and marauders have vanished from the land.
5 Then in the tent of David a throne will be established by faithful love. A judge who seeks what is right and is quick to execute justice will sit on the throne forever.
6 We have heard of Moab's pride- how very proud he is- his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance, and his empty boasting.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or you; Moab-be a refuge for him
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