Isaiah 16:1-8

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

2 For 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.

3 Take counsel; execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; do not betray him that escapes.

4 Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the presence of the destroyer; for the extortioner shall come to an end, the destroyer shall cease, the oppressor shall be consumed out of the land.

5 And 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 hastening righteousness.

6 We 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.

7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; every one shall howl; for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

8 For the vines of Heshbon were cut off and the vines of Sibmah; the lords of the Gentiles have trodden down the offshoots thereof, which had come even unto Jazer and extended through the wilderness; they had gone over the sea.

Isaiah 16:1-8 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.