Isaiah 16
16
A Plea for Mercy
1Send a flock of lambs from the rock # 16:1 Or possibly a place in Edom called Sela (see 2 Kings 14:7). Sela means “rock” or “cliff.” of the desert
as a gift to the leaders in Jerusalem, # 16:1 Or “Send a lamb of the lord of the land.” This would have been a gift of tribute sent to secure Judah’s protection.
to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion.
2At the banks of the River Arnon, the women of Moab
are like newly hatched, fluttering birds.
3They say, “Make a decision!
Give us shelter. # 16:3 Or “Make your shade like night at noon.” Hide the fugitives. Don’t betray them!
4Allow the Moabite fugitives to stay with you.
Be a shelter for them from the destroyer!”
One day the oppressor will be no more.
The destroyer # 16:4 Or “Destruction.” will come to an end,
and the tyrant will vanish from the land.
5Then a government of unfailing love # 16:5 Or “a throne,” a metonymy for a king or government being established. will be established,
with a faithful king in the tabernacle of David,
passionate for justice and swift to do what is right.
Moab’s Demise
6We have heard about Moab’s pride.
How haughty she is—filled with arrogance and insolence,
with nothing more than empty boasts!
7So now Moab will wail;
everyone will wail over the ruin of their country.
Lament and grieve for the foundations of Kir-Hareseth. # 16:7 Or “over the raisin cakes [delicacies] of Kir-Hareseth [wall of earthen potsherds]” or “You shall care for those who dwell in Seth” (LXX).
8All the lush fields of Heshbon are dried up.
The vineyards of Sibmah have struck down the lords of nations, # 16:8 “The lords of the nations have broken down its vines.”
whose vines reached northward to Jazer # 16:8 Modern Sumia, a suburb of Heshbon.
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out and extend across the Dead Sea. # 16:8 Moab’s spreading, creeping vines of Heshbon (“stronghold”) become a metaphor for the tentacles of pride that spread throughout the heart of man.
9So I weep along with Jazer over the vines of Sibmah.
I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, # 16:9 Elealeh is a city. Elealeh means “a mighty one [God] ascends.” See Num. 32:37.
for the shouts of joy over the harvest
of fruit and grain have ceased.
10Joyful celebrations are stilled in the orchards;
in the vineyards, no one sings or shouts,
and no one treads out wine in the presses.
I have silenced your gleeful shouts.
11Like harp strings, my heartstrings throb for Moab, # 16:11 Even for pride-filled Moab, God’s heart was moved with compassion.
and my inner being sighs for your broken walls, Kir-Hareseth. # 16:11 Or “for Kir-Hareseth [wall of earthen potsherds].”
12When Moab comes to their high places
to plead with all their might
and enter their temples to pray, it will have no effect.
13This was the word the Lord Yahweh spoke in the past about Moab, 14but now the Lord Yahweh says, “In exactly three years, # 16:14 Or “in three years as the years of [or “counted by”] a hireling.” the splendor of Moab and her huge population will shrink to nothing; only a small and feeble remnant will remain.”
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Isaiah 16: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationIsaiah 16
16
A New Government in the David Tradition
1-4a “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.
The towns and people of Moab
are at a loss,
New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,
fluttering helplessly
At the banks of the Arnon River,
unable to cross:
‘Tell us what to do,
help us out!
Protect us,
hide us!
Give the refugees from Moab
sanctuary with you.
Be a safe place for those on the run
from the killing fields.’”
4b-5 “When this is all over,” Judah answers,
“the tyrant toppled,
The killing at an end,
all signs of these cruelties long gone,
A new government of love will be established
in the venerable David tradition.
A Ruler you can depend upon
will head this government,
A Ruler passionate for justice,
a Ruler quick to set things right.”
* * *
6-12We’ve heard—everyone’s heard!—of Moab’s pride,
world-famous for pride—
Arrogant, self-important, insufferable,
full of hot air.
So now let Moab lament for a change,
with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors!
What a shame! How terrible!
No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies!
All those lush Heshbon fields dried up,
the rich Sibmah vineyards withered!
Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out
the famous grapevines
That once reached all the way to Jazer,
right to the edge of the desert,
Ripped out the crops in every direction
as far as the eye can see.
I’ll join the weeping. I’ll weep right along with Jazer,
weep for the Sibmah vineyards.
And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh,
I’ll mingle my tears with your tears!
The joyful shouting at harvest is gone.
Instead of song and celebration, dead silence.
No more boisterous laughter in the orchards,
no more hearty work songs in the vineyards.
Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields,
silence—deathly and deadening silence.
My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab,
my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres.
When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray,
he wastes both time and energy.
Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief
is useless. Nothing ever happens.
13-14This is God’s earlier Message on Moab. God’s updated Message is, “In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab’s impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums panhandling handouts.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.