Isaiah 16:4

4 "Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer." For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased, 1Oppressors have completely disappeared 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 Then, like fleeing birds or scattered nestlings, The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 "Give us advice, make a decision; Cast your shadow like night at high noon; Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
4 "Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer." For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased, Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.
5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness.
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false .

Cross References 1

  • 1. Isaiah 9:4; Isaiah 14:4; Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 51:13; Isaiah 54:14

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. So the versions; M.T. "My outcasts, as for Moab"
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