Isaiah 16:1

1 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion.

Isaiah 16:1 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
English Standard Version (ESV)
1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Send lambs from Sela as tribute to the ruler of the land. Send them through the desert to the mountain of beautiful Zion.
The Message Bible (MSG)
1 "Dispatch a gift of lambs," says Moab, "to the leaders in Jerusalem - Lambs from Sela sent across the desert to buy the goodwill of Jerusalem.
American Standard Version (ASV)
1 Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
1 Send lambs to the ruler of the land. Send lambs from Sela through the desert to my people at Mount Zion.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
1 Send lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
1 People of Moab, send lambs as a gift to the ruler of Judah. Send them from Sela. Send them across the desert. Send them to Mount Zion in the city of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 16:1 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 16:1

Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
Or tribute, as the Targum rightly interprets it. The Moabites, being conquered by David, paid tribute to him, ( 2 Samuel 8:2 ) and when the kingdom was divided in Rehoboam's time, the tribute was paid to the kings of Israel, which continued till the times of Ahab, when the Moabites rebelled, and refused to pay it, ( 2 Kings 3:4 2 Kings 3:5 ) and this tribute, as appears from the passage now referred to, was paid in lambs and rams; which now they are bid to pay to the king of Judah, David's lawful heir and successor in his kingdom; who is supposed to be meant by the ruler of the land, that is, of the land of Judah, whose reigning king at this time was Hezekiah; but rather by "the ruler of the land" is meant the king of Moab, for the words may be rendered, more agreeably to the language and the accents, "send ye the lamb" (or lambs, the singular for the plural), "O ruler of the land" F20; though others, "send ye the lamb of the ruler of the land" F21; that is either, O king of Moab send the tribute that is due; or ye people of the land send the tribute which your ruler owes to the king of Judah; so Jarchi understands it of the king of Moab: some indeed expound the ruler of the land of God himself, who is the Governor of the world; and take the sense to be, that the Moabites are bid to send a lamb, or lambs, for sacrifice, to the God of the whole earth, in order to appease him, and atone for their sins; which is said either seriously, as some think, this being to answer a good purpose, or ironically, as other's, it being now too late; but the sense given is the best: in the Talmud F23 it is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the land, who came to the mount of the daughter of Zion, by the way of rocks and mountains. The Targum applies it to the Messiah, paraphrasing it thus,

``they shall be bringing tributes to the Christ of Israel, who is strong over them.''
Jerom interprets it of Christ, the Lamb of God, the ruler of the world, or who was to be sacrificed to the ruler of the world; who descended from Ruth, the Moabitess, who he supposes is meant by the rock of the wilderness, as he renders the next clause: from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount the daughter of Zion:
according to Kimchi, and others, Sela was the chief city of the kingdom of Moab. The word signifies a rock; it is the same with Petra F24, the chief city of Arabia, and from whence Arabia Petraea had its name. Some take it to be Selah, the chief city of Edom, afterwards called Joktheel, ( 2 Kings 14:7 ) it was a frontier city, and lay upon the borders of Moab and Edom to the south; as the wilderness of Jordan was on the border of Moab to the north, and is thought to be here meant; or, according to Vitringa, the plains of Jericho, the same with the wilderness of Judea, where John the Baptist came preaching; which lay in the way from Sela or Petra, the chief city in Moab, unto Jerusalem. Strabo F25 says of Petra, the metropolis of the Nabataeans, that it lies in a plain, surrounded with rocks and precipices, and within it fountains and gardens, and without it a large country, for the most part desert, especially towards Judea, and from hence it is a journey of three or four days to Jericho; and so the sense is, send the lambs, or the tribute, from Sela or Petra, the chief city of Moab; send them, I say, to the wilderness of Judea, or by the way of that, even to Mount Zion or Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, and the seat of the king of it.
FOOTNOTES:

F20 (Ura lvwm rk wxlv) "mittite agnum, dominator terrae", Montanus; so Luther; which is approved by Reinbeck de Accent. Heb. p. 395.
F21 "Mittite agnum dominatoris terrae", Pagninus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F23 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 96. 2. & Gloss. in ib.
F24 Joseph. Antiqu. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 7. Ptolem. Geogr. l. 5. c. 17. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.
F25 Geograph. l. 16. p. 536. Ed. Casaub.

Isaiah 16:1 In-Context

1 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion.
2 Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision. Make your shadow like night— at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

Cross References 4

  • 1. S 2 Kings 3:4
  • 2. S 2 Chronicles 32:23
  • 3. S Judges 1:36; Ob 3 "fn"; 2 Kings 14:7
  • 4. S Isaiah 10:32
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