Isaiah 16:1-6

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

2 And it shall be [that] as a wandering bird, [as] a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.

3 Bring in counsel, execute justice; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of noonday; hide the outcasts, discover not the fugitive.

4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the waster. For the extortioner is at an end, the wasting hath ceased, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

5 And a throne shall be established in mercy: and in the tent of David there shall sit upon it, in truth, one judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.

6 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, -- [he is] very proud, -- of his pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath: his pratings are vain.

Isaiah 16:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 16

This chapter is a continuation of the prophecy against Moab; in which the prophet gives good advice, but in case of a haughty neglect of it, which he foresaw, threatens with ruin, and fixes a time for it. He advises the Moabites to pay their tribute to the king of Judah, or otherwise they should be turned out of their land, as a bird out of its nest, Isa 16:1,2 to protect, and not betray the people of the Jews that should flee to them, because of the Assyrian army, Isa 16:3,4 and for this end gives a great character of the king of Judah, and assures them of the stability of his kingdom, Isa 16:5 but for their pride, wrath, and lying, they are threatened with destruction, and are represented as howling under it, Isa 16:6,7 because of the spoil of their cities, vineyards, and fields, so that they have no harvest, nor vintage, nor gathering of summer fruits, or joy on these accounts, Isa 16:8-10 for which even the prophet expresses a concern, Isa 16:11 and after having observed the application of the Moabites to their gods without success, Isa 16:12 the chapter is closed with an assurance of the certain ruin of Moab, and of the time when it should be, Isa 16:13,14.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'to.'
• [b]. Or 'from Sela in the wilderness.'
• [c]. Or 'make a decision.'
• [d]. Lit. 'trampler' (in the singular).
• [e]. Or 'out of the earth.'
• [f]. Chesed, loving-kindness: see 2Chron. 6.42.