Text -- Isaiah 16:1-14 (NET)

16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the hill of Daughter Zion. 16:2 At the fords of the Arnon the Moabite women are like a bird that flies about when forced from its nest. 16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! Provide some shade in the middle of the day! Hide the fugitives! Do not betray the one who tries to escape! 16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live among you. Hide them from the destroyer!” Certainly the one who applies pressure will cease, the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear from the earth. 16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established; he will rule in a reliable manner, this one from David’s family. He will be sure to make just decisions and will be experienced in executing justice. 16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride, their great arrogance, their boasting, pride, and excess. But their boastful claims are empty! 16:7 So Moab wails over its demise– they all wail! Completely devastated, they moan about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. 16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up, as well as the vines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines, which reach Jazer and spread to the desert; their shoots spread out and cross the sea. 16:9 So I weep along with Jazer over the vines of Sibmah. I will saturate you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly over your fruit and crops. 16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards, and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts; no one treads out juice in the wine vats– I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, my inner being sighs for Kir Hareseth. 16:12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective! 16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Isa 16:1

The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab, and gives them counsel what to do, to prevent, if possible, the desolation. Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him, and to his people.

Wesley: Isa 16:1

An eminent city of Moab, seated upon a rock.

Wesley: Isa 16:1

Unto the temple upon mount Zion.

Wesley: Isa 16:2

Which knows not whither to go.

Wesley: Isa 16:2

Which was the border of the land of Moab, where they were, with design to flee out of their land, tho' they knew not whither.

Wesley: Isa 16:3

Consider seriously what course to take.

Wesley: Isa 16:3

Or, as the shadow of the night, large and dark, as the shadow of the earth is in the night - season. Conceal and protect my people in the time of their distress.

Wesley: Isa 16:3

casts - Those of my people who are driven out of their land.

Wesley: Isa 16:3

Unto their enemies.

Wesley: Isa 16:4

casts - Whom tho' I have sorely chastened, yet I own for my people.

Wesley: Isa 16:4

Shall shortly be destroyed, and then thou wilt not lose the fruit of thy kindness. The present tense is put for the future.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

By my mercy. I am now punishing their sins, yet I will deliver them for my own mercy's sake.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

The kingdom of Judah.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

Their king.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

That is, firmly and constantly; for truth is often put for the stability and certainty of a thing, as 2Ch 32:1; Pro 11:18.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

ln the house, or palace, which is called a tent, or tabernacle, with respect to the unsettledness of David's house, which now indeed was more like a tabernacle than a strong palace.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

Searching out the truth of things with care and diligence.

Wesley: Isa 16:5

Neither denying, nor yet delaying justice.

Wesley: Isa 16:6

The prophet having spoken to the Moabites, now turns his speech to God's people. The sense is, I do not expect that my counsels will have any good effect upon Moab; they will still carry themselves insolently and outrageously.

Wesley: Isa 16:6

His vain imaginations, and false and crafty counsels, shall not take effect.

Wesley: Isa 16:7

One Moabite shall howl or lament to or for another.

Wesley: Isa 16:7

An ancient and eminent city of Moab, which was preserved when their other cities were ruined, and therefore the destruction of it was more lamented.

Wesley: Isa 16:7

Or, broken, overthrown or destroyed.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

The Assyrians or Chaldeans, the great rulers of the eastern nations.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

The choicest vines. Under which one particular he seems to understand, not only all other fruits and goods, but even their choicest people.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

The lords of the heathen are come as far as Jazer, which is the utmost border of Moab.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

The Moabites fled for their lives, and wandered hither and thither in the wilderness of Moab.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

Her people, called plants before.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

Driven from their own homes, and dispersed into several countries.

Wesley: Isa 16:8

Over the Dead - sea, which was the border of Moab. They were forced to flee out of their own country to save their lives.

Wesley: Isa 16:9

I will bewail Sibmah, as I did bewail Jazer, which was destroyed before Sibmah.

Wesley: Isa 16:9

Those joyful shouts which were customary in the time of harvest and vintage, shall cease.

Wesley: Isa 16:10

In those times they used to squeeze out the juice of their grapes by treading them with their feet.

Wesley: Isa 16:11

Thro' compassion. In excessive grief, the bowels are sometimes rolled together, so as to make an audible noise.

Wesley: Isa 16:12

When it shall appear that all their other devotions are vain.

Wesley: Isa 16:12

To the temple of his great god Chemosh.

Wesley: Isa 16:12

His god can neither hear nor help him.

Wesley: Isa 16:13

Since the beginning of God's revelation to me concerning Moab, hitherto.

Wesley: Isa 16:14

Hath made this farther discovery of his mind to me.

Wesley: Isa 16:14

This may well be understood of some great blow given to the Moabites, either by Sennacherib, or his son Esarhaddon, from which notwithstanding they recovered and flourished again 'till Nebuchadnezzar compleated their destruction.

Wesley: Isa 16:14

Within three years precisely counted; for hirelings are very punctual in observing the time for which they are hired.

Wesley: Isa 16:14

Their strength, and wealth, and other things in which they glory, shall be made contemptible to those who formerly admired them.

Wesley: Isa 16:14

With the great numbers of their people, of which they boasted.

JFB: Isa 16:1

Advice of the prophet to the Moabites who had fled southwards to Idumea, to send to the king of Judah the tribute of lambs, which they had formerly paid to Israel, but which they had given up (2Ki 3:4-5). David probably imposed this tribute before the severance of Judah and Israel (2Sa 8:2). Therefore Moab is recommended to gain the favor and protection of Judah, by paying it to the Jewish king. Type of the need of submitting to Messiah (Psa 2:10-12; Rom 12:1).

JFB: Isa 16:1

Rather, "from Petra through (literally, 'towards') the wilderness" [MAURER]. "Sela" means "a rock," Petra in Greek; the capital of Idumea and Arabia-Petræa; the dwellings are mostly hewn out of the rock. The country around was a vast common ("wilderness") or open pasturage, to which the Moabites had fled on the invasion from the west (Isa 15:7).

JFB: Isa 16:1

Namely, of Idumea, that is, the king of Judah; Amaziah had become master of Idumea and Sela (2Ki 14:7).

JFB: Isa 16:2

Rather, "as a brood cast out" (in apposition with "a wandering bird," or rather, wandering birds), namely, a brood just fledged and expelled from the nest in which they were hatched [HORSLEY]. Compare Isa 10:14; Deu 32:11.

JFB: Isa 16:2

That is, the inhabitants of Moab. So 2Ki 19:21; Psa 48:11; Jer 46:11; Lam 4:22 [MAURER].

JFB: Isa 16:2

Trying to cross the boundary river of Moab, in order to escape out of the land. EWALD and MAURER make "fords" a poetical expression for "the dwellers on Arnon," answering to the parallel clause of the same sense, "daughters of Moab."

JFB: Isa 16:3-5

GESENIUS, MAURER, &c., regard these verses as an address of the fugitive Moabites to the Jews for protection; they translate Isa 16:4, "Let mine outcasts of Moab dwell with thee, Judah"; the protection will be refused by the Jews, for the pride of Moab (Isa 16:6). VITRINGA makes it an additional advice to Moab, besides paying tribute. Give shelter to the Jewish outcasts who take refuge in thy land (Isa 16:3-4); so "mercy" will be shown thee in turn by whatever king sits on the "throne" of "David" (Isa 16:5). Isaiah foresees that Moab will be too proud to pay the tribute, or conciliate Judah by sheltering its outcasts (Isa 16:6); therefore judgment shall be executed. However, as Moab just before is represented as itself an outcast in Idumea, it seems incongruous that it should be called on to shelter Jewish outcasts. So that it seems rather to foretell the ruined state of Moab when its people should beg the Jews for shelter, but be refused for their pride.

JFB: Isa 16:3-5

Emblem of a thick shelter from the glaring noonday heat (Isa 4:6; Isa 25:4; Isa 32:2).

JFB: Isa 16:3-5

Betray not the fugitive to his pursuer.

JFB: Isa 16:4

Rather, "Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with thee" (Judah) [HORSLEY].

JFB: Isa 16:4

The Assyrian oppressor probably.

JFB: Isa 16:4

By the time that Moab begs Judah for shelter, Judah shall be in a condition to afford it, for the Assyrian oppressor shall have been "consumed out of the land."

JFB: Isa 16:5

If Judah shelters the suppliant Moab, allowing him to remain in Idumea, a blessing will redound to Judah itself and its "throne."

JFB: Isa 16:5

Language so divinely framed as to apply to "the latter days" under King Messiah, when "the Lord shall bring again the captivity of Moab" (Psa 72:2; Psa 96:13; Psa 98:9; Jer 48:47; Rom 11:12).

JFB: Isa 16:5

"prompt in executing."

JFB: Isa 16:6

Jews. We reject Moab's supplication for his pride.

JFB: Isa 16:6

False boasts.

JFB: Isa 16:6

Rather, "not right"; shall prove vain (Isa 25:10; Jer 48:29-30; Zep 2:8). "It shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it."

JFB: Isa 16:7

All hope of being allowed shelter by the Jews being cut off.

JFB: Isa 16:7

That is, "ruins"; because, when houses are pulled down, the "foundations" alone are left (Isa 58:12). Jeremiah, in the parallel place (Jer 48:31), renders it "men," who are the moral foundations or stay of a city.

JFB: Isa 16:7

Literally, "a citadel of brick."

JFB: Isa 16:7

Rather, joined with "mourn"; "Ye shall mourn utterly stricken" [MAURER and HORSLEY].

JFB: Isa 16:8

Vine-fields (Deu 32:32).

JFB: Isa 16:8

Near Heshbon: namely, languishes.

JFB: Isa 16:8

The heathen princes, the Assyrians, &c., who invaded Moab, destroyed his vines. So Jeremiah in the parallel place (Jer 48:32-33). MAURER thinks the following words require rather the rendering, "Its (the vine of Sibmah) shoots (the wines got from them) overpowered (by its generous flavor and potency) the lords of the nations" (Gen 49:11-12, Gen 49:22).

JFB: Isa 16:8

They (the vine shoots) reached even to Jazer, fifteen miles from Heshbon.

JFB: Isa 16:8

They overran in wild luxuriance the wilderness of Arabia, encompassing Moab.

JFB: Isa 16:8

The Dead Sea; or else some lake near Jazer now dry; in Jer 48:32 called "the sea of Jazer"; but see on Jer 48:32 (Psa 80:8-11).

JFB: Isa 16:9

Will bewail for its desolation, though I belong to another nation (see on Isa 15:5).

JFB: Isa 16:9

As Jazer weeps.

JFB: Isa 16:9

Rather, "Upon thy summer fruits and upon thy luxuriant vines the shouting (the battle shout, instead of the joyous shout of the grape-gatherers, usual at the vintage) is fallen" (Isa 16:10; Jer 25:30; Jer 51:14). In the parallel passage (Jer 48:32) the words substantially express the same sense. "The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits."

JFB: Isa 16:10

Such as is felt in gathering a rich harvest. There shall be no harvest or vintage owing to the desolation; therefore no "gladness."

JFB: Isa 16:11

In Scripture the seat of yearning compassion. It means the inward seat of emotion, the heart, &c. (Isa 63:15; compare Isa 15:5; Jer 48:36).

JFB: Isa 16:11

As its strings vibrate when beaten with the plectrum or hand.

JFB: Isa 16:12

Rather, "When Moab shall have appeared (before his gods; compare Exo 23:15), when he is weary (that is, when he shall have fatigued himself with observing burdensome rites; 1Ki 18:26, &c.), on the high place (compare Isa 15:2), and shall come to his sanctuary (of the idol Chemosh on Mount Nebo) to pray, he shall not prevail"; he shall effect nothing by his prayers [MAURER].

JFB: Isa 16:13

Rather, "respecting that time" [HORSLEY]. BARNES translates it, "formerly" in contrast to "but now" (Isa 16:14): heretofore former prophecies (Exo 15:15; Num 21:29) have been given as to Moab, of which Isaiah has given the substance: but now a definite and steady time also is fixed.

JFB: Isa 16:14

Just as a hireling has his fixed term of engagement, which neither he nor his master will allow to be added to or to be taken from, so the limit within which Moab is to fall is unalterably fixed (Isa 21:16). Fulfilled about the time when the Assyrians led Israel into captivity. The ruins of Elealeh, Heshbon, Medeba, Dibon, &c., still exist to confirm the inspiration of Scripture. The accurate particularity of specification of the places three thousand years ago, confirmed by modern research, is a strong testimony to the truth of prophecy.

Already, Tiglath-pileser had carried away the people of Damascus to Kir, in the fourth year of Ahaz (2Ki 16:9); but now in Hezekiah's reign a further overthrow is foretold (Jer 49:23; Zec 9:1). Also, Shalmaneser carried away Israel from Samaria to Assyria (2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:10-11) in the sixth year of Hezekiah of Judah (the ninth year of Hoshea of Israel). This prophecy was, doubtless, given previously in the first years of Hezekiah when the foreign nations came into nearer collision with Judah, owing to the threatening aspect of Assyria.

Clarke: Isa 16:1

Send ye the lamb, etc. "I will send forth the son, etc."- Both the reading and meaning of this verse are still more doubtful than those of the preceding. The Septuagint and Syriac read אשלח eshlach , I will send, in the first person singular, future tense: the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read שלח shelach , send, singular imperative: some read שלחו shilchu , send ye forth, or shalechu , they send forth. The Syriac, for כר car , a lamb, reads בר bar , a son, which is confirmed by five MSS. of Kennicott and De Rossi. The two first verses describe the distress of Moab on the Assyrian invasion in which even the son of the prince of the country is represented as forced to flee for his life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea; and the young women are driven forth like young birds cast out of the nest, and endeavoring to wade through the fords of the river Arnon. Perhaps there is not so much difficulty in this verse as appears at first view. "Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,"may receive light from 2Ki 3:4, 2Ki 3:5 : "And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs with their wool, and one hundred thousand rams: but when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against Israel."Now the prophet exhorts them to begin paying the tribute as formerly, that their punishment might be averted or mitigated.

Clarke: Isa 16:3

Take counsel "Impart counsel"- The Vulgate renders the verbs in the beginning of this verse in the singular number, So the Keri; and so likewise sixty-one MSS. of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s have it, and nineteen editions, and the Syriac. The verbs throughout the verse are also in the feminine gender; agreeing with Zion, which I suppose to be understood.

Clarke: Isa 16:4

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab "Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee, O Zion"- Setting the points aside, this is by much the most obvious construction of the Hebrew, as well as most agreeable to the context, and the design of the prophet. And it is confirmed by the Septuagint οἱ φυγαδες Μωαβ, and Syriac

The oppressors "The oppressor"- Perhaps the Israelites, who in the time of Ahab invaded Judah, defeated his army, slaying one hundred and twenty thousand men, and brought the kingdom to the brink of destruction. Judah, being now in a more prosperous condition, is represented as able to receive and to protect the fugitive Moabites. And with those former times of distress the security and flourishing state of the kingdom under the government of Hezekiah is contrasted.

Clarke: Isa 16:5

In mercy shall the throne be established - May not this refer to the throne of Hezekiah? Here we have the character of such a king as cannot fail to be a blessing to the people

1.    "He sitteth on the throne in truth"- He does not merely profess to be the father and protector of his people: but he is actually such

2.    He is judging. He is not a man of war or blood, who wastes his subjects’ lives and treasures in contentions with neighboring nations, in order to satisfy his ambition by the extension of his territory. On the contrary, his whole life is occupied in the distribution of justice

3.    He seeketh judgment. He seeks out the poor distressed ones who cannot make their way to him, and avenges them on their oppressors

4.    He hastens righteousness. He does not suffer any of the courts of justice to delay the determination of the causes brought before them: he so orders that the point in litigation be fairly, fully, and speedily heard; and then judgment pronounced. Delays in the execution of justice answer little end but the enriching of unprincipled lawyers.

Clarke: Isa 16:6

We have heard of the pride of Moab "We have heard the pride of Moab"- For גא ge , read גאה geah ; two MSS., one ancient, and Jer 48:29. Zephaniah, Zep 2:8-10, in his prophecy against Moab, the subject of which is the same with that of Jeremiah in his forty-eighth chapter, (see the note on Isa 15:1 (note)), enlarges much on the pride of Moab, and their insolent behavior towards the Jews: -

"I have heard the reproach of Moab

And the revilings of the sons of Ammon

Who have reproached my people

And have magnified themselves against their borders

Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel

Surely Moab shall be as Sodom

And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah

A possession of nettles, and pits of salt

And a desolation for ever

The residue of my people shall spoil them

And the remnant of my nation shall dispossess them

This shall they have for their pride

Because they have raised a reproach, and have magnified themselve

Against the people of Jehovah God of hosts."

Clarke: Isa 16:7

For the foundations of Kir-hareseth "For the men of Kirhares"- A palpable mistake in this place is happily corrected by the parallel text of Jer 48:31, where, instead of אשישי ashishey , foundations or flagons, we read אנשי anshey , men. In the same place of Jeremiah, and in Jer 48:36, and here in Isa 16:11, the name of the city is Kirhares, not Kirhareseth.

Clarke: Isa 16:8

Languish "Are put to shame"- Here the text of Jeremiah leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly corrupted. The Septuagint join the two last words of this verse with the beginning of the following. Their rendering is: και ουκ εντραπησῃ, τα πεδια Εσεβων . For אך ach they must have read אל al ; otherwise, how came they by the negative, which seems not to belong to this place? Neither is it easy to make sense of the rest without a small alteration, by reading, instead of εντραπησῃ τα, εντραπησεται . In a word, the Arabic version taken from the Septuagint, plainly authorizes this reading of the Septuagint, and without the negative; and it is fully confirmed by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II., which have both of them εντραπησεται πεδια Εσεβων, without the negative; which makes an excellent sense, and, I think, gives us the true reading of the Hebrew text; אך נכלמו שדמות חשבון ak nichlemu shadmoth cheshbon . They frequently render the verb נכלם nichlam by εντρεπομαι . And נכלמו nichlemu answers perfectly well to אמלל umlal , the parallel word in the next line. The MSS. vary in expressing the word נכאים nechaim , which gives no tolerable sense in this place; one reads נוכאים nochaim ; two others בכאים bechaim ; in another the כ caph is upon a rasure of two letters; and the Vulgate instead of it reads מכותם mecotham , plagas suas . - L

For the men of Kirhares ye shall make a moan. For the fields of Heshbon are put to shame. This is Bp. Lowth’ s sense of the passage

Her branches are stretched out "Her branches extended themselves"- For נטשו nitteshu , a MS. has נגשו niggeshu ; which may perhaps be right. Compare Jer 48:32, which has in this part of the sentence the synonymous word נגעו nagau

The meaning of this verse is, that the wines of Sibmah and Heshbon were greatly celebrated, and in high repute with all the great men and princes of that and the neighboring countries; who indulged themselves even to intemperance in the use of them. So that their vines were so much in request as not only to be propagated all over the country of Moab to the sea of Sodom, but to have scions of them sent even beyond the sea into foreign countries

הלמו halemu , knocked down, demolished; that is overpowered, intoxicated. The drunkards of Ephraim are called by the prophet, Isa 28:1, הלומי יין halumey yayin , drinkers of wine. See Schultens on Pro 23:25. Gratius, speaking of the Mareotic wine, says of it

Pharios quae fregit noxia reges . Cyneg. 312.

Clarke: Isa 16:9

With the weeping "As with the weeping"- For בבכי bibechi , a MS. reads בכי bechi . In Jer 48:32, it is מבכי mibbechi . The Septuagint read כבכי kibeki , as with weeping, which I follow

For thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen "And upon thy vintage the destroyer hath fallen"- ועל קצירך הידד נפל veal ketsirech heidad naphal . In these few words there are two great mistakes, which the text of Jer 48:32 rectifies. For קצירך ketsirech , it has בצירך betsirech ; and for הידד heidad , שדד shoded ; both which corrections the Chaldee in this place confirms. As to the first

"Hesebon and Eleale, an

The flowery dale of Sibmah, clad with vines,

were never celebrated for their harvests; it was the vintage that suffered by the irruption of the enemy; and so read the Septuagint and Syriac. הידד heidad is the noisy acclamation of the treaders of the grapes. And see what sense this makes in the literal rendering of the Vulgate: super messem tuam vox calcantium irruit , "upon thy harvest the voice of the treaders rushes."The reading in Jer 48:32 is certainly right, שדד נפל shoded naphal , "the destroyer hath fallen."The shout of the treaders does not come in till the next verse; in which the text of Isaiah in its turn mends that of Jer 48:33, where instead of the first הידד heidad , "the shout,"we ought undoubtedly to read, as here, הדרך haddorech , "the treader."

Clarke: Isa 16:10

Neither shall there be shouting "An end is put to the shouting"- The Septuagint read השבת hishbeth , passive, and in the third person; rightly, for God is not the speaker in this place. The rendering of the Septuagint is πεπαυται γαρ κελευσμα, "the cry ceaseth;"which last word, necessary to the rendering of the Hebrew and to the sense, is supplied by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II., having been lost out of the other copies.

Clarke: Isa 16:12

When it is seen that Moab, etc. "When Moab shall see,"etc. - For נראה nirah , a MS. reads ראה raah , and so the Syriac and Chaldee. "Perhaps כי נראה ki nirah is only a various reading of כי נלאה ki nilah ."Secker. A very probable conjecture.

Clarke: Isa 16:14

Within three years - בשלש beshalish כשלש keshalish , according, or in or about three years, is the reading of nine of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS., and two ancient editions

But the present reading may well stand: "Now, the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling."It seems as if this prophecy had been delivered before, without any time specified for its fulfillment; but now the time is determined"in three years, as the years of a hireling"- for, as a hireling counts even to a single day, and will not abide with his employer an hour beyond the time agreed on; so, in three years, even to a day, from the delivery of this prophecy, shall destruction come upon Moab. This is the import of the present text; but if we take כשלש keshalish , AS in three years, or in about three years’ time, the prophecy is not so definite

These three years, says Calmet, are mentioned from the death of Ahaz, see Isa 14:28, and end the third year of Hezekiah, three years before the taking of Samaria by Shalmaneser. This conqueror did not ruin Moab so completely as not to leave a man in the land; the final desolation of Moab was reserved for Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the taking of Jerusalem

Feeble "And without strength"- An ancient MS., with the Septuagint, reads ולא velo , "and not."

Calvin: Isa 16:1

1.Send ye a lamb Here the Prophet scoffs at the Moabites for not acknowledging God at the proper time, but recklessly waiting for the stroke of his hand, till they were completely destroyed. It is, therefore, a condemnation of late repentance, when men cannot be brought to obedience by any warnings, and continue in obstinate opposition to God. Where the disease is incurable, an exhortation of this kind is appropriate; and this ought to be carefully observed, for both Jews and Christians misinterpret this passage.

Jerome explains it as referring to Christ, because he drew his birth from the Moabites, (Rut 1:4; Mat 1:5,) from whom Ruth was descended; and that opinion has been adopted by almost all Christians; as if the Prophet had said, “O Lord, though a judgment so severe as this awaits the Moabites, still thou wilt not utterly destroy them; for they will send thee a Lamb, the ruler of the world.” But that interpretation, being destitute of plausibility, need not be refuted.

On the other hand, the Jews think that these words were spoken because, while the Jews were in a depressed condition, the Moabites ceased to pay the tribute which they owed them, but that, after having prophesied about the restoration of the kingdom of Judah, Isaiah likewise added an exhortation to remind them to acknowledge their king. They even go so far as to say that it serves the purpose of a royal edict, taking them to task for their disloyalty, “Send the tribute which you owe.” But we nowhere read that the Moabites were subjects or tributaries to the Jews, and there is no probability in the conjecture. Nor does the passage which they quote (2Kg 3:5) give them any support; for that passage relates to the king of Israel, and expressly mentions Ahab and Samaria, who cherished, as we are aware, the utmost hatred against the Jews.

I therefore adhere to the interpretation which I first noticed, as the true and natural interpretation; for the design of the Prophet is to condemn the Moabites for not having repented in due season, and to tell them that they will now in vain do what they might easily have done formerly, and with great advantage to themselves. We ought, therefore, to view it as spoken ironically, (εἰρωνικῶς,) Send; as if he had said that there is no hope of pardon, that they will send in vain. When the wicked are warned, they indolently disregard all exhortation; when they are punished, they gaze around them with distressful looks, seeking assistance in every direction, and trying every method of relief, but unsuccessfully, for they gain no advantage. Isaiah, therefore, reproaches them for obstinacy and rebellion, and shows that there will be no time for repentance, when they meet with the destruction which they deserve.

To the ruler of the world The opinion of the Jews, that this denotes Hezekiah, is at variance with all reason; for ארץ ( eretz) does not here denote a particular country, but rather the whole world, of which he speaks in general terms. The appellation Ruler must therefore be viewed as referring to God himself. By a lamb, he means what was to be offered in sacrifice; for even the Gentiles acknowledged that they worshipped God when they offered sacrifices.

From the rock ²⁴⁹ of the desert. He gives the name of the rock of the desert to the city, which is supposed to have been the chief city of the Moabites; ²⁵⁰ though it is possible that he intended to include the whole of the country, and thus a part will be taken for the whole.

To the mountain of the daughter of Zion; that is, to God’s authorized temple, in which sacrifices were offered according to the injunction of the Law. (Deu 12:5; 2Ch 7:12.) This is a remarkable passage against obstinate men, who set aside all instruction, and fearlessly despise God, till they are visited by his judgments.

Calvin: Isa 16:2

2.It shall be as a bird let loose ²⁵¹ The Prophet now shows what he meant by the former mockery, that the Moabites ought not at that time to think of sending sacrifices, because they will not be able to provide for their safety in any other way than by leaving their native country. By the metaphor of birds he describes the terror with which they shall be struck, so that they will flee even at the rustling of a leaf. He threatens that the Moabites, who had abused their tranquillity, shall have a trembling and wearisome flight.

Calvin: Isa 16:3

3.Assemble a council ²⁵² He proceeds with the same subject; for if we wish rightly to understand this passage, we must set before our minds the dreadful ruin of the Moabites. Their crimes are brought to remembrance, that all may see more clearly how deservedly they are punished. When everything was in their power, they freely indulged in licentiousness, and would not listen to any reproofs; but now, when they are deprived of everything, they groan, and seek remedies which are nowhere to be found. The Lord deals with the reprobate in such a manner that, in order to leave them without excuse, he bestows upon them, and places in their hands, everything that they need; but when, through their wicked passion, they have abused and turned everything to a wicked purpose, he deprives them of all aid and support, and utterly destroys them.

Execute judgment While the Moabites enjoyed prosperity, they cared little about what was good and right; while it was in their power to rule, and to have their kingdom established, in a just manner, they abused their power for the purpose of tyranny. Now that they were stripped of all authority, and were exiles and fugitives, Isaiah ironically advises them to assemble councils and execute judgments, which they had formerly overturned through fraud and injustice. Isaiah has in view that time when all power and authority was taken out of the hands of the Moabites. The upbraiding is similar to that with which the Lord addresses Adam, (Gen 3:22,) Behold, Adam is become as one of us, ridiculing him with the biting taunt, that he was not satisfied with his exalted attainments, and wished to rival God himself.

In like manner, the Moabites, not satisfied with their ornaments and wealth, wretchedly harassed and plundered the Israelites and Jews, and formed wicked plans against them. Having abused the excellent gift of God, they therefore deserved to have this reproof addressed to them, which is equally applicable to all the reprobate, who proudly vaunt in prosperity and barbarously abuse it for harassing the godly. Seeing that they basely pollute those things which the Lord had set apart to their proper use, it is right that they should be deprived of them and reduced to the lowest poverty. We have instances of this every day. How comes it that those who were raised to the highest rank of honor fall down headlong, but because the Lord punishes their tyrannical rule and their crimes? The Lord also ridicules their upbraiding and reproachful language, their wailings, and even their complaints; as when they exclaim, “O that I had the wealth which I once enjoyed! O that I were restored to my former condition!” For then repentance will be too late.

Make thy shadow The Moabites might, as I have already hinted, have given some relief to the wretched Jews, when they were harassed by the Assyrians; or, at least, if they had had a spark of humanity, they ought to have protected the fugitives; but, on the contrary, they persecuted them, and added to the weight of their afflictions, which were already oppressive. It was highly proper that the Moabites should be the subjects of that cruelty which they had exercised towards others; that, when they had been driven from their dwellings, and were exiles and wanderers, they should nowhere find any solace, any shadow to shelter them from the heat; for why should they enjoy the consolations which they had barbarously refused to others?

As the night in the midst of noon-day ²⁵³ By noon-day is here meant the most scorching heat. This metaphor is frequently employed in Scripture, that the Lord was like a cloud at noon, and like a pillar of fire by night; for he once was so in the wilderness. (Exo 13:21; Num 14:14; Deu 1:33.) This mode of expression, being customary, was retained by the Prophets, though they did not relate the history.

Hide the banished He means the Jews, whom the Assyrians persecuted and harassed, and whom the Moabites at the same time treated cruelly. It was their duty to shelter and relieve the fugitives, and especially those who fled to them for protection; but seeing that they drove them out, it was proper that they should be driven out in the same manner, and deprived of all assistance and support; for it is a righteous sentence which the Lord pronounces, when he enjoins that the same measure which every one metes shall be measured to him again. (Deu 19:19; Mat 7:2.) Now the Prophet calls on the Moabites to acknowledge their sins, so as to confess that they are justly punished for their cruelty. Yet he rather has the Jews in his eye, in order to inform them that God does not disregard their afflictions, for they are told that he will be their avenger.

Calvin: Isa 16:4

4.Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab The Prophet addresses the Moabites, as if he were humbly beseeching them in the name of the people at large. “You are neighbors, related to us by blood; receive and assist those who are in distress: and if you do not choose to assist, at least do them no harm.” God, who usually undertakes the cause of his people, is represented by the Prophet as if he performed the part of a suppliant. It is certain, that the Moabites did not at all act in this manner towards the Jews, but, on the contrary, that they joined their efforts with the enemies of the Jews to do them injury. But, as I said a little before, the Prophet sets before our eyes that justice which even nature demands, that the cruel violation of it may be the more abhorred.

This passage ought to be carefully observed; for God shows how great is the care which he takes of his people, since the injuries done to them affect him in the same manner as if they had been done to himself; as he declares by Zechariah, that whenever they are touched, the apple of his eye is touched. (Zec 2:8.) He hears the groaning, (Psa 102:20,) and observes the tears, of wretched men who call upon him; (Psa 12:5;) and though this be not always visible to us, yet in due season he shows that he has heard them.

Let us therefore learn from this passage to be kind and dutiful to fugitives and exiles, and especially to believers, who are banished for their confession of the word. No duty can be more pleasing or acceptable to God; and, on the other hand, nothing is more hateful or abominable in his sight than barbarity and cruelty. If we wish to obtain any alleviation of our calamities, let us be kind and compassionate, and not refuse assistance to the needy.

Blessed, says he, is he that judgeth wisely about the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.
(Psa 41:1.)

On the other hand,

he shall have judgment without mercy who hath showed no mercy. (Jas 2:13.)

When God calls them his banished, this may without impropriety be viewed as referring to punishment, as if he said, that by a just judgment they were banished from the land of Canaan, (Deu 28:64,) as he had so often threatened against them. Yet undoubtedly he likewise means, that they continue to be under his defense and protection, because, though they are banished and driven out of their native country, still he acknowledges them to be his people. That calamity which the Jews endured might be regarded as an evidence that they were cast off; but the Lord acknowledges them to be his children, though he chastises them severely. Hence we obtain a doctrine full of consolation, that we are reckoned in the number of his children, though sharp and heavy strokes are inflicted upon us.

For the extortioner hath ceased ²⁵⁴ He now directs his discourse to the Jews, and proceeds to comfort them, as he had done formerly, by showing that, when their enemies shall be removed from the midst of them, the banishment or ruin of their enemies will also relieve their own calamities and distresses. Yet the former statements related chiefly to the Jews, though the Prophet expressly addressed the Moabites. But at that time he only threatened vengeance on enemies, while here he more clearly promises consolation to his people; as if he had said, “Thou thoughtest, O Moab, that my people were utterly ruined: but I will restrain the enemies, and put an end to that affliction. Thou shalt therefore perish; but my people shall at length be delivered from those dreadful calamities.”

Perhaps it will rather be thought that there is a change of the tenses; and thus the particle כי , ( ki,) which we have rendered For, will signify Until; ²⁵⁵ and this clause will be read in immediate connection with the former part of the sentence. Let my banished dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a place of concealment from the face of the destroyer, until the extortioner shall have ceased. But as that might be thought to be a forced interpretation, I have chosen to abide by the natural meaning.

Calvin: Isa 16:5

5.And the throne shall be prepared in mercy ²⁵⁶ The Jews explain the whole of this verse as referring to Hezekiah; but this is altogether inappropriate, for the Prophet speaks of a more important restoration of the Church, and the Moabites had not been punished during the flourishing condition of Hezekiah’s reign; and the blessing of God again began to burst forth on the Jews. It is as if it had been said “All the enemies of the chosen people maliciously contrive the ruin of that kingdom, which God promised should be established for ever. ” (2Sa 7:13.) That the godly may not give way to despondency amidst the unhappy confusion, they are reminded of the perpetuity of the kingdom, of which they had been assured by a well-known prediction.

It cannot therefore be explained as referring to any other than to Christ, though I acknowledge that Hezekiah was a type of Christ, as David and the rest of his successors also were. But they conduct us to Christ, who alone is the protector and leader of his people, (Joh 10:16,) and who has gathered the remnant that was scattered abroad. (Joh 11:52.) For this reason he sends back the godly to Christ, as if he had said, “You know what God you worship. He has declared that he will watch over your safety, so that under his protection you will always continue to be safe and uninjured; and if you shall at any time meet with reverses, he has promised to you a Redeemer, under whom you shall enjoy renewed and steadfast prosperity. Though for a time you may weep, yet the protector of the Church will come, and will restore you to a flourishing state of freedom. You ought, therefore, with your whole heart, to rely on the expectation of him; even when you see the Church to be in a confused and wretched condition.”

This ought to be carefully observed; for all other consolations are transitory and fading, if we do not refer all of them to Christ. Let our eyes therefore be fixed on him, if we wish to be happy and prosperous; for he has promised that we shall be happy even amidst the cross, (Mat 5:10,) that agony and torments will open up the way to a blessed life, (2Co 4:17,) and that all the afflictions which we shall suffer will add to the amount of our happiness. (Rom 8:28.)

In mercy Isaiah shows that this does not take place through the agency of men, but by the kindness of God, who is the builder of this throne; and therefore we ought to acknowledge that it is owing to his undeserved goodness that this sacred throne is established among us. The Prophet expressly confirms this by saying, that the cause of it must not be sought anywhere else than in the absolute mercy of God. Nor can any other cause be found; for God could not be induced by any excellence of character, or by merits, (of which there certainly were none,) to set up again the throne which had fallen down through the fault and through the crimes of the people; but when he saw that those whom he had adopted were ruined, he wished to give a proof of his infinite goodness. Now, if God build this throne, by whom shall it be overturned? Will wicked men be stronger than he?

And he will sit upon it in the tabernacle of David Almost every word here is emphatic, so that this verse deserves to be continually pondered. I do not object to the opinion that the word tabernacle contains an allusion to this effect, that he was but an ordinary man before he was called to sit on a throne. (1Sa 16:11; 2Sa 7:8.) The Prophet intended to draw a picture of the Church, which has no resemblance to the thrones of kings and of princes, and does not shine with gold or precious stones. Though he has held out the spiritual kingdom of Christ under a mean and despicable shape, yet at the same time he shows that that kingdom will be seen on earth and amongst men. If he had only said that the throne of Christ will be erected, we might have asked, Will his throne be in heaven, or also on earth? But now when he says, in the tabernacle of David, he shows that Christ reigns not only among angels but also among men, lest we should think that, in order to seek him, we must enter into heaven. Wicked men ridicule what we preach about the kingdom of Christ, as if it were some phantom of our own imagination. They wish to see it with their eyes, and to have the evidence of their senses; but we ought not to conceive of it as at all carnal, but to be satisfied with his arm and with his power.

In steadfastness אמת ( emeth) denotes not only truth but every kind of certainty. The Prophet means that the kingdom of Christ will be firm and steadfast, as Daniel also declared. (Dan 2:44.) The Evangelist also says, Of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luk 1:33.) In this respect it is distinguished from the ordinary condition of kingdoms, which, even when they are founded on great and enormous wealth, crumble down or even fall by their own weight, so that they have no more permanency than vanishing pictures. But Isaiah declares, that the kingdom of Christ, though it frequently totter, will be supported by the hand of God, and therefore will last for ever. These proofs ought to fortify us against temptations which arise, whenever the kingdom of Christ is attacked by enemies so numerous and powerful that we might be ready to think that it will quickly be destroyed. Whatever weapons the world may employ, and though hell itself should vomit out flames of fire, we must abide by this promise.

Who shall judge I understand שפת ( shophet) to mean Governor, as if he had said, “There will be one who shall govern. ” Often do we see a magnificent throne when there is no one to sit on it, and it frequently happens that kings are either idols or cattle, without judgment or skill or wisdom. But here he says, that one will sit who shall discharge the office of a good governor; and this is added in order to assure us that Christ will be our protector.

And seek judgment and hasten righteousness The judgment and the righteousness which are ascribed to him, are nothing else than the protection under which he receives us, and which he will not allow to be infringed; for he will not allow wicked men who injure us to pass unpunished, while we patiently and calmly commit ourselves to his protection. By the word hasten he shows that he will quickly and speedily avenge our cause. This must be viewed as a rebuke to our impatience, for we never think that his assistance comes soon enough. But when we are hurried along by the violence of passion, let us remember that this arises from not submitting to his providence; for although according to the judgment of our flesh he delays, still he regulates his judgment in the best manner by the seasons which are well known to him. Let us therefore submit to his will.

Calvin: Isa 16:6

6.We have heard of the pride of Moab The Prophet added this statement by way of anticipation. It might be thought that men could not believe what he had promised about restoring the throne of the king and destroying the Moabites, who at that time were in a flourishing state of riches, and were defended by strong fortresses, and who, puffed up with the prosperity which they now enjoyed, were exceedingly proud. Besides, their haughtiness, with which they scorned the unhappy Jews, was a disagreeable and powerful weapon for discouraging or shaking their minds. To provide against this temptation, he relates that their boasting was well known, but that their pride would not prevent God from overthrowing them; because no array of armed forces, no treasures of riches, no multitude of men, can withstand God. Isaiah speaks of it as a thing extensively known, that the Moabites are puffed up in such a manner that they dread nothing; as is commonly the case with those who are well supplied with riches and troops, that they idly exalt themselves above God and men. But whatever may be their arrogance, the Lord will easily restrain it.

His insolence ²⁵⁷ The Hebrew word עברה ( gnebrah) most frequently signifies indignation; but the connection in which it stands appears to call for something more definite. This noun is derived from the verb עבר , ( gnabar,) to pass or go beyond, answering to the Latin word excessus ; and therefore I have thought it better to translate it insolence. In a parallel passage, after the words pride and arrogance comes the phrase haughtiness of heart. (Jer 48:29.) Both Isaiah and Jeremiah, I have no doubt, mean that the Moabites, in consequence of their stubborn and disdainful behavior, and their sumptuous mode of living, were so cruel, that they kindled into wrath on the most trivial occasions, and rose fiercely against others. This vice is always accompanied by haughtiness of mind; for pride is followed by disdain and contempt of others, and they who claim more than is due to them easily kindle into rage, and become furious for the smallest offense. In short, they can bear nothing, and are not only passionate, but likewise outrageous. They would wish that all should yield to them, and that they should yield to none. If all do not yield at their bidding, they think that injustice is done to them. This passionate temper is easily betrayed by proud men. On the other hand, the humble possess kindness accompanied by corresponding modesty, and easily forgive any one who has injured them.

His lies The Hebrew word בדים ( baddim) denotes either a mans limbs, or the branches of a tree, and sometimes it is put for divination. Accordingly, the Greek translators ²⁵⁸ render it μαντεἰα, divination, and it has that signification in other passages. Some think that it is here used metaphorically for children; others translate it either discourses or thoughts; and others render it strength or sinews. But in my opinion it is rather put for vain boasting; for this word often denotes falsehood, and we shall soon see how well this signification applies to the present passage.

There is quite as much difference in the interpretation of the word כן ( ken,) so. The greater part suppose it to mean that “the lies are not right,” or that “the discourses are not right,” and others, that “the lies are not true;” and as to the substance of the matter, I am almost of their opinion. I have no doubt that the meaning of the Prophet is, that Moab foolishly utters his vain boastings, for he will not accomplish what he imagines. As to the words, the meaning of them is obtained with greater certainty from Jer 48:30. After the same words which are here employed by Isaiah, he immediately adds, for the sake of explaining them, לא כן , ( lo ken,) Not so; ²⁵⁹ his lies shall not so effect it. As if he had said, “What is determined in their hearts shall fail of accomplishment.” Yet I do not think, that in the former clause the particle כן ( ken) denotes comparison, but rather confirmation, so to speak, but negatively; for he declares that there will be no firmness or stability in his counsels, that his divinations or lies will not take effect. Proud men settle everything as if everything were in their power, and were not subject to the providence of God. “Such arrogance, ” says Isaiah, shall be brought down, and all that they promise, as to their own strength, shall vanish away. This reminds us that pride is highly displeasing to God, and that the more men are puffed up with their riches, they are the nearer to destruction.

Calvin: Isa 16:7

7.Therefore shall Moab howl to Moab ²⁶⁰ He declares more plainly what has been already said, that this pride, and the cruelty which springs from it, will be the cause of their destruction. Since the Lord resisteth the proud, (Jas 4:6; 1Pe 5:5,) it is impossible but that he will lay low this haughtiness, by which the Church is basely and shamefully trampled under foot; and, according to this example, the end of all proud men must be mournful. When he adds, Moab to Moab, he means that there will be what may be called a melancholy concert among them, in which they shall mutually complain of their calamities and bewail their distresses among themselves. Others render it, on account of Moab, but this is a feeble interpretation; for immediately afterwards it follows that the howling will be universal, or that it will be throughout the whole of the people.

On account of the foundations of Kir-hareseth It is sufficiently evident that this was a chief and royal city; but some consider it to be a proper name, and others to be an appellative. There can be no doubt that the etymology of the word was derived from its being constructed of earthen materials. It is also possible that it received this name on account of the nature of the walls, which were built of bricks. It was a distinguished city in that country. He names the foundations rather than the city itself, because it was to be completely thrown down; as if he had said, “You shall not mourn the plundering of the city or the destruction of the buildings, but its entire overthrow; for no part of it shall be left.”

You will groan, being only smitten ²⁶¹ Some translate נכאים ( nechaim) lame; but I prefer to take it as meaning smitten. The particle אך , ( ach,) which is here prefixed to it, sometimes means certainly or truly; and sometimes it is put for but or notwithstanding. Those who explain it affirmatively suppose the meaning to be this, You will groan, being truly smitten; that is, “It will not be necessary for you to hire men to pretend mourning in your name, as is usually done in funerals, but you will mourn in earnest.” But I prefer to take אך ( ach) as meaning only; that is, “All who shall be left will be wounded; not one shall be safe.” By this mode of expression he describes the utter destruction of that city, and intimates that those who are left will lament not only the distresses of others, but also their own. They, too, will be wounded. And if such severe punishments are inflicted on the proud, let us learn to submit ourselves with humility and modesty, and willingly to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. (1Pe 5:6.)

Calvin: Isa 16:8

8.For the vines of Heshbon have been cut down ²⁶² Here the Prophet describes allegorically the desolation of the whole country. There is reason to believe that it abounded in the choicest vines, ²⁶³ as may readily be inferred from this and the parallel passage. (Jer 48:32.) When Prophets threaten destruction to countries, they usually delineate their more remarkable features. For instance, were we to speak of Picardy, we certainly would say nothing about vines, as if we had been speaking about Orleans or Burgundy. Now, the cities mentioned by the Prophet were the chief cities of Moab.

The lords of the nations have trodden down his choicest shoots or branches. ²⁶⁴ The Prophet says that the most valuable branches of their vineyards were torn out by the lords of the nations, that is, by the conquerors, who, having subdued the nations in war, held extensive dominion.

Which reached even to Jazer ²⁶⁵ This serves to point out the extent of the devastation; for this city was situated on the confines of the land of the Moabites; as if he had said, “Not only shall a part of the vineyards be cut down, but the whole country shall be wasted far and wide.” Some refer this to the enemies themselves; but I would rather supply the relative אשר , ( asher,) which, and refer it to the vines, which were so extensive that they reached even to Jazer. Thus the meaning will be, “Though these vineyards reached even to Jazer, and covered a very large tract of country, yet thence to the wilderness they will all be trodden down by the lords of the nations. ” This agrees best with the scope of the passage; for it is immediately added that the vineyards reached to the wilderness, and even to the sea; by which he means that the country was exceedingly fertile, and especially that it abounded in vines. He says that they crossed the sea, ²⁶⁶ because, when the soil is productive, it is customary to protect by mounds what is contiguous to the sea, in order to extend the cultivation, and to oppose the violence of the waves by posts of wood and embankments, in order to obtain a large extent of available soil.

Calvin: Isa 16:9

9.Therefore I will bewail The Prophet here takes upon him the character of another person, as we have formerly remarked; for in the name of the Moabites he laments and groans. It is undoubtedly true that believers always shudder at the judgments of God, and cannot lay aside the feelings of human nature, so as not to commiserate the destruction of the wicked. Yet he does not describe his own feelings; but his intention is to give additional weight to his instruction, that no one may entertain a doubt as to the accomplishment. He therefore represents in the person of a Moabite, as on a stage, the mourning and grief which shall be felt by all after that calamity, in order to hold out to the Jews a confirmation of this promise, which otherwise might have been thought to be incredible.

Because on thy summer-fruits and on thy harvest a shouting shall break forth, or shall fall. ²⁶⁷ This last clause of the verse is variously explained by commentators. נפל , ( naphal,) signifies to fall, or to burst forth. Those who translate it, to burst forth, consider the word הידד , ( hedad,) shouting, to refer to the enemies themselves; as if he had said, “ The shouting of enemies bursts forth on thy harvest;” so that there is an implied contrast between this shouting and the joy of which he will afterwards speak. Others explain it to mean, that the shoutings will be laid; that is, “there shall be no more shouting, and no longer shall the glad and merry voices of the reapers be heard, cheering themselves after the harvest.” But I would rather refer it to the shouting of enemies; and on this point I follow a most faithful interpreter of this passage, the Prophet Jeremiah, who says that the spoiler bursts forth, (Jer 48:32,) where Isaiah speaks of the shouting of the enemy; as if he had said, “When thou shalt make preparations for gathering in thy harvest and thy vintage, the enemies will rush in, and, instead of joy and cheerful song, their shouting shall be heard, which shall drive thee far away.”

Calvin: Isa 16:10

10.Joy is taken away He confirms, by different words, what he has now said, that the whole country shall be desolate and forsaken, so that there shall never again be in it a harvest or a vintage. When he threatens that God will cause the vine-dressers to cease to sing, he refers to an ancient custom; for when they gathered the vintage, they usually testified their joy both by dancing and by singing. Hence these words of Virgil, The exhausted vine-dresser now addresses by song his farthest rows ²⁶⁸ In like manner, the sailors, when they approach the harbour, raise their shout of joy, (κἐλευσμα,) because, having finished their toils, and escaped dangers, they see that they have hope of obtaining some leisure or refreshment. It is as if the Prophet had said, “When the produce of the harvest shall be taken away, nothing will be left to them but to lament their poverty.”

Calvin: Isa 16:11

11.Therefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab Assuming the character of a Moabite, the Prophet again describes excessive lamentation, proceeding from grief so intense that even the bowels make a distressing noise; for by the sign he intended to point out the reality. We have formerly explained the object of those lively descriptions, which is, to bring the events, as it were, before our eyes, and to lead us to entertain stronger hopes of those things which appear to go beyond all belief. By again naming Kir-Hareseth, the chief city, and thus taking a part for the whole, he describes the destruction of the whole country.

Calvin: Isa 16:12

12.And it shall be He again returns to that statement which he formerly noticed, namely, that idolaters in their affliction betake themselves to their idols, hoping to obtain some relief from them. Yet it means somewhat more; for while idolaters have their ordinary temples and places of worship, if any uncommon calamity befalls them, they go to another temple more sacred than the rest, expecting that there they will be more abundantly favored with the presence of their god. In like manner, the Papists of the present day, when they are reduced to any uncommon danger, (for this fault has existed in all ages,) think that they will more readily obtain their wish by running to St. Claude, or to Mary of Loretto, or to any other celebrated idol, than if they assembled in some neighboring church. They resolve that their extraordinary prayers shall be offered up in a church which is at a great distance. It is in this sense that the Prophet applies the term Sanctuary to that which was most highly celebrated among the Moabites, and says that they will go to it, but without any advantage. Now it is evident from sacred history that their most celebrated temple was dedicated to Chemosh. (1Kg 11:7.)

And shall not profit by it ²⁶⁹ The phrase לא יוכל , ( lo yuchal,) they shall not be able, is explained by some to mean, that they shall at length be so completely worn out that they will not have sufficient strength to go to the temple. But I think it better to render it thus, he shall not profit by it; for he shuts out the Moabites from all hope of safety, by saying that they will find no protection even in their gods.

When it is seen The word נראה , ( nirah,) seen, is emphatic. It means that idolaters are not guided by reason, but rather by the impressions made on their senses, like brute beasts: for as the beasts judge by feeling, smelling, and seeing, so idolaters have no other guide than the judgment of the flesh. Accordingly, if any one shall show that they are doing wrong, he will gain nothing by it. Though they have often known by experience that they gain nothing by so many laborious exertions, they will not desist from them, but will contrive new methods and introduce new modes of worship, hoping that God will approve of them. If they succeed according to their wish, they ascribe everything to their superstitions, and become more obstinate. If they perceive that they have derived no advantage, they reject their contrivances, condemn the superstitious worship, and curse their gods. In short, they rely altogether on the events, and do not judge of anything either by reason or by the word of God. The consequence is, that, as they are guided by what befalls them, they are continually changing their plans. But the Prophet appears to mean somewhat more, namely, that when their folly, in having hitherto labored to no purpose, shall have been openly manifested and exposed, the Moabites will come into the temple of Chemosh, rather through shame than in the exercise of judgment.

Calvin: Isa 16:13

13.This is the word This concluding sentence is the ratification of the prophecy. It means that he has pronounced the decree of God himself, and that he has brought nothing forward that did not proceed from the Lord, and thus, laying aside the person of a man, he introduces God speaking in this manner.

Calvin: Isa 16:14

14.Three years The time is fixed, not only for the sake of certainty, but likewise that believers may not become faint through longer delay. He alludes to agreements among men, in which it is customary to fix the time agreed on, which the parties are not at liberty to transgress. This is especially the case in the labors of hirelings, from whom Scripture frequently draws a comparison in this respect, that they earnestly long for the appointed day when they shall receive their reward; for they groan, as it were, under the burden, and grievously dislike their daily toils. (Job 7:1.) In this way the Lord says, that he fixes a day for the Moabites, in which they shall not escape from the entire destruction of their power.

With all his multitude He expressly mentions a multitude, because their number was great, and because they boasted of it, and thought that they were invincible. When he adds, that the remnant shall be feeble, he means that there will be so great a change, that they will have no resemblance to their former condition; for nothing will be left but a sad and shocking sight.

 

End Of Volume First.

Defender: Isa 16:1

"Sela" is the same as "Petra," the famous rock city of the neighboring kingdom of Edom, so fascinating to modern tourists."

Defender: Isa 16:4

This event will probably be fulfilled in the future flight of the people of Israel from the Beast in the tribulation period. They will be sheltered in the wilderness (Rev 12:6)."

Defender: Isa 16:5

After the tribulation, the Lord Jesus will rule from the throne of His father David (Isa 9:7; Luk 1:32; Act 15:13-17)."

TSK: Isa 16:1

the lamb : 2Sa 8:2; 2Ki 3:4; Ezr 7:17

from : 2Ki 14:7

Sela : or, Petra, Heb. a rock

the mount : Isa 10:32; Mic 4:8

TSK: Isa 16:2

as : Isa 13:14; Pro 27:8

cast out of the nest : or, a nest forsaken

the fords : Num 21:13-15; Deu 2:36, Deu 3:8, Deu 3:12; Jos 13:16; Jdg 11:18

TSK: Isa 16:3

Take : Heb. Bring

execute : Isa 1:17; Psa 82:3, Psa 82:4; Jer 21:12, Jer 22:3; Eze 45:9-12; Dan 4:27; Zec 7:9

make : Isa 9:6, Isa 25:4, Isa 32:2; Jdg 9:15; Jon 4:5-8

hide : Isa 56:8; Oba 1:12-14; Mat 25:35; Heb 13:2

TSK: Isa 16:4

mine : Deu 23:15, Deu 23:16, Deu 24:14; Jer 21:12

for : Isa 14:4, Isa 33:1, Isa 51:13; Jer 48:8, Jer 48:18; Zec 9:8

extortioner : Heb. wringer

oppressors : Heb. treaders down, Isa 15:6, Isa 25:10; Zec 10:5; Mal 4:3; Luk 21:24; Rom 16:20; Rev 11:2

TSK: Isa 16:5

in mercy : Psa 61:6, Psa 61:7, Psa 85:10, Psa 89:1, Psa 89:2, Psa 89:14; Pro 20:28, Pro 29:14; Luk 1:69-75

established : or, prepared

in the : Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; 2Sa 5:9, 2Sa 7:16; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6; Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27; Amo 9:11; Mic 4:7; Luk 1:31-33; Act 15:16, Act 15:17

judging : Isa 11:1-5, Isa 32:1, Isa 32:2; 2Sa 23:3; 1Ki 10:9; 2Ch 31:20; Psa 72:2-4, Psa 96:13; Psa 98:9, Psa 99:4; Zec 9:9; Heb 1:8, Heb 1:9

hasting : 2Pe 3:11, 2Pe 3:12

TSK: Isa 16:6

have : Isa 2:11; Jer 48:26, Jer 48:29, Jer 48:30,Jer 48:42; Amo 2:1; Oba 1:3, Oba 1:4; Zep 2:9, Zep 2:10; 1Pe 5:5

but : Isa 28:15, Isa 28:18, Isa 44:25; Jer 50:36

TSK: Isa 16:7

shall Moab : Isa 15:2-5; Jer 48:20

Kirhareseth : Isa 16:11, Isa 15:1; 2Ki 3:25

mourn : or, mutter, Isa 8:19

TSK: Isa 16:8

the fields : Isa 15:4, Isa 24:7; 2Sa 1:21

the vine : Isa 16:9; Num 32:38

Sibmah : Jos 13:19

the lords : Isa 10:7; Jer 27:6, Jer 27:7

Jazer : Num 32:3; Jos 13:25

stretched out : or, plucked up

TSK: Isa 16:9

I will bewail : Isa 15:5; Jer 48:32-34

O Heshbon : Isa 15:4

for : Isa 9:3; Jdg 9:27; Jer 40:10,Jer 40:12

the shouting for : or, the alarm is fallen upon, etc

TSK: Isa 16:10

Isa 24:8, Isa 24:9, Isa 32:10; Jer 48:33; Amo 5:11, Amo 5:17; Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18; Zep 1:13

TSK: Isa 16:11

my : Isa 15:5, Isa 63:15; Jer 4:19, Jer 31:20, Jer 48:36; Hos 11:8; Phi 2:1

Kirharesh : Isa 16:7, Kir-hareseth

TSK: Isa 16:12

when : Isa 15:2, Isa 26:16; Num 22:39, Num 22:41, Num 23:1-3, Num 23:14, Num 23:28, Num 24:17; Pro 1:28; Jer 48:35

he shall : Isa 37:38; 1Ki 11:7; 2Ki 3:27; Jer 48:7, Jer 48:13, Jer 48:46

but : Isa 47:13; 2Ki 19:12, 2Ki 19:16-19; Psa 115:3-7; Jer 10:5

TSK: Isa 16:13

since : Isa 44:8

TSK: Isa 16:14

three : Isa 7:16, Isa 15:5, Isa 21:16; Deu 15:8

the glory : Isa 17:4, Isa 23:9; Gen 31:1; Est 5:11; Jer 9:23; Nah 2:9, Nah 2:10

and the remnant : Jer 48:46, Jer 48:47

feeble : or, not many

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Isa 16:1

Send ye the lamb - Lowth renders this, ‘ I will send forth the son from the ruler of the land;’ meaning, as he supposes, that under the Assyrian invasion, even the young prince of Moab would be obliged to flee for his life through the desert, that he might escape to Judea; and "that"thus God says that "he"would send him. The only authority for this, however, is, that the Septuagint reads the word ‘ send’ in the future tense ( ἀποστελῶ apostelō ) instead of the imperative; and that the Syraic reads בר bar instead of כר kar , "a lamb."But assuredly this is too slight an authority for making an alteration in the Hebrew text. This is one of the many instances in which Lowth has ventured to suggest a change in the text of Isaiah without sufficient authority. The Septuagint reads this: ‘ I will send reptiles ( ἐρπετὰ herpeta ) upon the land. Is not the mountain of the daughter of Zion a desolate rock?’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘ Bear ye tribute to the Messiah, the anointed of Israel, who is powerful over you who were in the desert, to Mount Zion.’ And this, understanding by the Messiah the anointed king of Israel, is probably the true rendering.

The word ‘ lamb’ ( כר kar ) denotes, properly, a pasture lamb, a fat lamb, and is usually applied to the lamb which was slain in sacrifice. Here it probably means a lamb, or "lambs"collectively, as a tribute, or acknowledgment of subjection to Judah. Lambs were used in the daily sacrifice in the temple, and in the other sacrifices of the Jews. Large numbers of them would, therefore, be needed, and it is not improbable that the "tribute"of the nations subject to them was often required to be paid in animals for burnt-offering. Perhaps there might have been this additional reason for that - that the sending of such animals would be a sort of incidental acknowledgment of the truth of the Jewish religion, and an offering to the God of the Hebrews. At all events, the word here seems to be one that designates "tribute;"and the counsel of the prophet is, that they should send their "tribute"to the Jews.

To the ruler of the land - To the king of Judah. This is proved by the addition at the close of the verse, ‘ unto the mount of the daughter o Zion.’ It is evident from 2Sa 8:2, that David subdued the Moabites, and laid them under tribute, so that the ‘ Moabites became David’ s servants, and brought gifts.’ That "lambs"were the specific kind of tribute which the Moabites were to render to the Jews as a token of their subjection, is clearly proved in 2Ki 3:4 : ‘ And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.’ This was in the time of Ahab. But the Moabites after his death revolted from them, and rebelled 2Ki 4:5. It is probable that as this tribute was laid by "David"before the separation of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and as the kings of Judah claimed to be the true successors of David and Solomon, they demanded that the tribute should be rendered to "them,"and not to the kings of Israel, and this is the claim which Isaiah enforces in the passage before us. The command of the prophet is to regain the lost favor of Israel by the payment of the tribute that was due. The territory of Moab was in early times, and is still, rich in flocks of sheep. Seetzen made his journey with some inhabitants of Hebron and Jerusalem who had purchased sheep in that region. Lambs and sheep were often demanded in tribute. The Persians received fifty thousand sheep as a tribute annually from the Cappadocians, and one hundred thousand from the Medes (Strabo, ii. 362).

From Sela in the wilderness - The word ‘ Sela’ ( סלע sela' ) means "a rock;"and by it here there can be no doubt that there is intended the city of that name which was the capital of "Arabia Petrea."The city was situated within the bounds of Arabia or Idumea, but was probably at this time in the possession of the Moabites. It was, therefore, the remotest part of their territory, and the sense may be, ‘ Send tribute even from the remotest pat of your land;’ or it may be, that the region around that city was particularly favorable to pasturage, and for keeping flocks. To this place they had fled with their flocks on the invasion from the north (see the note at Isa 15:7). Vitringa says that that desert around Petra was regarded as a vast common, on which the Moabites and Arabians promiscuously fed their flocks. The situation of the city of Sela, or ( πέτρα petra ) Petra, meaning the same as Sela, a rock, was for a long time unknown, but it has lately been discovered.

It lies about a journey of a day and a ball southeast of the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It derived its name from the fact that it was situated in a vast hollow in a rocky mountain, and consisted almost entirely of dwellings hewn out of the rock. It was the capital of the Edomites 2Ki 19:7; but might have been at this time in the possession of the Moabites. Strabo describes it as the capital of the Nabatheans, and as situated in a vale well watered, but encompassed by insurmountable rocks (xvi. 4), at a distance of three or four days’ journey from Jericho. Diodorus (19, 55) mentions it as a place of trade, with caves for dwellings, and strongly fortified by nature. Pliny, in the first century, says, ‘ The Nabatheans inhabit the city called Petra, in a valley less than two (Roman) miles in amplitude, surrounded by inaccessible mountains, with a stream flowing through it’ ("Nat. Hist."vi. 28).

Adrian, the successor of Trajan, granted important privileges to that city, which led the inhabitants to give his name to it upon coins. Several of these are still extant. In the fourth century, Petra is several times mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, and in the fifth and sixth centuries appears as the metropolitan see of the Third Palestine (see the article "Petra"in Reland’ s "Palestine"). From that time, Petra disappeared from the pages of history, and the metropolitan see was transferred to Rabbah. In what way Petra was destroyed is unknown. Whether it was by the Mahometan conquerors, or whether by the incursions of the hordes of the desert, it is impossible now to ascertain. All Arabian writers of that period are silent as to Petra. The name became changed to that which it bears at present - Wady Musa, and it was not until the travels of Seetzen, in 1807, that it attracted the attention of the world. During his excursion from Hebron to the hill Madurah, his Arab guide described the place, exclaiming, ‘ Ah! how I weep when I behold the ruins of Wady Musa.’ Seetzen did not visit it, but Burckhardt passed a short time there, and described it. Since his time it has been repeatedly visited (see Robinson’ s "Bib. Researches,"vol. ii. pp. 573-580).

This city was formerly celebrated as a place of great commercial importance, from its central position and its being so securely defended. Dr. Vincent (in his "Commerce of the Ancients,"vol. xi. p. 263, quoted in Laborde’ s "Journey to Arabia Petrea,"p. 17) describes Petra as the capital of Edom or Sin, the Idumea or Arabia Petrea of the Greeks, the Nabatea considered both by geographers, historians, and poets, as the source of all the precious commodities of the East. The caravans in all ages, from Minea in the interior of Arabia, and from Gerka on the gulf of Persia, from Hadramont on the ocean, and some even from Sabea in Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common center; and from Petra the trade seems to have branched out into every direction - to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem, Damascus, and a variety of intermediate roads that all terminated on the Mediterranean. Strabo relates, that the merchandise of India and Arabia was transported on camels from Leuke Kome to Petra, and thence, to Rhinocolura and other places (xvi. 4, 18, 23, 24).

Under the Romans the trade was still more prosperous. The country was rendered more accessible, and the passage of merchants facilitated by military ways, and by the establishment of military posts to keep in check the predatory hordes of the neighboring deserts. One great road, of which traces still remain, went from Petra to Damascus; another went off from this road west of the Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Askelon, and other parts of the Mediterranean (Laborde, p. 213; Burckhardt, 374, 419). At a period subsequent to the Christian era there always reigned at Petra, according to Strabo, a king of the royal lineage, with whom a prince was associated in the government (Strabo, p. 779). The very situation of this city, once so celebrated, as has been remarked above, was long unknown. Burckhardt, under the assumed name of Sheikh Ibrahim, in the year 1811, made an attempt to reach Petra under the pretext that he had made a vow to sacrifice a goat in honor of Aaron on the summit of Mount Hor near to Petra. He was permitted to enter the city, and to remain there a short time, and to "look"upon the wonders of that remarkable place, but was permitted to make no notes or drawings on the spot.

His object was supposed to be to obtain treasures, which the Arabs believe to have been deposited there in great abundance, as all who visit the ruins of ancient cities and towns in that region are regarded as having come there solely for that purpose. If assured that they have no such design, and if the Arabs are reminded that they have no means to remove them, it is replied ‘ that, although they may not remove them in their presence, yet when they return to their own land, they will have the power of "commanding"the treasures to be conveyed to them, and it will be done by magic.’ (Burckhardt’ s "Travels in Syria,"pp. 428, 429.)

Burckhardt’ s description of this city, as it is brief, may be here given "verbatim:"‘ Two long days’ journey northeast from Akaba (a town at the extremity of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, near the site of the ancient Ezion-geber), is a brook called Wady Musa, and a valley of the same name. This place is very remarkable for its antiquities, and the remains of an ancient city, which I take to be Petra, the capital of Arabia Petrea, a place which, so far as I know, no European traveler has ever explored. In the red sandstone of which the vale consists, there are found more than two hundred and fifty sepulchres, which are entirely hewn out of the rock, generally with architectural ornaments in the Grecian style. There is found there a mausoleum in the form of a temple (obviously the same which Legh and Laborde call the temple of victory) on a colossal scale, which is likewise hewn out of the rock, with all its apartments, portico, peristylum, etc. It is an extremely fine monument of Grecian architecture, and in a fine state of preservation. In the same place there are yet other mausoleums with obelisks, apparently in the Egyptian style; a whole amphitheater hewn out of the solid rock, and the remains of a palace and many temples.’

Mr. Bankes, in company of Mr. Legh, and Captains Irby and Mangles, have the merit of being the first persons who, as Europeans, succeeded to any extent in making researches in Petra. Captains Irby and Mangles spent two days among its temples, tombs, and ruins, and have furnished a description of what they saw. But the most full and satisfactory investigation which has been made of these ruins, was made by M. de Laborde, who visited the city in 1829, and was permitted to remain there eight days, and to examine it at leisure. An account of his journey, with splendid plates, was published in Paris in 1830, and a translation in London 1836. To this interesting account the reader must be referred. It can only be remarked here, that Petra, or Sela, was a city entirely encompassed with lofty rocks, except in a single place, where was a deep ravine between the rocks which constituted the principal entrance.

On the east and west it was enclosed with lofty rocks, of from three to five hundred feet in height; on the north and south the ascent was gradual from the city to the adjacent hills. The ordinary entrance was through a deep ravine, which has been, until lately, supposed to have been the only way of access to the city. This ravine approaches it from the east, and is about a mile in length. In the narrowest part it is twelve feet in width, and the rocks are on each side about three hundred feet in height. On the northern side, there are tombs excavated in the rocks nearly the entire distance. The stream which watered Petra runs along in the bottom of the ravine, going through the city, and descending through a ravine to the west (see Robinson’ s "Bib. Researches,"vol. ii. 514, 538.) The city is wholly uninhabited, except when the wandering Arab makes use of an excavated tomb or palace in which to pass the night, or a caravan pauses there.

The rock which encompasses it is a soft freestone. The tombs, with which almost the entire city was encompassed, are cut in the solid rock, and are adorned in the various modes of Grecian and Egyptian architecture. The surface of the solid rock was first made smooth, and then a plan of the tomb or temple was drawn on the smoothed surface, and the workmen began at the top and cut the various pillars, entablatures, and capitals. The tomb was then excavated from the rock, and was usually entered by a single door. Burckhardt counted two hundred and fifty of these tombs, and Laborde has described minutely a large number of them. For a description of these splendid monuments, the reader must be referred to the work of Laborde, pp. 152-193. Lend. Ed.

That this is the Sela referred to here there can be no doubt; and the discovery of this place is only one of the instances out of many, in which the researches of oriental travelers contribute to throw light on the geography of the Scriptures, or otherwise illustrate them. For a description of this city, see Stephen’ s "Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, and the Holy land,"vol. ii. ch. iv. p. 65ff; the work of Laborde referred to above; and Robinson’ s "Bib. Researches,"vol. ii. pp. 573-580, 653-659.

To the mount of the daughter of Zion - To Mount Zion; that is, to Jerusalem (note, Isa 1:8). The meaning of this verse, therefore, is, ‘ Pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews. Continue to seek their protection, and acknowledge your subjection to them, and you shall be safe. They will yield you protection, and these threatened judgments will not come upon you. But refuse, or withhold this, and you will be overthrown.’

Barnes: Isa 16:2

For it shall be - It shall happen in the time of the calamity that shall come upon Moab.

As a wandering bird - (See Isa 10:14.) The same idea is presented in Pro 27:8 :

As a bird that wanders from her nest,

So is a man that wandereth from his place.

The idea here is that of a bird driven away from her nest, where the nest is destroyed, and the young fly about without any home or place of rest. So would Moab be when the inhabitants were driven from their dwellings. The reason why this is introduced seems to be, to enforce what the prophet had said in the previous verse - the duty of paying the usual tribute to the Jews, and seeking their protection. The time is coming, says the prophet, when the Moabites shall be driven from their homes, and when they will need that protection which they can obtain by paying the usual tribute to the Jews.

The daughters of Moab - The females shall be driven from their homes, and shall wander about, and endeavor to flee from the invasion which has come upon the land. By the apprehension, therefore, that their wives and daughters would be exposed to this danger, the prophet calls upon the Moabites to secure the protection of the king of Judah.

At the fords of Arnon - Arnon was the northern boundary of the land of Moab. They would endeavor to cross that river, and thus flee from the land, and escape the desolations that were coming upon it. The river Arnon, now called Mujeb, flows in a deep, frightfully wild, and rocky vale of the same name Num 21:15; Deu 2:24; Deu 3:9, in a narrow bed, and forms at this time the boundary between the provinces of Belka and Karrak (Seetzen). Bridges were not common in the times here referred to; and, indeed, permanent bridges among the ancients were things almost unknown. Hence, they selected the places where the streams were most shallow and gentle, as the usual places of crossing.

Barnes: Isa 16:3

Take counsel - Hebrew, ‘ Bring counsel;’ or cause it to come ( הבאו hâbı̂'ı̂û , or as it is in the keri הביאי ). The Vulgate, renders this in the singular number, and so is the keri , and so many manuscripts J. D. Michaelis, Lowth, Etchhorn, Gesenius, and Noyes, regard Isa 16:3-5 as a supplicatory address of the fugitive Moabites to the Jews to take them under their protection, and as imploring a blessing on the Jewish people if they would do it; and Isa 16:6 as the negative answer of the Jews, or as a refusal to protect them on account of their pride. But most commentators regard it as addressed to the Moabites by the prophet, or by the Jews, calling upon the Moabites to afford such protection to the Jews who might be driven from their homes as to secure their favor, and confirm the alliance between them; and Isa 16:6 as an intimation of the prophet, that the pride of Moab is such that there is no reason to suppose the advice will be followed. It makes no difference in the sense here, whether the verb ‘ give counsel’ be in the singular or the plural number.

If singular, it may be understood as addressed to "Moab"itself; if plural, to the "inhabitants"of Moab. Vitringa supposes that this an additional advice given to the Moabites by the prophet, or by a chorus of the Jews, to exercise the offices of kindness and humanity toward the Jews, that thus they might avoid the calamities which were impending. The "first"counsel was Isa 16:1, to pay the proper tribute to the Jewish nation; "this"is Isa 16:3-5 to show to those Jews who might be driven from their land kindness and protection, and thus preserve the friendship of the Jewish nation. This is, probably, the correct interpretation, as if he had said, ‘ ake counsel; seek advice in your circumstances; be not hasty, rash, impetuous, unwise; do not cast off the friendship of the Jews; do not deal unkindly with those who may seek a refuge in your land, and thus provoke the nation to enmity; but let your land be an asylum, and thus conciliate and secure the friendship of the Jewish nation, and thus mercy shall be reciprocated and shown to you by him who shall occupy the throne of David’ Isa 16:5. The "design"is, to induce the Moabites to show kindness to the fugitive Jews who might seek a refuge there, that thus, in turn, the Jews might show them kindness. But the prophet foresaw Isa 16:6 that Moab was so proud that he would neither pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews, nor afford them protection; and, therefore, the judgment is threatened against them which is finally to overthrow them.

Execute judgment - That is, do that which is equitable and right; which you would desire to be done in like circumstances.

Make thy shadow - A "shadow or shade,"is often in the Scriptures an emblem of protection from the burning heat of the sun, and thence, of these burning, consuming judgments, which are represented by the intense heat of the sun (note, Isa 4:6; compare Isa 25:4; Isa 32:2; Lam 4:20).

As the night - That is, a deep, dense shade, such as the night is, compared with the intense heat of noon. This idea was one that was very striking in the East. Nothing, to travelers crossing the burning deserts, could be more refreshing than the shade of a far-projecting rock, or of a grove, or of the night. Thus Isaiah counsels the Moabites to be to the Jews - to furnish protection to them which may be like the grateful shade furnished to the traveler by the rock in the desert. The figure used here is common in the East. Thus it is said in praise of a nobleman: ‘ Like the sun, he warmed in the cold; and when Sirius shone, then was he coolness and shade.’ In the "Sunna"it is said: ‘ Seven classes of people will the Lord overshadow with his shade, when no shade will be like his; the upright Imam, the youth,’ etc.

Hide the outcasts - The outcasts of Judah - those of the Jews who may be driven away from their own homes, and who may seek protection in your land. Moab is often represented as a place of refuge to the outcast Hebrews (see the Analysis to Isa 15:1-9.)

Bewray not him that wandereth - Reveal not ( תגלי t^e galı̂y ), do not show them to their pursuer; that is, give them concealment and protection.

Barnes: Isa 16:4

Let mine outcasts - This may be understood as the language of Judea, or of God. ‘ Mine outcasts’ may mean the exiles of Judea, or God may call them "his."The sense is essentially the same. It denotes those who were fugitives, wanderers, exiles from the land of Judea, and who took refuge in the land of Moab; and God claims for them protection.

Dwell with thee - Not dwell permanently, but sojourn ( יגוּרוּ yāgûrû ), let them remain with you as exiles; or let them find a refuge in your land.

Be thou a covert to them - A refuge; a hiding-place; a place of "secrecy"( סתר sêther ).

From the face of the spoiler - That is, the conqueror from whose desolating career they would seek a refuge in the land of Moab. Who this "spoiler"would be, is not known. It would seem to be some invader who was carrying desolation through the land of Judea. It may be observed, however, that Lowth, by setting the points aside, supposes that this should be read, ‘ Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee, O Zion.’ So Noyes. But this seems to me not to suit the connection and the design; which is, to persuade the Moabites to conciliate the favor of the Jews by affording a hiding-place to their fugitives.

For the extortioner is at an end - literally, ‘ there is an end, or there will be an end of the oppressor; or he will be wonting.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘ The enemy is at an end.’ The idea here seems to be, that the oppressor in the land of Judea would not continue there always; the exiles of the Jews might soon return; and Judea be able "then"to return kindness to Moab. Judea did not ask that her exiles should permanently abide in Moab, but asked only a temporary refuge, with the certainty that she would be soon delivered from her oppressions, and would then be able to furnish aid to Moab in return.

The oppressors are consumed - Or, ‘ the treader down,’ he that has trodden down the nations "shall"soon be removed, and "then,"in turn, Judea will be able to repay the kindness which is now asked at the hand of Moab, in pemitting her exiles to remain in their land.

Barnes: Isa 16:5

And in mercy - In benignity; kindness; benevolence.

Shall the throne be established - The throne of the king of Judah. That is, he that shall sit upon the throne of David shall be disposed to repay the kindness which is now sought at the hand of Moab, and shall be able to do it.

And he shall sit upon it - The king of Israel.

In truth - In faithfulness; that is, shall be true and faithful. His character shall be such that he will do justice, and will furnish protection and aid to the Moabites, if they now receive the fugitives of Israel.

In the tabernacle of David - In the dwelling place; the palace of David; for so the word "tabernacle, or tent"( אהל 'ôhel ) seems to be used here. It means "temple"in Eze 41:1. It denotes a habitation, or dwelling place, in general, in Pro 14:11; Psa 52:7; Psa 91:10. The palace, court, or "citadel"of David, was on mount Zion; and the sense here is, that the king to whom Israel refers would be a worthy successor of David - just, true, faithful, benignant, and disposed to repay the favors now sought at the hand of Moab.

Seeking judgment - Anxious to do right; and seeking an opportunity to recompense those who had shown any favor to the people of the Jews. Moab, therefore, if she would now afford protection to the Jews, might be certain of a recompense.

And hasting righteousness - Not tardy and slow in doing what should be done - anxious to do justice to all. It is implied here also, that a king who would be so just, and so anxious to do "right"to all, would not only be ready to show kindness to the Moabites, if they protected the fugitives of Judea, but would also be disposed to do "right"if they refused that protection; that is, would be disposed to inflict "punishment"on them. Alike, therefore, by the hope of the protection and favor of the king of the Jews, and by the dread of punishment, the prophet endeavors to persuade Moab now to secure their favor by granting protection to their exiles.

Barnes: Isa 16:6

We have heard of the pride of Moab - We Jews; we have "all"heard of it; that is, we "know"that he is proud. The evident design of the prophet here is, to say that Moab was so proud, and was well known to be so haughty, that he would "reject"this counsel. He would neither send the usual tribute to the land of Judea Isa 16:1, thus acknowledging his dependence on them; nor would he give protection to the exiled Jews as they should wander through his land, and "thus"endeavor to conciliate their favor, and secure their friendship. As a consequence of this, the prophet proceeds to state that heavy judgments would come upon Moab as a nation.

He is very proud - The same thing is stated in the parallel place in Jer 48:29 (compare Isa 16:11). Moab was at ease; he was confident in his security; he feared nothing; he sought "no"means, therefore, of securing the friendship of the Jews.

And his wrath - As the result of pride and haughtiness. Wrath or indignation is excited in a proud man when he is opposed, and when the interests of others are not made to give way to his.

But his lies shall not be so - The Hebrew phrase ( לא־כן lo' kên ) - ‘ not so’ here seems to be used in the sense of ‘ not right;’ ‘ not firm, or established;’ that is, his vain boasting, his false pretensions, his "lies"shall not be confirmed, or established; or they shall be vain and impotent. In the parallel place in Jeremiah, it is, ‘ But it shall not be so; his lies shall not effect it.’ The word rendered ‘ his lies’ here ( בדיו badāyv ), means his boasting, or vain and confident speaking. In Isa 44:25, it is connected with the vain and confident responses of diviners and soothsayers. Here it means that Moab boasted of his strength and security, and did not feel his need of the friendship of the Jews; but that his security was false, and that it should not result according to his expectations. That Moab was proud, is also stated in Isa 25:8; and that he was disposed to give vent to his pride by reproaching the people of God, is apparent from Zec 2:8 :

I have heard the reproach of Moab,

And the revilings of the children of Ammon,

Whereby they have reproached my people,

And boasted themselves upon their border.

Barnes: Isa 16:7

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab - One part of the nation shall mourn for another; they shall howl, or lament, in alternate responses. Jerome renders it, ‘ the people (shall howl) to the city; the city to the provinces.’ The general idea is, that there would be an universal lamentation throughout the land. This would be the punishment which would result from their pride in neglecting to send the tribute and seeking the favor of the Jews; or they would lament because the expectation of finding a refuge among the Israelites was taken away.

For the foundations - On account of the foundations of Kir-hareseth, for they shall be overthrown; that is, that city shall be destroyed. The word rendered here ‘ foundations’ ( אשׁישׁי 'ăshı̂yshēy ), occurs nowhere else but in this place, and in Hos 3:1. The Septuagint renders it: ‘ The inhabitants.’ The Chaldee, ‘ Men.’ Jeremiah, in the parallel place, renders it also ‘ men’ Jer 48:31. In Hos 3:1, it is rendered ‘ flagons of wine’ - and it has been supposed by many that it has this sense here, as this would agree with what is immediately added of the fields of Heshbon, and the vine of Sibmah. Rosenmuller renders it by ‘ strong people, or heroes;’ and supposes that it means that the "strong"people of Kir-hareseth would be destroyed, and that they would mourn on that account. The probable sense is, that that on which the city rested, or was based, was to be destroyed. So Kimchi, Jarchi, and the Syriac understand it.

Kir-ha-reseth - literally, "wall of potsherds, or of bricks."Aquila renders it, Τοιχῳ ὀστρακίνῳ Toichō ostrakinō . Symmachus, Τείχει ὀστρακίνῳ Teichei ostrakinō . This was a city of Moab, but where it was situated is unknown. Vitringa supposes that it was the same as Kir Moab Isa 15:1, which, Gesenius says, is not improbable, for it is now mentioned as in ruins, and as one of the chief cities.

Barnes: Isa 16:8

For the fields of Heshbon - (See the note at Isa 15:4.)

Languish - They are parched up with drought. The ‘ fields’ here evidently mean "vineyards,"for so the parallelism demands. So in Deu 32:32 :

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom,

And of the fields of Gomorrah.

And the vine of Sibmah - Sibmah, or Shibmah, was a city of Reuben Num 32:38; Jos 13:19. Jeremiah, in the parallel place Jer 48:32 speaks of the vine of Sibmah also. He also says that the enemies of Moab had taken Sibmah, and that the vine and wine had been destroyed Jer 48:33. There was no more certain mode of producing desolation in a land where grapes were extensively cultivated than to cut down the vines. The Turks constantly practice that in regard to their enemies, and the result is, that wide desolation comes upon the countries which they invade. At this time it is probable that Sibmah belonged to the Moabites. It is mentioned here as being distinguished for the luxuriant production of the grape. Seetzen still found the vine cultivated in that region. Jerome says, that between Sibmah and Heshbon there was scarcely a distance of five hundred paces, half a Roman mile.

The lords of the heathen - The princes of the pagan nations that had come to invade Moab. The words ‘ have broken down’ ( הלמוּ hâl^e mû ) may be taken in either of two senses, either to beat, strike, or break down, as in our version; or "to be"beaten, or smitten with wine - that is, to become intoxicated - like the Greek οἰνοπλὴξ oinoplēx - "smitten with wine."The former is doubtless the sense here.

The principal plants thereof - The chose vines of it - "her sorek"( שׂרוּקיה s'^e rûqehā ). (See the notes at Isa 5:2.)

They are come - That is, the vines of Sibmah had spread or extended themselves even to Jazer, indicating their great luxuriance and fertility."Jazer was a city at the foot of the mountains of Gilead which was given to Gad, and afterward to the Levites Jos 21:39. Jerome says it was about fifteen miles from Heshbon. Seetzen found the ruins of a city called Szar, and another place called Szir, from which a small stream (Nahar Szir) flows into the Jordan (Gesenius). That the shoots of the vine of Sibmah reached unto Jazer and the desert, is a beautiful poetic expression for the extensive spread and luxuriance of the vine in that region.

They wandered - The vines "wandered"in the desert. They found no twig or tree to which they could attach themselves, and they spread around in wild luxuriancy.

Through the wilderness - The wilderness or desert of Arabia, which encompassed Moab.

Her branches are stretched out - Are extended far, or are very luxuriant.

They are gone over the sea - Called in the parallel place in Jer 48:32, ‘ the Sea of Jazer;’ probably some lake that had that name near the city of Jazer. It may "possibly"mean the Dead Sea, but that name is not elsewhere given to the Dead Sea in the Scriptures. It has been objected by some to this statement that modern travelers have not found any such place as the ‘ Sea of Jazer;’ or any lake in the vicinity of Jazer. But we may observe -

(1) that Seetzen found a stream flowing into the Jordan near Jazer; and

(2) that it is possible that a pond or lake may have once there existed which may have been since, in the course of ages, filled with sand.

It is known, for example, that in the vicinity of Suez the ancient narrow gulf there, and the large inland sea made by the Bitter lakes, have been choked up by the sand of the desert. Seetzen also says that he saw some pools near the source of the stream called Nahar Szir ("river Szir"). Prof. Stuart. "Bib. Rep."vol. vii. p. 158. The whole description of the vines of Sibmah is poetic; designed, not to be literally understood, but to denote their remarkable luxuriance and fertility. A similar description of a "vine"- though there used to denote the Jewish people - occurs in Psa 80:8-11 :

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt;

Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it;

Thou preparedst room before it,

And didst cause it to take deep root,

And it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it,

And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea,

And her branches unto the river.

Barnes: Isa 16:9

Therefore, I will bewail - So great is the desolation that I, the prophet, will lament it, though it belongs to another nation than mine own. The expression indicates that the calamity will be great (see the note at Isa 15:5).

With the weeping of Jazer - That is, I will pour out the same lamentation for the vine of Sibmah which I do for Jazer; implying that it would be deep and bitter sorrow (see Jer 48:32).

I will water thee with my tears - Indicating the grievous calamities that were coming upon those places, on account of the pride of the nation. They were to Isaiah foreign nations, but he had a heart that could feel for their calamities.

For the shouting for thy summer fruits - The shouting attending the ingathering of the harvest (note, Isa 9:3). The word used here ( הידד hēydâd ), denotes, properly, a joyful acclamation, a shout of joy or rejoicing, such as was manifested by the vintager and presser of grapes Jer 25:30; Jer 48:33; or such as was made by the warrior Jer 51:14. Here it means, that in the time when they would expect the usual shout of the harvest, it should not be heard, but instead, thereof, there should be the triumph of the warrior. Literally, ‘ upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy harvests has the shouting fallen;’ that is, the shout of the warrior has fallen upon that harvest instead of the rejoicing of the farmer. So Jeremiah evidently understands it Jer 48:32 : ‘ The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy vintage.’ Lowth proposes here a correction of the Hebrew text, but without necessity or authority.

Barnes: Isa 16:10

And gladness ... - The gladness and joy that was commonly felt in the field producing a rich and luxuriant harvest.

Out of the plentiful field - Hebrew, ‘ From Carmel;’ but Carmel means a fruitful field as well as the mountain of that name (see the note at Isa 10:18).

I have made their vintage shouting to cease - That is, by the desolation that has come upon the land. The vineyards are destroyed; and of course the shout of joy in the vintage is no more heard.

Barnes: Isa 16:11

Wherefore my bowels - This is also an expression of the deep grief of the prophet in view of the calamities which were coming upon Moab. The "bowels"in the Scriptures are everywhere represented as the seat of compassion, pity, commiseration, and tender mercy Gen 43:30 : ‘ His bowels did yearn upon his brother’ - he deeply felt for him, he greatly pitied him 1Ki 3:26; Psa 25:6; Pro 12:10; Son 5:4; Isa 63:15; Jer 4:19; Jer 31:20; Phi 1:8; Phi 2:1. In classic writers, the word ‘ bowels’ denotes the "upper"viscera of victims - the heart, the lungs, the liver, which were eaten during or after the sacrifice (Robinson, "Lex.,"on the word σπλάγχνον splangchnon ). In the Scriptures, it denotes the "inward parts"- evidently also the upper viscera, regarded as the seat of the emotions and passions. The word as we use it - denoting the lower "viscera"- by no means expresses the sense of the word in the Scriptures, and it is this change in the signification which renders the use of the very language of the Bible unpleasant or inappropriate. We express the idea by the use of the word "heart"- the seat of the affections.

Shall sound like an harp - The "bowels"are represented in the Scriptures as affected in various modes in the exercise of pity or compassion. Thus, in Lam 1:20, Jeremiah says, ‘ My bowels are troubled’ (see Lam 2:1; Jer 31:20). Job Job 30:27, says, ‘ My bowels boiled, and rested not;’ there was great agitation; deep feeling. Thus, Jer 4:19 :

My bowels! My bowels! I am pained at my very heart.

My heart "maketh a noise"in me.

So Isa 63:15 : ‘ Where is the sounding of thy bowels and mercies?’ The word ‘ sound’ here means to make a tumultuous noise; and the whole expression here denotes that his heart was affected with the calamities of Moab as the strings of the harp vibrate when beaten with the plectrum or the band. His heart was deeply pained and affected by the calamities of Moab, and responded to those calamities, as the strings of the harp did to the blow of the plectrum.

Mine inward parts - The expressions used here are somewhat analogous to ours of the "beating of the heart,"to denote deep emotion. Forster says of the savages of the South Sea that they call compassion "a barking of the bowels."

For Kirharesh - (See the note at Isa 16:7.)

Barnes: Isa 16:12

When it is seen - When it occurs; that is, when Moab actually "becomes"weary.

Is weary on the high place - The "high place"denotes the place of idolatrous worship, and here means the same as the temple of Chemosh or his sanctuary. Temples and altars were usually constructed on such places, and especially the temples of the pagan gods. Moab is represented here as looking to her gods for protection. Weary, exhausted, worn down with calamities, she is represented as fleeing from the desolate towns and cities, and taking refuge at the altar, and seeking assistance there. This, says Jerome, is the final misery. She is now forsaken of those aids to which she had always trusted, and on which she had relied. Her people slain; her towns destroyed; her strong places broken down; her once fertile fields languishing and desolate, she flees to the shrine of her god, and finds even her god unable to aid and defend her.

Shall come to his sanctuary - To his "principle"sanctuary; or to the temple of the principal god which they worshipped - the god "Chemosh"1Ki 11:7. This does not mean the temple at Jerusalem, though Kimchi so understands it; but the temple of the chief divinity of Moab. Jerome says that this temple was on mount Nebo.

Shall not prevail - That is, her prayer shall not be heard.

Barnes: Isa 16:13

This is the word - This is the substance of the "former"predictions respecting Moab. This has been the "general course"or sense of the prophecies respecting Moab, during all its history.

Since that time - Formerly; from former times. There had been a course of predictions declaring in general that Moab should be destroyed, and the prophet says here that he had expressed their general sense; or that "his"predictions accorded with them all - for they all predicted the complete overthrow of Moab. He now says Isa 16:14 that these general prophecies respecting Moab which had been of so long standing were now to be speedily accomplished. The prophecies respecting Moab, foretelling its future ruin, may be seen in Exo 15:15; Num 21:29; Num 24:17; Psa 60:8; Psa 108:9; Amo 2:2; Zep 2:9. It "may,"however, be intended here that the former portion of this prophecy had been uttered by Isaiah himself during the early part of his prophetic life. He is supposed to have prophesied some sixty or more years ("see"Introduction, Section 3); and it may be that the prophecy in the fifteenth and the previous part of the sixteenth chapter had been uttered during the early part of his life without specifying the time when it would be fulfilled; but now he says, that it would be accomplished in three years. Or it may be that some other prophet had uttered the prediction which he now repeats with additions at the close. The fact that Isaiah had done this on some occasions seems probable from the beginning of Isa. 2, which appears to be a quotation from Mic 4:1-3 (see the Analysis to Isa 15:1-9, and the notes at Isa 2:2).

Barnes: Isa 16:14

But now the Lord hath spoken - This refers to the particular and specific prophecy of Isaiah that destruction should come upon them in three years. Instead of a "general but indefinite"prediction of calamity to the Moabites, such as had been uttered by the former prophets, or by Isaiah himself before, it was now specific and definite in regard to the "time"when it should be fulfilled.

Within three years - We have no means of ascertaining the exact fulfillment of this prediction, nor do we certainly know by whom it was accomplished.

As the years of an hireling - A man that is hired has a certain time specified during which he is to labor; the years, the months, the days for which he is engaged are agreed on, nor will he suffer any addition to be made to it. So the prophet says that the very time is fixed. It shall not be varied. It will be adhered to by God - as the time is adhered to between a man who employs another and him who is hired. And it means, that "exactly at the time"which is here specified, the predicted destruction should come upon Moab.

The glory of Moab - That in which it glories, or boasts - its wealth, its armies, its cities, towns, etc.

Shall be contemned - Shall be esteemed of no value; shall be destroyed.

And the remnant - There shall be few cities, few people, and very little wealth that shall escape the desolation (compare Isa 10:25; Isa 24:6). Jerome says that ‘ this prophecy was delivered after the death of Ahaz, and in the reign of Hezekiah, during whose reign the ten tribes were led by Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, into captivity. And, therefore, after three years, the Assyrians came and destroyed Moab, and very few were left in the land who could inhabit the deserted cities, or cultivate the desolate fields.’ But it is not certainly known to what particular time the prophecy refers. In regard to the present state of Moab, and the complete fulfillment of the prophecies respecting it, the following works may be consulted: Newton, "On the Prophecies;"Keith, "On the Prophecies;"Burckhardt’ s "Travels in Syria;"and Captains Irby and Mangles’ "Travels."In regard to the fulfillment of these predictions respecting the destruction of Moab, it may be sufficient to refer to the remarks which I have made on the particular places which are mentioned in these two chapters, and to the writers mentioned above.

All travelers concur in the general desolation of that country which was once so thickly studded with towns, and that abounded so richly in flocks, and produced so luxuriantly the grape. It is now strewed with ruins. All the cities of Moab have disappeared. Their place is characterized in the map of Volney’ s "Travels, by the ruins of towns."Burckhardt, who encountered many difficulties in so desolate and dangerous a land, thus records the brief history of a few of them: ‘ The ruins of Eleale, Heshbon, Meon, Medaba, Dibon, Arver, all situated on the north side of the Arnon, still subsist to illustrate the history of the Beni-Israel’ ("Life and Travels,"prefixed to the "Travel’ s in Nubia,"pp. 48, 49). ‘ And it might be added,’ says Keith, ‘ that they still subsist to confirm the inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures, for the desolation of each of these cities was the theme of a distinct prediction’ ("Prophecies,"p. 129). Within the boundaries of Moab, Burckhardt enumerates about "fifty"ruined cities, many of them extensive. In general they are a broken down and undistinguishable mass of ruins; but, in some instances, there are remains of temples, sepulchral monuments, traces of hanging gardens, entire columns lying on the ground, and dilapidated walls made of stones of large dimensions (see "Travels in Syria,"pp. 311-456).

In view of these two chapters, constituting one prophecy, and the facts in regard to the present state of the country of Moab, we may observe that we have here clear and unanswerable evidence of the genuineness and truth of the sacred records. That evidence is found in the "particularity"with which "places"are mentioned; and in the fact that impostors would not "specify"places, any further than was unavoidable. Mistakes, we all know, are liable to be made by those who attempt to describe the "geography"of places which they have not seen. Yet here is a description of a land and its numerous towns, made nearly three thousand years ago, and in its "particulars"it is sustained by all the travelers in modern times. The ruins of the same towns are still seen; their places, in general, can be designated; and there is a moral certainty, therefore, that this prophecy was made by one who "knew"the locality of those places, and that, therefore, the prophecy is ancient and genuine.

An impostor would never have attempted such a description as this; nor could he have made it so accurate and true. In the language of Prof. Stuart ("Bib. Rep.,"vol. vii. pp. 108, 109), we may say, ‘ How obviously everything of this kind serves to give confirmation to the authority and credibility of the sacred records! Do sceptics undertake to scoff at the Bible, and aver that it is the work of impostors who lived in later ages? Besides asking them what "object"impostors could have in forging a book of such high and lofty principles, we may ask - and ask with an assurance that need not fear the danger of being put to the blush - whether impostors of later ages could possibly have so managed, as to preserve all the "localities"in complete order which the Scriptures present? Rare impostors they must indeed have been - people possessed of more knowledge of antiquity than we can well imagine could ever be possessed by such as would condescend to an imposition of such a character. In fact the thing appears to be morally impossible, if one considers it in the light of "antiquity,"when so little knowledge of a geographical kind was in existence, and when mistakes respecting countries and places with which one was not personally familiar, were almost, if not altogether, unavoidable.

‘ How happens it, now, that the authors of the Old Testament Scriptures should have possessed such a wonderful tact in geography, as it would seem they did, unless they lived at the time and in the countries of which they have spoken? This happens not elsewhere. It is but yesterday since one of the first scientific writers on geology in Great Britain, published to the world the declaration that our Mississippi and Missouri rivers "belong to the tropics."Respectable writers, even in Germany, the land of Classical attainments, have sometimes placed Coelo-Syria on the east of the Anti-Libanus ridge, or even seemed to transfer Damascus over the mountains, and place it between the two Lebanon ridges in the valley.’ No such mistakes occur in the sacred writers. They write as people who were familiar with the geography of places named; they mention places with the utmost familiarity; and, after a lapse of three thousand years, every successive traveler who visits Moab, Idumea, or Palestine, does something to confirm the accuracy of Isaiah. Towns, bearing the same name, or the ruins of towns, are located in the same relative position in which he said they were; and the ruins of once splendid cities, broken columns, dilapidated walls, trodden down vineyards, and half-demolished temples, proclaim to the world that those cities are what he said they would be, and that he was under the inspiration of God.

Poole: Isa 16:1

Ruler of the land to wit, of your land, no less than of ours; or, of the earth , as the word is commonly rendered, who is the God of the whole earth , as he is called, Isa 54:5 , the God of all the kingdoms of the earth , Isa 37:16 . Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him, and to his people. These words may be understood ironically, and the design of them may be to represent their miserable and desperate condition; as if he had said, You have tried all other ways, and sought to your idols, Isa 16:2 , and all in vain; now seek to the God of Israel, who alone can help you. But, alas! he is highly incensed against you, and coming to destroy you. But this seems rather to be a serious advice, by comparing these words with Isa 16:3,4 . Sela ; an eminent city of Moab, seated upon a rock, which is here named, either because the king and his court at this time resided there, or for some other reason then evident, though now unknown.

To the wilderness to the wilderness of Moab, of which we read Num 21:11 ; Dent. ii. 8, and so onward to Zion, as it follows. Or this may be added as a description of the place called Sela . Hence some render the words, Sela of the wilderness ; and others, Sela which lieth or looketh towards the wilderness . And this limitation might be the more necessary, to distinguish this from other places of Moab called by the same name, which, signifying a rock, might be common to several places in that rocky country.

Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion unto the temple upon Mount Zion.

Poole: Isa 16:2

For or, otherwise , as this particle is sometimes used; if you do not follow my advice.

As a wandering bird cast out of the nest which knows not whither to go, nor what to do.

At the fords of Arnon which was the border of the land of Moab, where they were, either being carried that way into captivity, or rather with design to flee out of their own land, although they knew not whither, as the foregoing metaphor showeth.

Poole: Isa 16:3

Take counsel consider seriously among yourselves what course to take to prevent your utter ruin.

Execute judgment do those things which are just and right, as to all men, so particularly to my people, to whom you have been most unrighteous and unmerciful.

As the night or, as the shadow of the night , large and dark, as the shadow of the earth is in the night season. The meaning is, Conceal and protect my people in the time of their distress and danger, as this metaphor is explained in the rest of this and in the following verse.

The outcasts mine outcasts , as it follows, Isa 16:4 , those of my people which are driven out of their land.

Bewray not him that wandereth unto their enemies, as thou hast treacherously done in former times.

Poole: Isa 16:4

Mine outcasts whom though I have forsaken, and sorely chastened, yet I do, and still will, own for my people; and I do observe, and will requite, both the kindnesses and the injuries done to them.

The extortioner is at an end shall shortly be destroyed, and my people shall ere long be restored, and then thou wilt not lose the fruit of thy kindness. The present tense is put for the future, as it is usually in prophecies.

Poole: Isa 16:5

In mercy by my mercy. Though they have sinned, and I am now punishing their sins, yet I will deliver them for my own mercy’ s sake.

The throne the kingdom od Judah. Therefore for thine own sake show them kindness in this day of their distress; for they will be capable of requiting thee.

He their king, which is easily and necessarily understood.

Shall sit upon it in truth which may respect either,

1. The manner of his government, exercising truth and justice. But that is more plainly and fully expressed in the last part of the verse. Or,

2. The continuance of it, in truth , i.e. firmly and constantly; for truth is oft put for the stability and certainty of a thing, as 2Ch 32:1 Pro 11:18 Isa 61:8 . And this makes the argument more considerable to the present purpose. The kingdom shall not only be restored, but firmly settled; therefore it is your interest, O Moabites, to be kind to my people.

In the tabernacle in the house, or palace, which is called a tent , or tabernacle , either because houses are frequently so called in Scripture, as 2Sa 20:1 1Ki 8:66 12:16 , or with respect unto the unsettledness of David’ s house, which now indeed was more like a tabernacle than a strong palace; and yet, notwithstanding its present imbecility, should be firmly established.

Seeking judgment searching out the truth of causes and things with care and diligence, which is the duty of a judge.

Hasting righteousness neither denying nor yet delaying justice. And these good qualifications seem to be here mentioned, partly to teach the rulers of Moab their duty towards their own people, and the Israelites which were among them; and partly as a reason and evidence of that stability which he had promised to the house of David.

Poole: Isa 16:6

The prophet, having spoken to the Moabites, and acquainted them with their duty and interest, now he turneth his speech to God’ s people, whom he armeth and comforteth against their approaching misery. The scope and sense of the prophet in this verse is this, I do not expect that my counsels will have any good effect upon Moab, they will still carry themselves insolently and outrageously towards you, and they promise themselves that they shall now effect what they have long desired, even satisfy their malice in your total and final destruction; but they shall be disappointed of their hopes. It is well known to me, and you, and all their neighbours, that they are a haughty and furious people; and therefore they will scorn my advice, and doubt not to stand upon their own legs.

His lies shall not be so his vain imaginations, and false and crafty counsel, shall not take effect. But the words are and may be otherwise rendered, but his strength (as this word is rendered, Job 18:13 ; Heb. bars , which are the strength of gates or doors) is not so ; not equal to his pride or fury. Or thus, exactly according to the words and order of the Hebrew text, not so lies . A concise speech, such as are very common in this and other prophets. And these words may possibly be brought in as the words of the Moabites, making this short reply to the prophet’ s counsels and threatenings, directed to them in the foregoing verses of this chapter: It is not or shall not be so as thou sayest; thy words are but lies, we fear not thy threats against us. But this I propose with submission.

Poole: Isa 16:7

For Moab for itself; the noun put for the pronoun, as is usual in the Hebrew text. Or, to Moab . One Moabite shall howl or lament to or for another.

Kir-hareseth an ancient and eminent city of Moab, called Kir , Isa 15:1 and Kir-haresh , Isa 16:11 , which signifies, The city of the sun , probably because there was the temple of the sun; which city was preserved when their other cities were ruined, 2Ki 3:25 , and therefore the destruction of it was more lamented.

Shall ye mourn or, ye shall meditate or talk , as this word commonly signifies. Your thoughts and discourses will run much upon the ruin of such a city.

Stricken or, broken ; overthrown or destroyed.

Poole: Isa 16:8

The fields of Heshbon languish either for want of rain, as Isa 15:6 , or because there are no men left to till and manure them.

The lords of the heathen the Assyrians or Chaldeans, the great rulers of the Eastern nations.

The principal plants the choicest vines; under which one particular he seems to understand not only all other fruits and goods, but even their persons and choicest people.

They are come even unto Jazer either,

1. The lords of the heathen are come as far as Jazer, which is the utmost border of Moab; or,

2. The people of Moab are going into captivity, and part of them are already gone as far as Jazer. Some understand this and the following clauses of the vines, which are here commended, to aggravate the loss and ruin of them, and render the words, which reached even unto Jazer , which vineyards were planted for many miles together, even as far as Jazer.

They wandered through the wilderness others of the Moabites fled away for their lives, and wandered hither and thither in the wilderness of Moab; of which see Num 21:11 Deu 2:8 .

Her branches i.e. her people, called plants before. Are stretched out ; or, are spread abroad, as this word signifies, Num 11:32 Jud 15:9 1Sa 30:16 ; are driven from their own homes, and dispersed into several countries.

Over the sea over the Dead Sea, which was the border of Moab. They were forced to flee out of their own country to save their lives.

Poole: Isa 16:9

I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: so the sense is, I will bewail Sibmah as I did bewail Jazer, which, they say, was destroyed before Sibmah: or,

the weeping of Jazer might be a proverbial expression; for it is used also Jer 48:32 , like that of the mourning of Hadadrimmon , Zec 12:11 , though the reason of it be now unknown, as it is in many other proverbs. The words are by others rendered, and that more agreeably to the Hebrew text, I will bewail with weeping (which is a usual Hebraism for I will bitterly bewail)

Jazer and (which particle is oft understood) the vine of Sibmah . But our translation seems to be justified by the parallel place, Jer 48:32 , where it is, O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer. The shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen ; those joyful shouts and acclamations, which were customary in the time of harvest and vintage, Isa 9:3 Jer 25:30 , shall cease, because thy land shall be wasted, and thy people destroyed. Or, as it is in the margin, the shout or alarm is fallen upon thy summer fruits and thy harvest , instead of that joyful shout which was then used, to which he here alludes; which seems to be the truer translation, not only because this Hebrew word is elsewhere used concerning the shout of an enemy falling upon a people, as Jer 25:30 51:14 , but especially by considering the parallel place, Jer 48:32 , where, for the shout is fallen , it is, the spoiler is fallen upon , &c. If it be objected, that the next verse speaks of the ceasing of their joyful shouts, and that this Hebrew word is there used for vintage shouting , which at first made me incline to the former interpretation, that seems to be fully answered from Jer 48:33 , which speaks likewise of the ceasing of their joy and joyful shouts, but withal adds, in the close of the verse, what may end this controversy, their shouting shall be no shouting ; they shall indeed have a shouting, but not such a one as they used to have, a joyful shouting of their own people, but an insulting shout of their enemies.

Poole: Isa 16:10

The treaders: in those times they used to squeeze out the juice of their grapes by treading them with their feet, in vessels appointed for that use, Jud 9:27 Neh 13:15 .

Poole: Isa 16:11

Shall sound through compassion to them; of which See Poole "Isa 15:5" . In excessive griefs the bowels are sometimes rolled and tumbled together, so as to make an audible noise. Hereby he signifies the greatness of their approaching calamity, which being so grievous to him, must needs be intolerable to them.

Poole: Isa 16:12

When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place when it shall appear to them and others that all their other devotions are vain and ineffectual.

To his sanctuary to the temple of his great god, Chemosh, Num 21:29 1Ki 11:7 Jer 48:46 , from whom he shall seek and expect succour.

He shall not prevail his god can neither hear nor help him.

Poole: Isa 16:13

Since the beginning of God’ s revelation to me concerning Moab, and hitherto; which exposition seems to be confirmed by the following words, but now.

Poole: Isa 16:14

Hath spoken hath made this further discovery of his mind to me.

Within three years to be computed either,

1. From the time of Jerusalem’ s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, who did, as is confessed by all, invade the Moabites at or about that time, and execute the judgment first foretold by this prophet, and afterwards by Jer 48 . Or rather,

2. From the time of the delivery of this prophecy; which being uncertain, leaves us the greater latitude for the determination of the precise time when this was fulfilled. But this is certain, from Isa 1:1 , that this prophecy must be delivered, at furthest, before the end of Hezekiah’ s reign. And then there ariseth this great difficulty, How this can consist with the prophecy of Jeremiah, who above or about a hundred years after this time speaketh of Moab as a people that had been at ease from their youth, and had not gone into captivity , Jer 48:11 , and prophesieth against them in the very same words which Isaiah useth in this prophecy? The answer is, That they do not speak of the same time, nor of the same calamity; but Isaiah of a former tribulation, and Jeremiah of their latter devastation. It is true, Jeremiah useth the same words which Isaiah doth, and so do the later prophets sometimes use the words of the former, to other purposes than they were first delivered, as we shall see hereafter, and as is most evident from the Revelation of St. John , in which the same words are used concerning mystical Babylon. which were used by the foregoing prophets concerning the first and literal Babylon. And although the foregoing prophecy of Isaiah seems to speak of the same destruction threatened by Jeremiah, and inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar; yet this prophecy contained in this verse, and ushered in with another preface, seems to be of a differing nature, and to speak of a more speedy and less grievous affliction that should befall them, which should be as a pledge to assure them of the certain accomplishment of the other prophecy, and of their utter destruction. And therefore it is observable, that the prophet doth not here say,

Within three years all that I have foretold and threatened shall be fulfilled; but only,

the glory of Moab shall be contemned & c., which is quite another thing; and as the terms here used are much milder, so that; judgment here denounced seems much less, than in the foregoing prophecy. And therefore this verse may very well be understood of some great blow given to the Moabites, either by Sennacherib, or by his son Esarhaddon, from which notwithstanding they in a little time recovered themselves, and flourished again, and continued so to do till Nebuchadnezzar completed their destruction. And this may well enough consist with what is said of Moab’ s

being at ease from his youth Jer 48:11 , which is not to be understood simply, as if they had been wholly free from war and other calamities; for the contrary is evident, both from Scripture, as 2Sa 8:2 2Ki 3:24,25 , and from other histories; but comparatively, that they had not been brought to desolation, nor carried away into captivity, as it is explained in the following words, and as Israel had been at that time, and Judah was threatened to be.

As the years of an hireling i.e. within three years precisely accounted; for hirelings are very punctual in observing the time for which they are hired; and their thoughts and desires run much upon it, because then they are to receive their wages; of which see Job 7:1,2 14:6 . And this exposition is confirmed by comparing this place with Isa 21:16 , where the same phrase is used of one year. So groundless is that opinion which the Jewish writers gather from this place, compared with Deu 15:18 , that three years was the usual and appointed time for the generality of hired servants.

The glory of Moab their strength, and wealth, and other things in which they glory.

Shall be contemned shall be made contemptible to those who formerly admired them.

With all that great multitude with the great numbers of their people, of which they boasted.

Shall be very small and feeble comparatively to what they were before; which might be very true, and yet afterwards, in a hundred years’ space, they might be sufficiently recruited.

Haydock: Isa 16:1

My tears. Chap. xv. 5. (Haydock) ---

I announce a different sort of music from that which is customary in times of harvest, and of vintage. The liquor shall be tears, chap. lxiii. 2., and Jeremias xlviii. 32, 33. (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:1

Petra. Hebrew selah, "the rock." (Haydock) ---

Our Saviour spring from Ruth, the Moabitess. (Menochius) ---

The original may insinuate, that the king of the country had neglected to pay the usual tribute to Juda, 4 Kings iii. 4. (Calmet) ---

"Send the lamb to the ruler," &c. (Tournemine.) Amid scenes of distress, the prophet perceives that the Saviour will proceed from one of this nation. (Worthington)

Haydock: Isa 16:2

Arnon. They shall not be able to fly over, or to escape the conqueror.

Haydock: Isa 16:3

Night. Seek a retreat in the darkest places; or protect Israel when they shall flee before the Assyrians. Their cruelty is thus insinuated, Amos i.

Haydock: Isa 16:4

Dust. Theglathphalassar. I need not exhort you to receive my people, as I know your dispositions, and they are out of danger. (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:5

Just. This regards Christ, (St. Jerome) prefigured by (Haydock) Ezechias. (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:7

Walls. Hebrew, "Kir-hareseth," chap. xv. 1. (Haydock)

Haydock: Isa 16:8

Lords. Princes of Jerusalem, (Lamentations i. 1.) or of Assyria. (Calmet) ---

Sea. Of Sodom, even as far as Jazer, (Haydock) in the tribe of Ruben. (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:10

Carmel. This name is often taken to signify a fair and fruitful hill or field, such as Mount Carmel is. (Challoner) ---

It means, "the vine of God." (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:11

Wall. Kir-hareseth, ver. 7. I am grieved at your misfortunes. (Calmet)

Haydock: Isa 16:12

Prevail. Chamos shall not be able to help them.

Haydock: Isa 16:13

That time. A long while ago, Psalm xcii. 2.

Haydock: Isa 16:14

Not many. It was laid waste in the third year of Ezechias. But its final destruction took place only five years after that of Jerusalem. (Calmet) ---

The wars against Moab continued three years, after which it was reduced to servitude. (Worthington)

Gill: Isa 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, 2Sa 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, 2Ki 3:4 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" ^t; though others, "send ye the lamb of the ruler of the land" ^u; 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 ^w 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 ^x, 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, 2Ki 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 ^y 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.

Gill: Isa 16:2

For it shall be,.... Or, "otherwise it shall be" ^z; if ye do not pay this tribute:

that as a wandering bird cast out of the nest: or, "as a wandering bird, the nest sent out": that is, as a bird that has forsaken its nest, and wanders about, and its young ones are turned out of the nest, scarcely fledged, and unable to shift for themselves, but flutter about here and there, trembling and frightened, see Pro 26:2,

so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon: turned out of their houses, wandering up and down, not knowing where to go; unable to help themselves, and in the utmost fright and consternation, fleeing to the very borders of their land, as the fords of Arnon were, see Num 21:13.

Gill: Isa 16:3

Take counsel, execute judgment,.... This refers either to what goes before, that they would take the counsel given, and do that which was just and right, by paying tribute to the king of Judah; or to what follows, that they would enter into a consultation, the king of Moab with his nobles, and resolve upon what was right, and do it, by protecting and harbouring the distressed Jews, who would flee unto them from the enemy:

make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; a time of the greatest heat, to which the Assyrian army, for its force and fury, and the mischief done by it, is compared: and the Moabites they are advised to make a shadow, as large and as strong as the dark night, that is, to protect the Jews in their distress, and to refresh and comfort them under it; see Isa 4:6,

hide the outcasts; such as were driven out of their land through the fury and persecution of the enemy, receive and conceal, as Rahab did the spies:

bewray not him that wandereth; from his native place, as a bird from its nest, being forced to it; such an one, or as many as may be, in such a case, do not discover them where they are, or betray them, and deliver them up into the hands of their enemy.

Gill: Isa 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" ^a; 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, 2Ki 19:35.

Gill: Isa 16:5

And in mercy shall the throne be established,.... That is, the throne of Hezekiah, and his government over Judah, which was more firmly settled and established after the overthrow of the Assyrian army, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to him, and on account of the mercy he exercised among his subjects, see Pro 20:28. Hezekiah was a type of Christ, and his throne typical of his, and the ultimate view of the prophecy may be to the stability of the kingdom of Christ; so the Targum,

"then the Christ of Israel, his throne shall be established in goodness:''

and he shall sit upon it in truth; which does not so much intend the reality of his sitting there, as his continuance, signified by sitting, and the constancy and stability of his reign, or his governing with faith fulness and truth;

in the tabernacle of David; or "tent"; meaning his palace, or house in Jerusalem, alluding to his having been a shepherd before he was a king, or referring to the unsettled state of David's house; this was typical of the church of God, where Christ sits and reigns as King, see Amo 9:11; the Targum is,

"in the city of David;''

Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra:

judging and seeking judgment; acting the part of a righteous, faithful, and diligent Judge; seeking to do justice to the poor and needy, and searching into the cause that comes before him, to find out, and take the right side of it:

and hasting righteousness; not delaying justice, protracting a cause, deferring the sentence, and the execution of it, but dispatching the whole as speedily as may be; all which characters, though they may be found in Hezekiah, yet are much more eminently in Christ.

Gill: Isa 16:6

We have heard of the pride of Moab,.... These are the words of the prophet, either in the name of the Lord, or in the person of the Jews, or of other nations, who had heard very frequently, and from many persons, and from every quarter, of the excessive pride of this people, and had many instances of it related to them, which foretold their ruin; for pride comes before a fall:

( he is very proud): though his original was so base and infamous; and therefore there is little reason to hope or expect that he would take the advice above given him, or do the good offices for the Jews he was exhorted to; his pride was such, that he would despise the counsel of God, and would never stoop to do any favour for his people:

even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath; of his contempt of the people of God, and his wrath against them:

but his lies shall not be so; or, "his strength" shall "not be so" ^b; as his wrath: he shall not be able to do what in his pride and wrath he said he would do; all his wicked thoughts and devices, all his haughty and wrathful expressions, will signify nothing; they will all be of no effect, for God resisteth the proud, see Jer 48:30. It may be rendered, "not right", that of "his diviners" ^c; their words and works, what they say or do; so the word is used in Isa 44:25.

Gill: Isa 16:7

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab,.... One Moabite shall mourn for another; the living for the dead; or one part of the country for another; or to Moab, they shall howl in turns, answering to one another:

everyone shall howl: every Moabite, or the whole country of Moab shall howl, being everywhere desolate:

for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn: surely they are stricken; this was a very principal city in the land of Moab, and a very strong one, see 2Ki 3:25. It signifies, according to some, "the city of the sun", so called, it may be, because the sun was worshipped here; or, according to others, "the earthen city", or "city of brick", because its houses and walls were made of brick; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the walls of burnt brick". Now this strong city was to be razed even to the foundations, so that these would be discovered, which would occasion mourning to its inhabitants, and those of other places. Kimchi interprets "the foundations", of the great men and princes of Moab, see Jer 48:31 so the Targum,

"and they shall howl over the men of the city of their strength;''

R. Jonah, of the men of the army, the foundation of the kingdom; so Ben Melech. The word translated "foundations" signifies also flagons or bottles, and so Aben Ezra and Abendana understand it here; and accordingly the words may be thus rendered, "for the bottles of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, verily they are broken" ^d; this agrees with the signification of the word in Hos 3:1 and with what follows, concerning the vine of Sibmah; the reason of the mourning seems to be, that there would be no wine, and the bottles would lie useless, and be broken.

Gill: Isa 16:8

For the fields of Heshbon languish,.... Through drought; or because of the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them; or because there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Heshbon See Gill on Isa 15:4. It seems to have been a place famous for fields and pastures, and to have been a very fruitful and well watered place; hence we read of the fish pools in Heshbon, Son 7:4 though Aben Ezra and Kimchi think the word signifies vines, as they suppose it does in Deu 32:32,

and the vine of Sibmah; called Shebam and Shibmah, in Num 32:3 thought to be the Seba of Ptolemy ^e; and seems to have been famous for vines and vineyards:

the lords of the Heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof; that is, the Chaldeans and their army, and commanders and principal officers of it, dealing with them as the Turks do with vines, wherever they meet with them, destroy them; though Jarchi and Kimchi interpret all this figuratively, both here and in the above clauses, of the inhabitants of these places, the multitude of the common people, and their princes, some being killed, and others carried captive; to which sense the Targum,

"because the armies of Heshbon are spoiled, the multitude of Sebama are killed, the kings of the people have killed their rulers:''

they are come even unto Jazer; meaning either the Chaldean army, or the Moabites, who had fled hither; or rather this is to be understood of the vines of Sibmah, expressing the excellency and large spread of them, which reached even to Jazer; which, as Jerom says ^f, was fifteen miles from Heshbon, called Jaazer, Num 21:32,

they wandered through the wilderness; the wilderness of Moab, Deu 2:8 not the lords of the Heathen, nor the Moabites, but the vines and their branches, which crept along, and winded to and fro, as men wander about:

her branches are stretched out; that is, the branches of the vine Sibmah:

they are gone over the sea; the Dead Sea, called the sea of Jazer, Jer 48:32 or rather a lake near that city.

Gill: Isa 16:9

Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah,.... That is, bewail the one, as he had done the other, both places with the fruits about them being destroyed by the enemy; or "therefore with weeping I will bewail" (most vehemently lament, an usual Hebraism) "Jazer", and "the vine of Sibmah": the prophet here represents the Moabites weeping for their vines more especially, they being a people addicted to drunkenness, in which their father was begotten; hence Bacchus is said to be the founder of many of their cities, see Jer 48:32. The Targum is,

"as I have brought armies against Jazer, so will I bring slayers against Sibmah;''

I will water thee with my tears: shed abundance of them, see Psa 6:6,

O Heshbon, and Elealeh; perhaps alluding to the fishponds, in the former, Son 7:4 of these places; see Gill on Isa 15:4,

for the shouting for thy summer fruits, and for thy harvest, is fallen; is ceased, so as not to be heard; namely, the singing and shouting which used to be made by labourers, while they were gathering the summer fruits, or reaping the harvest, with which they amused and diverted themselves, and their fellow labourers, and so their time and their work went on more pleasantly; or else that great joy and shouting they expressed when all was ended, something of which nature is still among us at this day; but now in Moab it was at an end, because the enemy had destroyed both their summer fruits and harvest; though Jarchi and Kimchi interpret this shouting of the enemy, of the spoilers and plunderers, upon their summer fruits and harvest, when they destroyed them; and so the Targum,

"upon thy harvest, and upon thy vintage, spoilers have fallen;''

so Noldius ^g renders the words, "for upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy harvest, the shouting shall fall"; that is, the shouting of the enemy, spoiling their fruits and their harvest; and this seems to be the true sense, since it agrees with Jer 48:32 and the ceasing of the other kind of shouting is observed in the next verse Isa 16:10.

Gill: Isa 16:10

And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field,.... Or "is gathered" ^h, though their harvest was not; all cause of joy and gladness was removed; a plentiful field being foraged, trampled upon, and destroyed by the enemy, and left desolate without any to manure it:

and in the vineyards there shall be no singing; as there used to be by the men that gathered the grapes, and trod the wine presses; but now there would be no men in the vineyards, there being no grapes to gather or tread, as follows:

the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; the way in those times and countries being for men to tread the grapes, and the wine out of them, with their feet, in vats or vessels, and not in presses with screws and weights, as now:

I have made their vintage shouting to cease; by suffering the enemy to come in among them, which had destroyed their vintage, and so prevented their shouting, and spoiled their song.

Gill: Isa 16:11

Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab,.... Making a noise as the harp does, and a mournful one as that, when used at funerals; which it makes when it is stricken or played on with the hand, as these were, through the afflictive and punitive hand of God; and which, when stricken, causes a quavering of the strings, to which the inward trembling of the bowels is compared, and is very expressive of the prophet's sympathy, or those he personates; for, when one string of the harp is touched, the rest sound. For these words, as Kimchi says, are spoken in the language of the Moabites; those that survived lamenting the desolate state of their country, which must be very great and affecting; and to show that it was so is the design of the prophet's expressing himself after this manner; for if it was painful to him, it must be much more so to them; so the Targum,

"wherefore the bowels of the Moabites shall sound as a harp;''

of the sounding of the bowels, see Isa 63:15,

and mine inward parts for Kirharesh: the same with Kirhareseth, Isa 16:7 which being a principal city, the destruction of it was greatly laid to heart. The Targum is,

"and their heart shall grieve for the men of the city of their strength;''

it being a strong city, in which they placed their confidence; but being destroyed, and the inhabitants of it, it was very affecting, to which agrees Jer 48:31.

Gill: Isa 16:12

And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,.... With weeping there, Isa 15:2 or with frequent sacrifices, and going from one high place to another, as Balak king of Moab did; and by comparing places together, it looks as if this was the way of the Moabites in their distress, to offer up a multitude of sacrifices in different places; now, when it should be seen by others, and appear to themselves, that they wearied themselves in vain, and all their cries and sacrifices were to no purpose, they should then be ashamed of them, leave off, and betake themselves to some other method; though Jarchi interprets it of their being weary of fighting on the high places of their towers, which when observed, they would take another course, and apply to devotion:

that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; to the temple of Chemosh, and to pray to that idol to help him, 1Ki 11:7,

but he shall not prevail; his prayers shall be ineffectual; his suit will be fruitless, and without success; or "he cannot", that is, his idol cannot help him. So Kimchi interprets his sanctuary of the house of his God; and the Targum, of the house of his idolatry; yet since the house or temple of an idol is never called a sanctuary, it may be understood of God's sanctuary, the temple at Jerusalem; and the sense be, that when Moab shall see that his praying and sacrificing to idols are in vain, and he has tired himself with his superstition and idolatry, without having any redress, he shall think and express his desire of going up to the temple of Jerusalem, and of praying to the God of Israel; but he shall not be able to do it, because of the enemy; and could he get thither, he would not prevail with God, for the decree was gone forth, which could not be frustrated, as follows. Ben Melech interprets it of the palace of the king.

Gill: Isa 16:13

This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab,.... That is, this prophecy now delivered out is what comes from the Lord; it is the word of the Lord, and not of man, and so shall certainly come to pass; when this word was spoken follows:

since that time; from eternity, as some, and so refer it to the decree of God within himself; or from the time that Moab was in being, or a nation, as others; or from the time that Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel, so Jarchi; or rather from the time that the Lord made known his mind and will, concerning this matter, to the prophet Isaiah: for it should be rendered, "this is that word which the Lord spake concerning Moab then" ⁱ; that is, at the time or year in which Ahaz died, Isa 14:28 and is observed, to distinguish it from what the prophet spoke, or was about to speak, now or from this time, concerning him, as in the next verse Isa 16:14.

Gill: Isa 16:14

But now the Lord hath spoken,.... Something else. What follows is a distinct prophecy from the former, and has a date annexed to it, when it should be fulfilled: the former prophecy relates to the utter destruction of the Moabites by the Babylonians, in the times of Nebuchadnezzar; of which Jeremiah, Jer 48:1 prophesies, in much the same language as Isaiah; and so Jarchi observes, that the final destruction of Moab was by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar: but this was of a lesser nature, and to be accomplished in a short time, either by Shalmaneser, or by Sennacherib king of Assyria, or Esarhaddon his son:

saying, within three years, as the year of an hireling; that is, precisely and exactly three years, neither more nor fewer, neither sooner nor later; as whatever time is agreed upon by an hireling, as soon as ever it is out, which he often thinks of, and counts exactly, he demands his wages, and his freedom. Some think this prophecy bears date with the former, concerning the Philistines, which was the year King Ahaz died, Isa 14:28 and so had its accomplishment in the fourth year of Hezekiah, when Shalmaneser came up against Samaria ^k, and took Moab in his way, 2Ki 18:9 others, that it was given out in the fourth year of Hezekiah, when the Assyrian besieged Samaria, and after three years took it, and then returned and fell upon the Moabites; others place it in the eleventh year of Hezekiah, and suppose it to be fulfilled in his fourteenth by Sennacherib, about the same time he came up and took the fenced cities of Judah, and besieged Jerusalem, 2Ki 18:13 and with this agree the Jewish writers ^l, whose words are these,

"after those things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came into Judah, 2Ch 32:1 and at the same time sent Tartan to Ashdod, Isa 20:1 who overran the Ammonites and Moabites, who helped him when he besieged Samaria three years, that it might be fulfilled what is said, Isa 16:14 at the same time the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem.''

Upon which Kimchi observes, as an interpretation of the phrase, "as the years of an hireling",

"it is as if it was said, because they helped the king of Assyria three years against Samaria, it was as if they had been hired; therefore they fell by his hand, and the glory of Moab was light in the hand of the king of Assyria.''

But others make it to be three years after this time; but very likely it might be later still, about the eighteenth or nineteenth year of Hezekiah, as Gataker thinks, who, in his notes on this place, has collected all these senses, and made his observations on them; and so had its accomplishment in some expedition of Esarhaddon, who greatly weakened and impoverished the country of Moab, though he did not destroy it, and which was an earnest and pledge of the utter destruction of it before prophesied of. Noldius renders it, "after three years"; and so Grotius: it was in the first year of Hezekiah, as Noldius observes, that this was said; and in the fourth year of his reign, Shalmaneser came against Samaria, and in his way was the beginning of this destruction, and but a beginning of it, as he observes, yet a pledge of the consummation by Nebuchadnezzar, which was long after these three years of Isaiah.

And the glory of Moab shall be contemned with all that great multitude; of cities and towns, of the inhabitants of them, and of wealth and riches, things in which Moab gloried, and were reckoned weighty and heavy things; these were accounted light by the king of Assyria, who spoiled them, or at least greatly diminished them:

and the remnant shall be very small and feeble; or, "not mighty" or "strong"; those that were not cut off by the Assyrian army would be but few, and these weak and without strength, being dispossessed of their cities, and of their wealth; though, in process of time, between this, and the fulfilment of the former prophecy, and that of Jeremiah, they recovered themselves, and became very numerous and flourishing.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 16:1

¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).

² tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:2

¹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

² tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:3

¹ sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.

² tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.

³ tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:4

¹ tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

² tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

³ tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.

⁴ tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.

⁵ tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.

NET Notes: Isa 16:5

¹ tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”

² tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:6

¹ tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.

² tn Heb “not so his boasting.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:7

¹ tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”

² tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:9

¹ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

² tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

³ tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:10

¹ tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”

² sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.

NET Notes: Isa 16:11

¹ tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.

² tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.

³ tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).

NET Notes: Isa 16:12

¹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

² tn Heb “when he appears, when he grows tired, Moab on the high places, and enters his temple to pray, he will not prevail.” It is possible that “when he grows tired” is an explanatory gloss for the preceding “when he appears.”

NET Notes: Isa 16:14

¹ tn Heb “in three years, like the years of a hired worker.” The three years must be reckoned exactly, just as a hired worker would carefully keep track of the time he had agreed to work for an employer in exchange for a predetermined wage.

² tn Heb “and the splendor of Moab will be disgraced with all the great multitude, and a small little remnant will not be strong.”

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:1

Send ^{( a )} ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

^{( a )} That is, offer a sacrifice, by which he derides their long delay, who would not repent when the Lord called them, showing them that it is now too late seeing the vengeance of God is on them.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:2

For it shall be, [that], as a ^{( b )} wandering bird cast out of the nest, [so] the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

^{( b )} There is no remedy but that you must flee.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:3

Take counsel, execute judgment; ^{( c )} make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; discover not him that wandereth.

^{( c )} He shows what Moab would have done, when Israel their neighbour was in affliction, to whom because they would give no shadow or comfort, they are now left comfortless.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:4

Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner ^{( d )} is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

^{( d )} The Assyrians will oppress the Israelites but for a while.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:5

And in mercy shall the throne be established: ^{( e )} and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and swiftly executing righteousness.

^{( e )} Meaning, Christ.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:6

We have heard of the pride of Moab; [he is] very proud: [even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: [but] his ^{( f )} lies [shall] not [be] so.

^{( f )} Their vain confidence and proud bragging will deceive them, (Jer 48:2).

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:7

Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely [they are] ^{( g )} stricken.

^{( g )} For all your mourning, yet the city will be destroyed even to the foundation.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:8

For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah: ^{( h )} the lords of the nations have broken down her principal plants, they have come [even] to ^{( i )} Jazer, they wandered [through] the wilderness: her branches are extended, they have gone over the sea.

^{( h )} That is, the Assyrians and other enemies.

^{( i )} Meaning that the country of Moab was now destroyed, and all the precious things of it were carried into the borders yea into other countries and over the sea.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:9

Therefore I will ^{( k )} bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy ^{( l )} harvest is fallen.

^{( k )} He shows that their plague was so great that it would have moved any man to lament with them, as in (Psa 141:5).

^{( l )} The enemies are come upon you, and shout for joy when they carry your conveniences from you as in (Jer 48:33).

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:11

Wherefore my ^{( m )} heart shall sound like an harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kirharesh.

^{( m )} For sorrow and compassion.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:12

And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his ^{( n )} sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

^{( n )} They will use all means to seek help for their idols, and all in vain: for Chemosh their great god will not be able to help them.

Geneva Bible: Isa 16:14

But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, ^{( o )} Within three years, as the years of an ^{( p )} hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be despised, with all that great multitude; and the remnant [shall be] very small [and] feeble.

^{( o )} He appointed a certain time to punish the enemies in.

^{( p )} Who will observe justly the time for which he is hired and serve no longer but will ever long for it.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Isa 16:1-14

1 Moab is exhorted to yield obedience to the throne of David.

6 Moab is threatened for her pride.

9 The prophet bewails her.

12 The judgment of Moab.

MHCC: Isa 16:1-5

God tells sinners what they may do to prevent ruin; so he does to Moab. Let them send the tribute they formerly engaged to pay to Judah. Take it as good advice. Break off thy sins by righteousness, it may lengthen thy quiet. And this may be applied to the great gospel duty of submission to Christ. Send him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice. When you come to God, the great Ruler, come in the name of the Lamb, the Lamb of God. Those who will not submit to Christ, shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest, which shall be snatched up by the next bird of prey. Those who will not yield to the fear of God, shall be made to yield to the fear of every thing else. He advises them to be kind to the seed of Israel. Those that expect to find favour when in trouble themselves, must show favour to those in trouble. What is here said concerning the throne of Hezekiah, also belongs, in a much higher sense, to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Though by subjection to Him we may not enjoy worldly riches or honours, but may be exposed to poverty and contempt, we shall have peace of conscience and eternal life.

MHCC: Isa 16:6-14

Those who will not be counselled, cannot be helped. More souls are ruined by pride than by any other sin whatever. Also, the very proud are commonly very passionate. With lies many seek to gain the gratification of pride and passion, but they shall not compass proud and angry projects. Moab was famous for fields and vineyards; but they shall be laid waste by the invading army. God can soon turn laughter into mourning, and joy into heaviness. In God let us always rejoice with holy triumph; in earthly things let us always rejoice with holy trembling. The prophet looks with concern on the desolations of such a pleasant country; it causes inward grief. The false gods of Moab are unable to help; and the God of Israel, the only true God, can and will make good what he has spoken. Let Moab know her ruin is very near, and prepare. The most awful declarations of Divine wrath, discover the way of escape to those who take warning. There is no escape, but by submission to the Son of David, and devoting ourselves to him. And, at length, when the appointed time comes, all the glory, prosperity, and multitude of the wicked shall perish.

Matthew Henry: Isa 16:1-5

God has made it to appear that he delights not in the ruin of sinners by telling them what they may do to prevent the ruin; so he does here to Moab.

I. He advises them to be just to the house of David, and to pay the tribute they had formerly covenanted to pay to the kings of his line (Isa 16:1): Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land. David made the Moabites tributaries to him, 2Sa 8:2. They became his servants, and brought gifts. Afterwards they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel (2Ki 3:4), and paid it in lambs. Now the prophet requires them to pay it to Hezekiah. Let it be raised and levied from all parts of the country, from Selah, a frontier city of Moab on the one side, to the wilderness, a boundary of the kingdom on the other side: and let it be sent, where it should be sent, to the mount of the daughter of Zion, the city of David. Some take it as an advice to send a lamb for a sacrifice to God, the ruler of the earth (so it may be read), the Lord of the whole earth, ruler of all lands, the land of Moab as well as the land of Israel, "Send it to the temple built on Mount Zion."And some think it is in this sense spoken ironically, upbraiding the Moabites with their folly in delaying to repent and make their peace with God. "Now you would be glad to send a lamb to Mount Zion, to make the God of Israel your friend; but it is too late: the decree has gone forth, the consumption is determined, and the daughters of Moab shall be cast out as a wandering bird, "Isa 16:2. I rather take it as good advice seriously given, like that of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar when he was reading him his doom, Dan 4:27. Break off thy sins by righteousness, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. And it is applicable to the great gospel duty of submission to Christ, as the ruler of the land, and our ruler: "Send him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice. When you come to God, the great ruler, come in the name of the Lamb, the Lamb of God. For else it shall be "(so we may read it) " that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be. If you will not pay your quit-rent, your just tribute to the king of Judah, you shall be turned out of your houses: The daughters of Moab (the country villages, or the women of your country) shall flutter about the fords of Arnon, attempting that way to make their escape to some other land, like a wandering bird thrown out of the nest half-fledged."Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered under the shadow of his wings, shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest, that shall either be snatched up by the next bird of prey or shall wander endlessly in continual frights. Those that will not yield to the fear of God shall be made to yield to the fear of every thing else.

II. He advises them to be kind to the seed of Israel (Isa 16:3): "Take counsel, call a convention, and consult among yourselves what is fit to be done in the present critical juncture; and you will find it your best way to execute judgment, to reverse all the unrighteous decrees you have made, by which you have put hardships upon the people of God, and, in token of your repentance for them, study now how to oblige them, and this shall be accepted of God more than all burnt-offering and sacrifice."

1. The prophet foresaw some storm coming upon the people of God, perhaps the good people of the ten tribes, or of the two and a half on the other side Jordan, whose country joined to that of Moab, and who, by the merciful providence of God, escaped the fury of the Assyrian army, had their lives given them for a prey, and were reserved for better times, but were put to the utmost extremity to shift for their own safety. The danger and trouble they were in were like the scorching heat at noon; the face of the spoiler was very fierce upon them and the oppressor and extortioner were ready to swallow them up after stripping them of what they had.

2. He bespeaks a shelter for them in the land of Moab, when their own land was made too hot for them. This judgment they must execute; thus wisely must they do for themselves, and thus kindly must they deal with the people of God. If they would themselves continue in their habitations, let them now open their doors to the distressed dispersed members of God's church, and be to them like a cool shade to those that bear the burden and heat of the day. Let them not discover those that absconded among them, nor deliver them up to the pursuers that made search for them: " Betray not him that wandereth, nor deliver him up"(as the Edomites did, Oba 1:13, Oba 1:14), "but hide the outcasts. "This was that good work by which Rahab's faith was justified, and proved to be sincere, Heb 11:31. "Nay, do not only hide them for a time, but, if there be occasion, let them be naturalized: Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab (Isa 16:4); find a lodging for them and be thou a covert to them. Let them be taken under the protection of the government, though they are but poor, and likely to be a charge to thee."Note, (1.) It is often the lot even of those who are Israelites indeed to be outcasts, driven out of house and harbour by persecution or war, Heb 11:37. (2.) God owns them when men reject and disown them. They are outcasts, but they are my outcasts. The Lord knows those that are his wherever he finds them, even where no one else knows them. (3.) God will find a rest and shelter for his outcasts; for, though they are persecuted, they are not forsaken. He will himself be their dwelling-place if they have no other, and in him they shall be at home. (4.) God can, when he pleases, raise up friends for his people even among Moabites, when they can find none in all the land of Israel that can and dare shelter them. The earth often helps the woman, Rev 12:16. (5.) Those that expect to find favour when they are in trouble themselves must show favour to those that are in trouble; and what service is done to God's outcasts shall no doubt be recompensed one way or other.

3. He assures them of the mercy God had in store for his people. (1.) That they should not long need their kindness, or be troublesome to them: For the extortioner is almost at an end already, and the spoiler ceases. God's people shall not be long outcasts; they shall have tribulation ten days (Rev 2:10), and that is all. The spoiler would never cease spoiling if he might have his will; but God has him in a chain. Hitherto he shall go, but no further. (2.) That they should, ere long, be in a capacity to return their kindness (Isa 16:5): "Though the throne of the ten tribes be sunk and overturned, yet the throne of David shall be established in mercy, by the mercy they receive from God and the mercy they show to others; and by the same methods may your throne be established if you please."It would engage great men to be kind to the people of God if they would but observe, as they easily might, how often such conduct brings the blessing of God upon kingdoms and families. "Make Hezekiah your friend, for you will find it your interest to do so upon the account both of the grace of God in him and the presence of God with him. He shall sit upon the throne in truth, and then he does indeed sit in honour and sit firmly. Then he shall sit judging, and will then be a protector to those that have been a shelter to the people of God."And see in him the character of a good magistrate. [1.] He shall seek judgment; that is, he shall seek occasions of doing right to those that are wronged, and shall punish the injurious even before they are complained of: or he shall diligently search into every cause brought before him, that he may find where the right lies. [2.] He shall hasten righteousness, and not delay to do justice, nor keep those long waiting that make application to him for the redress of their grievances. Though he seeks judgment, and deliberates upon it, yet he does not, under pretence of deliberation, stay the progress of the streams of justice. Let the Moabites take example by this, and then assure themselves that their state shall be established.

Matthew Henry: Isa 16:6-14

Here we have, I. The sins with which Moab is charged, Isa 16:6. The prophet seems to check himself for going about to give good counsel to the Moabites, concluding they would not take the advice he gave them. He told them their duty (whether they would hear or whether they would forbear), but despairs of working any good upon them; he would have healed them, but they would not be healed. Those that will not be counselled cannot be helped. Their sins were, 1. Pride. This is most insisted upon; for perhaps there are more precious souls ruined by pride than by any one lust whatsoever. The Moabites were notorious for this: " We have heard in both ears of the pride of Moab; it is what all their neighbours cry out shame upon them for. He is very proud; the body of the nation is so, forgetting the baseness of their origin and the brand of infamy fastened upon them by that law of God which forbade a Moabite to enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever, Deu 23:3. We have heard of his haughtiness and his pride. It is not the rash and rigid censure of one of two concerning them, but it is the character which all that know them will give of them. They are a proud people, and therefore they will not take good counsel when it is given them. They think themselves too wise to be advised; therefore they will not take example by Hezekiah to do justly and love mercy. They scorn to make him their pattern, for they think themselves able to teach him. They are proud, and therefore will not be subject to God himself nor regard the warnings he gives them. The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. They are proud, and therefore will not entertain and protect God's outcasts; they scorn to have any thing to do with them."But this is not all: - 2. "We have heard of his wrath too (for those that are very proud are commonly very passionate), particularly his wrath against the people of God, whom therefore he will rather persecute than protect. 3. It is with his lies that he gains the gratifications of his pride and his passion; but his lies shall not be so; he shall not compass his proud and angry projects as he hoped he should."Some read it, His haughtiness, his pride, and his wrath, are greater than his strength. "We know that, if we lay at his mercy, we should find no mercy with him, but he has not power equal to his malice. His pride draws down ruin upon him; for it is the preface to destruction, and he has not strength to ward it off."

II. The sorrows with which Moab is threatened (Isa 16:7): Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab. All the inhabitants shall bitterly lament the ruin of their country. They shall complain one to another: Every one shall howl in despair, and not one shall either see any cause or have any heart to encourage his friend. Observe,

1. The causes of this sorrow. (1.) The destruction of their cities: For the foundations of Kir-haraseth shall you mourn. That great and strong city, which had held out against a mighty force (2Ki 3:25), should now be levelled with the ground, either burnt or broken down, and its foundations stricken, bruised and broken (so the word signifies); they shall howl when they see their splendid cities turned into ruinous heaps. (2.) The desolation of their country. Moab was famous for its fields and vineyards; but those shall all be laid waste by the invading army, Isa 16:8, Isa 16:10. See, [1.] What a fruitful pleasant country they had, as the garden of the Lord, Gen 13:10. It was planted with choice and noble vines, with principal plants, which reached even to Jazer, a city in the tribe of Gad. The luxuriant branches of their vines wandered, and wound themselves along the ranges on which they were spread, even through the wilderness of Moab. There were vineyards there. Nay, they were stretched out, and went even to the sea, the Dead Sea: the best grapes grew in their hedge-rows. [2.] How merry and pleasant they had been in it. Many a time they had shouted for their summer fruits, and for their harvest, as the country people sometimes do with us when they have cut down all their corn. They had had joy and gladness in their fields and vineyards, singing and shouting at the treading of their grapes. Nothing is said of their praising God for their abundance, and giving him the glory of it. If they had made it the matter of their thanksgiving, they might still have had it the food and fuel of their lusts; see therefore, [3.] How they should be stripped of all. "The fields shall languish, all the fruits of them being carried away or trodden down; they cannot now enrich their owners as they have done, and therefore they languish. The soldiers, called here the lords of the heathen, shall break down all the plants, though they were principal plants, the choicest that could be got. Now the shouting for the enjoyment of the summer fruits has fallen, and is turned into howling for the loss of them. The joy of harvest has ceased; there is no more singing, no more shouting, for the treading out of wine. They have not what they have had to rejoice in, nor have they a disposition to rejoice; the ruin of their country has marred their mirth."Note, First, God can easily change the note of those that are most addicted to mirth and pleasure, can soon turn their laughter into mourning and their joy into heaviness. Secondly, Joy in God is, upon this account, far better than the joy of harvest, that it is what we cannot be robbed of, Psa 4:6, Psa 4:7. Destroy the vines and the fig-trees, and you make all the mirth of a carnal heart to cease, Hos 2:11, Hos 2:12. But a gracious soul can rejoice in the Lord as the God of its salvation even when the fig-tree does not blossom and there is no fruit in the vine, Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18. In God therefore let us always rejoice with a holy triumph, and in other things let us always rejoice with a holy trembling, rejoice as though we rejoiced not.

2. The concurrence of the prophet with them in this sorrow: " I will with weeping bewail Jazer, and the vine of Sibmah, and look with a compassionate concern upon the desolations of such a pleasant country. I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon! and mingle them with thy tears;"nay (Isa 16:11), it appears to be an inward grief: My bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab; it should make such an impression upon him that he should feel an inward trembling, like that of the strings of a harp when it is played upon. It well becomes God's prophets to acquaint themselves with grief; the great prophet did so. The afflictions of the world, as well as those of the church, should be afflictions to us. See Isa 15:5.

III. In the close of the chapter we have, 1. The insufficiency of the gods of Moab, the false gods, to help them, Isa 16:12. "Moab shall be soon weary of the high place. He shall spend his spirits and strength in vain in praying to his idols; they cannot help him, and he shall be convinced that they cannot."It is seen that it is to no purpose to expect any relief from the high places on earth; it must come from above the hills. Men are generally so stupid that they will not believe, till they are made to see, the vanity of idols and of all creature-confidences, nor will come off from them till they are made weary of them. But, when he is weary of his high places, he will not go, as he should, to God's sanctuary, but to his sanctuary, to the temple of Chemosh, the principal idol of Moab (so it is generally understood); and he shall pray there to as little purpose, and as little to his own case and satisfaction, as he did in his high places; for, whatever honours idolaters give to their idols, they do not thereby make them at all the better able to help them. Whether they are the dii majorum gentium - gods of the higher order, or minorum - of the lower order, they are alike the creatures of men's fancy and the work of men's hands. Perhaps it may be meant of their coming to God's sanctuary. When they found they could have no succours from their own high places some of them would come to the temple of God at Jerusalem, to pray there, but in vain; he will justly send them back to the gods whom they have served, Jdg 10:14. 2. The sufficiency of the God of Israel, the only true God, to make good what he had spoken against them. (1.) The thing itself was long since determined (Isa 16:13): This is the word, this is the thing, that the Lord has spoken concerning Moab, since the time that he began to be so proud, and insolent, and abusive to God's people. The country was long ago doomed to ruin; this was enough to give an assurance of it that it is the word which the Lord has spoken; and, as he will never unsay what he has spoken, so all the power of hell and earth cannot gainsay it, or obstruct the execution of it. (2.) Now it was made known when it should be done. The time was before fixed in the counsel of God, but now it was revealed: The Lord has spoken that it shall be within three years, Isa 16:14. It is not for us to know, or covet to know, the times and the seasons, any further than God has thought fit to make them known, and so far we may and must take notice of them. See how God makes known his mind by degrees; the light of divine revelation shone more and more, and so does the light of divine grace in the heart. Observe, [1.] The sentence passed upon Moab: The glory of Moab shall be contemned, that is, it shall be contemptible, when all those things they have gloried in shall come to nothing. Such is the glory of this world, so fading and uncertain, admired awhile, but soon slighted. Let that therefore which will soon be contemptible in the eyes of others be always contemptible in our eyes in comparison with the far more exceeding weight of glory. It was the glory of Moab that their country was very populous and their forces were courageous; but where is her glory when all that great multitude is in a manner swept away, some by one judgment and some by another, and the little remnant that is left shall be very small and feeble, not able to bear up under their own griefs, much less to make head against their enemies' insults? Let not therefore the strong glory in their strength nor the many in their numbers. [2.] The time fixed for the execution of this sentence: Within three years, as the years of a hireling, that is, at the three years' end exactly, for a servant that is hired for a certain term keeps account to a day. Let Moab know that her ruin is very near, and prepare accordingly. Fair warning is given, and with it space to repent, which if they had improved, as Nineveh did, we have reason to think the judgments threatened would have been prevented.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:1

But just because this lion is Judah and its government, the summons goes forth to the Moabites, who have fled to Edom, and even to Sela , i.e., Petra ( Wady Musa ), near Mount Hor in Arabia Petraea, to which it gave its name, to turn for protection to Jerusalem. "Send a land-ruler's tribute of lambs from Sela desert-wards to the mountain of the daughter of Zion." This v. is like a long-drawn trumpet-blast. The prophecy against Moab takes the same turn here as in Isa 14:32; Isa 18:7; Isa 19:16., Isa 23:18. The judgment first of all produces slavish fear; and this is afterwards refined into loving attachment. Submission to the house of David is Moab's only deliverance. This is what the prophet, weeping with those that weep, calls out to them in such long-drawn, vehement, and urgent tones, even into the farthest hiding-place in which they have concealed themselves, viz., the rocky city of the Edomites. The tribute of lambs which was due to the ruling prince is called briefly car mōshēl - 'eretz . This tribute, which the holders of the pasture-land so rich in flocks have hitherto sent to Samaria (2Ki 3:4), they are now to send to Jerusalem, the "mountain of the daughter of Zion"(as in Isa 10:32, compared with Isa 18:7), the way to which lay through "the desert," i.e., first of all in a diagonal direction through the Arabah, which stretched downwards to Aelath.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:2

The advice does not remain without effect, but they embrace it eagerly. "And the daughters of Moab will be like birds fluttering about, a scared nest, at the fords of the Arnon." "The daughters of Moab,"like "the daughters of Judah,"for example, in Psa 48:12, are the inhabitants of the cities and villages of the land of Moab. They were already like birds soaring about (Pro 27:8), because of their flight from their own land; but here, as we may see from the expression תהיינה ... והיה , the simile is intended to depict the condition into which they would be thrown by the prophet's advice. The figure (cf., Isa 10:14) as well as the expression (cf., Isa 17:2) is thoroughly Isaiah's. It is a state of anxious and timid indecision, resembling the fluttering to and fro of birds, that have been driven away from their nest, and wheel anxiously round and round, without daring to return to their old home. In this way the daughters of Moab, coming out of their hiding-places, whether nearer or more remote, show themselves at the fords of the Arnon, that is to say, on the very soil of their old home, which was situated between the Arnon and Wady el-Ahsa, and which was now devastated by the hand of a foe. לארנון מעברות we should regard as in apposition to b^e noth Moab (the daughters of Moab), if m a‛bâroth signifies the coast-lands (like ‛ebrē in Isa 7:20), and not, as it invariably does, the fords. It is locative in its meaning, and is so accentuated.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:3-5

There they show themselves, on the spot to which their land once reached before it passed into the possession of Israel - there , on its farthest boundary in the direction towards Judah, which was seated above; and taking heart, address the following petitions to Zion, or to the Davidic court, on the other side. "Give counsel, form a decision, make thy shadow like night in the midst of noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the wanderers. Let mine outcasts tarry in thee, Moab; be a covert to it from before the spoiler." In their extremity they appeal to Zion for counsel, and the once proud but now thoroughly humbled Moabites place the decision of their fate in the hands of the men of Judah (so according to the Keri ), and stand before Zion praying most earnestly for shelter and protection. Their fear of the enemy is so great, that in the light of the noon-day sun they desire to be covered with the protecting shade of Zion as with the blackness of night, that they may not be seen by the foe. The short-sentences correspond to the anxious urgency of the prayer (cf., Isa 33:8). Pelilâh (cf., peililyyâh , Isa 28:7) is the decision of a judge (pâlil ); just as in Isa 15:5 sheilshiyyâh is the age and standing of three years. The figure of the shadow is the same as in Isa 30:2-3; Isa 32:2, etc.; nōdēd is the same as in Isa 21:14; niddâchai as in Isa 11:12; sēther as in Isa 32:2, and other passages; shōdēd as in Isa 33:1; mipp^e nē as in Isa 21:15. The whole is word for word Isaiah's. There is no necessity to read nidchē instead of niddâc Mo'âb in Isa 16:4; still less is ay a collective termination, as in Isa 20:4. Nor are the words to be rendered "my outcasts ... of Moab,"and the expression to be taken as a syntaxis ornata (cf., Isa 17:6). On the contrary, such an expression is absolutely impossible here, where the speaker is alluding to himself. It is better to abide by the punctuation as we have it, with niddâchai ( zakeph ) closing the first clause of Isa 16:4 , and Moab ( tebir , which is subordinate to the following tiphchah , and with this to athnach ) opening the second as an absolute noun. This is the way in which we have rendered it above: "Moab ... be a shield to it ... "(though without taking lâmō as equivalent to lō ).

The question then arises, By what means has Zion awakened such reverence and confidence on the part of Moab? This question is answered in Isa 16:4 , Isa 16:5 : "For the extortioner is at an end, desolation has disappeared, treaders down are away from the land. And a throne is established by grace, and there sits thereon in truth in the tent of David one judging, and zealous for right, and practised in righteousness." The imperial world-power, which pressed out both marrow and blood ( mētz , a noun of the same form as lētz , like mı̄tz in Pro 30:33, pressure), and devastated and trod down everything (Isa 29:20; Isa 10:6; Isa 33:1, cf., Isa 16:8), is swept away from the land on this side of the Jordan; Jerusalem is not subject to it now, but has come forth more gloriously out of all her oppressions than ever she did before. And the throne of the kingdom of Judah has not fallen down, but by the manifestation of Jehovah's grace has been newly established. There no longer sits thereon a king who dishonours Him, and endangers His kingdom; but the tent-roof of the fallen and now re-erected hut of David (Amo 9:11) is spread over a King in whom the truth of the promise of Jehovah is verified, inasmuch as justice and righteousness are realized through all that He does. The Messianic times must therefore have dawned (so the Targum understands it), since grace and truth ( chesed ve'emeth ) and "justice and righteousness"( m ishpât ūtzedâkâh ) are the divino-human signs of those times, and as it were their kindred genii; and who can here fail to recall to mind the words of Isa 9:6 (cf., Isa 33:5-6)? The king depicted here is the same as "the lion out of Judah,"threatened against Moab in Isa 15:9. Only by thus submitting to Him and imploring His grace will it escape the judgment.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:6

But if Moab does this, and the law of the history of Israel, which is that "a remnant shall return,"is thus reflected in the history of Moab; Isa 16:6 cannot possibly contain the answer which Moab receives from Zion, as the more modern commentators assume according to an error that has almost become traditional. On the contrary, the prophecy enters here upon a new stage, commencing with Moab's sin, and depicting the fate of Moab in still more elegiac strains. "We have heard of the pride of Moab, the very haughty ( pride ) , his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, the falsehood of his speech." The future self-humiliation of Moab, which would be the fruit of its sufferings, is here contrasted with the previous self-exaltation, of which these sufferings were the fruit. "We have heard," says the prophet, identifying himself with his people. Boasting pompousness has hitherto been the distinguishing characteristic of Moab in relation to the latter (see Isa 25:11). The heaping up of words of the same verbal stem (cf., Isa 3:1) is here intended to indicate how thoroughly haughty was their haughtiness (cf., Rom 7:13, "that sin might become exceeding sinful"), and how completely it had taken possession of Moab. It boasted and was full of rage towards Israel, to which, so far as it retained its consciousness of the truth of Jehovah, the talk of Moab ( בדיו from בדד = בדא , בטא , to talk at random) must necessarily appear as לא־כן , not-right , i.e., at variance with fact. These expressions of opinion had been heard by the people of God, and, as Jeremiah adds in Jer 48:29-30, by Israel's God as well.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:7-8

Therefore the delightful land is miserably laid waste. "Therefore will Moab wail for Moab, everything will wail: for the grape-cakes of Kir-hareseth will ye whine, utterly crushed. For the fruit-fields of Heshbon have faded away: the vine of Sibmah, lords of the nations its branches smote down; they reached to Ja'zer, trailed through the desert: its branches spread themselves out wide, crossed over the sea." The Lamed in l'Moab is the same as in Isa 15:5, and in la'ashishē , which follows here. Kir - hareseth (written Kir - heres in Isa 16:11, and by Jeremiah; compare 2Ki 3:25, where the vowel-pointing is apparently false): Heres or Hareseth may possibly refer to the glazed tiles or grooved stones. As this was the principal fortress of Moab, and according to Isa 15:1 it had already been destroyed, ‛ashishē appears to mean the "strong foundations,"- namely, as laid bare; in other words, the "ruins"(cf., Jer 50:15, and mōs^e dē in Isa 58:12). But in every other passage in which the word occurs it signifies a kind of cake; and as the devastation of the vines of Moab is made the subject of mourning afterwards, it has the same meaning here as in Hos 3:1, namely raisin-cakes , or raisins pressed into the form of cakes. Such cakes as these may have been a special article of the export trade of Kir. Jeremiah has altered 'ashishē into 'anshē (Jer 48:31), and thus made men out of the grapes. Hâgâh is to be understood in accordance with Isa 38:14; Isa 59:11 (viz., of the cooing of the dove); 'ac (in good texts it is written with mercha , not with makkeph ) according to Deu 16:15. On the construction of the pluralet . shadmoth , compare Hab 3:17. We have rendered the clause commencing with baalē goyim (lords of the nations) with the same amphibolism as we find in the Hebrew. It might mean either "lords of the nations ( domini gentium ) smote down its branches"(viz., those of the vine of Sibmah ;

(Note: In MSS Shibmah is written with gaya , in order that the two labials may be distinctly expressed.)

hâlam being used as in Isa 41:7), or "its branches smote down (i.e., intoxicated) lords of the nations"( dominos gentium ; hâlam having the same meaning as in the undisputed prophecy of Isaiah in Isa 28:1). As the prophet enlarges here upon the excellence of the Moabitish wine, the latter is probably intended. The wine of Sibmah was so good, that it was placed upon the tables of monarchs, and so strong that it smote down, i.e., inevitably intoxicated, even those who were accustomed to good wines. This Sibmah wine was cultivated, as the prophet says, far and wide in Moab - northwards as far as Ja'zer (between Ramoth, i.e., Salt, and Heshbon, now a heap of ruins), eastwards into the desert, and southwards across the Dead Sea - a hyperbolical expression for close up to its shores. Jeremiah defines yâm (the sea) more closely as yam Ja‛zer (the sea of Jazer; vid., Jer 48:32), so that the hyperbole vanishes. But what sea can the sea of Jazer be? Probably some celebrated large pool, like the pools of Heshbon, in which the waters of the Wady ( Nahr ) Sir , which takes its rise close by, were collected. Seetzen found some pools still there. The "sea"(yâm ) in Solomon's temple shows clearly enough that the term sea was also commonly applied to artificial basins of a large size; and in Damascus the marble basins of flowing water in the halls of houses are still called baharât ; and the same term is applied to the public reservoirs in all the streets of the city, which are fed by a network of aqueducts from the river Baradâ . The expression "break through the desert"(tâ‛u m idbâr ) is also a bold one, probably pointing to the fact that, like the red wines of Hungary at the present time, they were trailing vines, which did not require to be staked, but ran along the ground.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:9

The beauties of nature and fruitfulness of the land, which come into the possession of any nation, are gifts from the riches of divine goodness, remnants of the paradisaical commencement of the history of man, and types of its paradisaical close; and for this very reason they are not matters of indifference to the spirit of prophecy. And for the same reason, it is not unworthy of a prophet, who predicts the renovation of nature and the perfecting of it into the beauty of paradise, to weep over such a devastation as that of the Moabitish vineyards which was now passing before his mind (cf., Isa 32:12-13). "Therefore I bemoan the vines of Sibmah with the weeping of Jazer; I flood thee with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, that Hêdad hath fallen upon thy fruit-harvest and upon thy vintage." A tetrastich, the Hebrew equivalent, in measure and movement, of a sapphic strophe. The circumstantiality of the vision is here swallowed up again by the sympathy of the prophet; and the prophecy, which is throughout as truly human as it is divine, becomes soft and flowing like an elegy. The prophet mingles his tears with the tears of Jazer. Just as the latter weeps for the devastated vines of Sibmah , so does he also weep. The form אריּו ך , transposed from ארוּי ך = ארוּ ך (cf., Ewald, §253, a, where it is explained as being a rare "voluntative"formation), corresponds to the elegiac tone of the whole strophe. Heshbon and Elealeh , those closely connected cities, with their luxuriant fields ( sh^e demoth , Isa 16:8), are now lying in ruins; and the prophet waters them with tears, because hedad has fallen upon the fruit-harvest and vintage of both the sister cities. In other instances the term kâtzı̄r is applied to the wheat-harvest ; but here it is used in the same sense as bâtzı̄r , to which it is preferred on account of Isaiah's favourite alliteration, viz., with kaytz (compare, for example, the alliteration of mistor with sēther in Isa 4:6). That it does not refer to the wheat-harvest here, but to the vintage, which was nearly coincident with the fruit-harvest (which is called kaytz , as in Isa 28:4), is evident from the figure suggested in the word hēdâd , which was the shout raised by the pressers of the grapes, to give the time for moving their feet when treading out the wine (Isa 16:10; Jer 25:30). A hēdâd of this kind had fallen upon the rich floors of Heshbon-Elealeh, inasmuch as they had been trodden down by enemies - a Hedad , and yet no Hedad , as Jeremiah gives it in a beautiful oxymoron (Jer 48:33), i.e., no joyous shout of actual grape-treaders.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:10-11

The prophet, to whose favourite words and favourite figures Carmel belongs, both as the name of a place and as the name of a thing, now proceeds with his picture, and is plunged still more deeply into mourning. "And joy is taken away, and the rejoicing of the garden-land; and there is no exulting, no shouting in the vineyards: the treader treads out no wine in the presses; I put an end to the Hedad. Therefore my bowels sound for Moab like a harp, and my inside for Kir-heres." It is Jehovah who says "I put an end;"and consequently the words, "My bowels sound like a harp,"or, as Jeremiah expresses it (Jer 48:36), like flutes, might appear to be expressive of the feelings of Jehovah. And the Scriptures do not hesitate to attribute m ē‛ayim ( viscera ) to God (e.g., Isa 63:15; Jer 31:20). But as the prophet is the sympathizing subject throughout the whole of the prophecy, it is better, for the sake of unity, to take the words in this instance also as expressing the prophet's feelings. Just as the hand or plectrum touches the strings of the harp, so that they vibrate with sound; so did the terrible things that he had heard Jehovah say concerning Moab touch the strings of his inward parts, and cause them to resound with notes of pain. By the bowels, or rather entrails ( viscera ), the heart, liver, and kidneys are intended - the highest organs of the Psyche, and the sounding-board, as it were, of those "hidden sounds"which exist in every man. God conversed with the prophet "in the spirit;"but what passed there took the form of individual impressions in the domain of the soul, in which impressions the bodily organs of the psychical life sympathetically shared. Thus the prophet saw in the spirit the purpose of God concerning Moab, in which he could not and would not make any change; but it threw his soul into all the restlessness of pain.

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:12

The ultimate reason for this restlessness is, that Moab does not know the living God. "And it will come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary with weeping upon the mountain height, and enters into its sanctuary to pray, it will not gain anything." נלאה נראה , a pictorial assonance, such as Isaiah delights in. נראה .ni st is transferred from the Israelitish worship (appearance before God in His temple) to the heathen; syntactically, si apparuerit , etc., with Vav before the apodosis. It would be with the Moabites as with the priests of Baal in the time of Elijah (1Ki 18:26.).

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 16:13-14

The massa is now brought to a close, and there follows an epilogue which fixes the term of the fulfilment of what is not predicted now for the first time, from the standpoint of the anticipated history. "This is the word which Jehovah spake long ago concerning Moab. And now Jehovah speaketh thus: In three years, like years of a hireling, the glory of Moab is disgraced, together with all the multitude of the great; a remnant is left, contemptibly small, not great at all." The time fixed is the same as in Isa 20:3. Of working time the hirer remits nothing, and the labourer gives nothing in. The statement as to the time, therefore, is intended to be taken exactly: three years, not more, rather under than over. Then will the old saying of God concerning Moab be fulfilled. Only a remnant, a contemptible remnant, will be left ( וּשׁאר , cf., וּמשׂושׂ , Isa 8:6, in sense equivalent to ושׁאר ); for every history of the nations is but the shadow of the history of Israel.

The massa in Isaiah 15:1-16:12 was a word that had already gone forth from Jehovah "long ago."This statement may be understood in three different senses. In the first place, Isaiah may mean that older prophecies had already foretold essentially the same concerning Moab. But what prophecies? We may get an answer to this question from the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning Moab in Jer 48. Jeremiah there reproduces the massa Moab of the book of Isaiah, but interweaves with it reminiscences (1.) out of the m âshal on Moab in Num 21:27-30; (2.) out of Balaam's prophecy concerning Moab in Num 24:17; (3.) out of the prophecy of Amos concerning Moab (Amo 2:1-3). And it might be to these earlier words of prophecy that Isaiah here refers (Hävernick, Drechsler, and others). But this is very improbable, as there is no ring of these earlier passages in the massa , such as we should expect if Isaiah had had them in his mind. Secondly , Isaiah might mean that Isa 15:1. contained the prophecy of an older prophet, which he merely brought to remembrance in order to connect therewith the precise tenor of its fulfilment which had been revealed to him. This is at present the prevailing view. Hitzig, in a special work on the subject (1831), as well as in his Commentary, has endeavoured to prove, on the ground of 2Ki 14:25, that in all probability Jonah was the author of the oracle which Isaiah here resumes. And Knobel, Maurer, Gus tav Baur, and Thenius agree with him in this; whilst De Wette, Ewald, and Umbreit regard it as, at any rate, decidedly non-Messianic. If the conjecture that Jonah was the author could but be better sustained, we should heartily rejoice in this addition to the history of the literature of the Old Testament. But all that we know of Jonah is at variance with such a conjecture. He was a prophet of the type of Elijah and Elisha, in whom the eloquence of a prophet's words was thrown altogether into the shade by the energy of a prophet's deeds. His prophecy concerning the restoration of the kingdom of Israel to its old boundaries, which was fulfilled by the victories of Jeroboam II, we cannot therefore imagine to have been so pictorial or highly poetical as the massa Moab (which would only be one part of that prophecy) really is; and the fact that he was angry at the sparing of Nineveh harmonizes very badly with its elegiac softness and its flood of tears. Moreover, it is never intimated that the conquerors to whom Moab was to succumb would belong to the kingdom of Israel; and the hypothesis is completely overthrown by the summons addressed to Moab to send tribute to Jerusalem. But the conclusion itself, that the oracle must have originated with any older prophet whatever, is drawn from very insufficient premises. No doubt it is a thing altogether unparalleled even in Isaiah, that a prophecy should assume so thoroughly the form of a kinah , or lamentation; still there are tendencies to this in Isa 22:4 (cf., Isa 21:3-4), and Isaiah was an inexhaustible master of language of every character and colour. It is true we do light upon many expressions which cannot be pointed out anywhere else in the book of Isaiah, such as baalē goyim , hedâd , y^e lâlâh , yâra‛ , yithrâh , m âhir , m ētz , nosâphoth , pekuddâh (provision, possession); and there is something peculiar in the circular movement of the prophecy, which is carried out to such an extent in the indication of reason and consequence, as well as in the perpetually returning, monotonous connection of the sentences by c i (for) and ‛al - cēn (lâcēn , therefore), the former of which is repeated twice in Isa 15:1, three times in Isa 15:8-9, and four times in succession in Isa 15:5-6. But there is probably no prophecy, especially in chapters 13-23, which does not contain expressions that the prophet uses nowhere else; and so far as the conjunctions c i and a‛ l - cēn (lâcēn ), are concerned, Isaiah crowds them together in other passages as well, and here almost to monotony, as a natural consequence of the prevailing elegiac tone. Besides, even Ewald can detect the characteristics of Isaiah in Isa 16:1-6; and you have only to dissect the whole rhetorically, syntactically, and philologically, with the carefulness of a Caspari, to hear throughout the ring of Isaiah's style. And whoever has retained the impression which he brought with him from the oracle against Philistia, will be constrained to say, that not only the stamp and outward form, but also the spirit and ideas, are thoroughly Isaiah's. Hence the third possible conjecture must be the correct one. Thirdly , then, Isaiah may mean that the fate of Moab, which he has just proclaimed, was revealed to him long ago; and the addition made now is, that it will be fulfilled in exactly three years. מאז does not necessarily point to a time antecedent to that of Isaiah himself (compare Isa 44:8; Isa 48:3, Isa 48:5, Isa 48:7, with 2Sa 15:34). If we assume that what Isaiah predicts down to Isa 16:12 was revealed to him in the year that Ahaz died, and that the epilogue reckons from the third or tenth year of Hezekiah, in either case the interval is long enough for the m ê'âz (from of old). And we decide in favour of this. Unfortunately, we know nothing certain as to the time at which the three years commence. The question whether it was Shalmanassar, Sargon, or Sennacherib who treated the Moabites so harshly, is one that we cannot answer. In Herodotus (ii. 141), Sennacherib is called "king of the Arabians and Assyrians;"and Moab might be included in the Arabians. In any case, after the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy in the Assyrian times, there was still a portion left, the fulfilment of which, according to Jer 48, was reserved for the Chaldeans.

Constable: Isa 7:1--39:8

III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7--39

This long section of the book deals with Israel's major decision in Isaiah's day. Would she trust in Yahweh or in other nations? The decision was a matter of faith; who is more trustworthy, God or strong people? God promised that trust in the nations would result in destruction (ch. 34) but trust in Him would bring abundance (ch. 35). Israel's decision would also determine whether she had a message for the nations or not and whether she would fulfill her mission to the nations or not. This decision is, of course, one that the people of God of all ages continually face.

Constable: Isa 13:1--35:10

B. God's sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35

This major section of the book emphasizes the folly of trusting in the nations rather than in Yahweh. The section preceding it shows how King Ahaz trusted in Assyria and experienced destruction (chs. 7-12). The section following it shows how King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and experienced deliverance (chs. 36-39). In this section the prophet expanded his perspective from Israel to include the world. The God of Israel is also Lord of the nations.

Constable: Isa 13:1--23:18

1. Divine judgments on the nations chs. 13-23

The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle" or "burden," prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.¹⁴⁰ These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's hatred of Assyria's pride (10:5-34; cf. 2:6-22; 13:11, 19; 14:11; 16:6; 17:7-11; 23:9). They are announcements of doom on these nations, but they are also announcements of salvation for Israel if she would trust in Yahweh. Isaiah delivered them to Israel rather than to the nations mentioned. Thus they assured the Israelites of Yahweh's sovereignty over the nations with a view to encouraging God's people to trust in the Lord (cf. Jer. 46-51; Ezek. 25-32; Amos 1-2). It would be foolish to trust in nations whom God has doomed. The unifying theme is the pride of these nations. Exalting self and failing to acknowledge God results in destruction.

". . . He [God] will hold every nation accountable for its actions."¹⁴¹

It is helpful to notice the structure of this section and the one that follows it.¹⁴²

Babylon (13:1-14:27)Political overthrow	The desert by the sea (Babylon) (21:1-10)Religious overthrow	The city of emptiness (24:1-20)Broken laws and gates
Philistia (14:28-32)A Davidic king will yet reign in Zion	Silence (Edom) (21:11-12)Indefinite continuance of things as they are	Zion's king (24:21-23)"After many days"
Moab (chs. 15-16)Moab in need, but through pride suffers destruction in spite of shelter in Zion	Evening (Arabia) (21:13-17)Desert tribes in need: no ultimate refuge in mutual security	The great banquet (ch. 25)All nations feasted in Zion save Moab, excluded by pride
Damascus/Ephraim (chs. 17-18)Strong cities forsaken; the forgotten rock	The Valley of Vision (Jerusalem) (ch. 22)The city torn down	The city of God (ch. 26)The strong city; the everlasting rock
Egypt (chs. 19-20)Co-equal membership: Egypt, Assyria and Israel	Tyre (ch. 23)Holiness to the Lord	The final gathering (ch. 27)The harvest from Egypt and Assyria

Note that each of the first two columns of oracles (chs. 13-23) begins with Babylon, and the third deals with Israel, which the peoples of the world surround. In the first list Babylon is to Israel's north, Philistia to the west, Moab to the east, and Egypt to the south. In the second list Babylon is to the north, Edom to the south, Arabia to the east, and Tyre to the west. Thus the selection of these nations suggests that Israel occupies the central place in God's plans, and the surrounding nations are vulnerable.¹⁴³

Constable: Isa 13:1--20:6

The first series of five oracles chs. 13-20

The first series shows that God has placed Israel at the center of His dealings with the Gentile nations. The second series projects the principles revealed in the first series into the future moving from concrete historical names to more enigmatic allusions. The third series points far ahead into the eschatological future but shows that the same principles will apply then. God's dealings with the nations in Isaiah's day was a sign of His similar dealings with them in the future.

Constable: Isa 15:1--16:14

The oracle against Moab chs. 15-16

"The Babylon oracle revealed that world history, even in its most threatening and climactic forms, is so organized that the people of God are cared for. The Philistia oracle confirmed this by insisting that the Davidic promises would be kept, and the Moab oracle corrects any impression that the hope expressed in the Davidic promises is exclusivist."¹⁶⁶

The literary structure of this oracle is generally chiastic focusing the reader's attention on security in Zion (16:4b-5). It is very difficult to date it.¹⁶⁷ Moab lay east of Judah and the Dead Sea between the Arnon and Zered Rivers and occupied an area about 30 miles long and 30 miles wide. The Moabites were more friendly neighbors of Judah than the Edomites or the Ammonites, who also lived east of the Jordan River.¹⁶⁸ But hostility toward Judah due to land claims in Transjordan had a long history and resulted in deep antagonism (cf. Zeph. 2:9-10). The point of this oracle is that Judah should not rely on Moab because she would suffer destruction.

15:1 Isaiah began by announcing Moab's certain ruin. The two main cities, Ar on the Arnon and Kir in central Moab, would fall quickly.

15:2-4 The Moabites would express great grief over their national defeat. Dibon was the site of a temple to the Moabite god Chemosh. Many of the people would go there to bewail Chemosh's inability to save them. They would also mourn the loss of the towns of Nebo and Medeba in typical Near Eastern fashion. The residents of Heshbon and Elealeh in the north of Moab would be heard wailing in Jahaz to the south it would be so great. Even soldiers would cry aloud in fear.

15:5-9 The Lord also expressed His grief over Moab's coming judgment through the prophet (cf. 21:3-4; 22:4; Jer. 9:1). Isaiah took up God's words in his own mouth and represented God's thoughts and words by using the first person singular (cf. 16:9). The Moabite refugees would move from place to place trying to find security. Their movement would be generally south, so the enemy may have descended from the north. The whole country would suffer devastation. Even though people would flee, they would not escape destruction. A lion is frequently an image of a fierce, implacable attacker in biblical poetry (v. 9; cf. Amos 3:12).

16:1-4a Moab would plead for shelter from her enemy. Her leaders would send a lamb as a tribute from their hiding place in some wilderness stronghold (possibly Sela in Edom) to the king of Judah requesting help. The Moabite refugees would be as frightened as birds hovering on their border. They would seek refuge in Judah.¹⁶⁹

16:4b-5 Moab would find security in Zion because extortion and destruction had ceased in Judah, and oppressors would no longer dwell there. A merciful, faithful, just, and righteous Davidic king would judge there. This is clearly a reference to Messiah's rule during the Millennium (cf. 9:1-6; 11:1-9). Moab, then, will be one of the nations that comes to the mountain of God to seek His ways (2:1-4). This leap into the eschaton in the oracle extends Moab's desire to find security in Judah in Isaiah's day far into the future.

16:6-8 The prophet explained the reason for Moab's destruction, pride (cf. vv. 1-4a), and its result, grief (cf. 15:2-4). Her excessive pride, arrogance, and insolence were the reason for her invasion; the invader was but the instrument of God (cf. 13:11). There was no basis in reality for her boasting. Moab was covered with grapevines, which the enemy would destroy. As a grapevine, Moab had extended its influence far beyond its borders, but now an enemy had cut back her fruitfulness. This would result in much despair and wailing in Moab. Raisin cakes appear to have been a major export of the nation that the Moabites relished as a delicacy in their homes (cf. 1 Chron. 12:40; Hos. 3:1).

16:9-12 Again the Lord grieved over Moab (cf. 15:5-9). Even when He must judge people, the Lord has pity on them and grieves over the destruction that He must send (cf. Hos. 11:1-9). Joy would end because the national product, grapes, would be unavailable due to hostile invaders. God's heart would break for these proud Moabites. When the Moabites would pray to their idols there would be no response, no help. How foolish, then, for the Judeans to trust in Moab for help.

"In Moab everyone went to the church of his own choice.'"¹⁷⁰

16:13-14 Isaiah concluded this oracle by announcing Moab's imminent ruin (cf. 15:1). The preceding verses describe an earlier revelation that the prophet received, but now he learned that Moab's invasion would be within three years. A hired man would count down the three years day by day, and the Judeans would do the same as they anticipated the degrading of Moab's glory and population. Only a remnant would survive. The fulfillment came when Assyria invaded Moab sometime between 715 and 713 B.C.

"The grief of the judge of all the earth is one of the two striking truths of this oracle. The other is that all this total loss and suffering arises from the single sin of pride (16:6)."¹⁷¹

Guzik: Isa 16:1-14

Isaiah 16 - The Burden Against Moab (continued)

A. Counsel to Moab.

1. (1-2) Send the lamb . . .

Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest; so shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

a. The idea behind send the lamb to the ruler of the land is that Moab should resume their bringing of tribute to Jerusalem, thereby submitting themselves to God again. This kind of tribute is described in 2 Kings 3:4-5, where Mesha, King of Moab, who once paid tribute to Israel, stopped doing so when King Ahab of Israel died. Here, Isaiah counsels Moab to resume this payment of tribute.

b. Isaiah paints a powerful picture of the helpless, confused state of Moab under the hand of God's judgment. They are like a wandering bird thrown out of the nest, confused, weak, and vulnerable. Their only recourse is to submit themselves to Jerusalem and its King again.

2. (3) Isaiah's word to Judah as she observes Moab under judgment.

"Take counsel, execute judgment; make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; hide the outcasts, do not betray him who escapes."

a. Here, in the compassion of his prophecy, Isaiah pleads with the rulers of Judah to hide the outcasts of Moab. Again, his great sympathies are probably due to the connection between Moab and the royal house of David.

b. Do not betray him who escapes: Isaiah wanted Judah to be a place of refuge and protection for Moab under judgment. This is exactly what the church should be, when people are under the strong hand of the LORD in the world. We should be a place that will hide the outcasts and receive him who escapes, never to betray them.

3. (4-5) A plea for refuge among Moab in the day of the righteous King.

"Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, devastation ceases, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness."

a. Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab: This is a sudden and curious change of focus. In Isaiah 16:3, Judah was counseled to receive the outcasts of Moab. Now, Moab is asked to receive the outcasts of Judah. Bultema thinks that Isaiah 16:4-5 is an end-times prophecy of how Moab will be a place of refuge for Jews escaping the fury of the Antichrist after the abomination of desolation.

b. Israel, fleeing from the fury of the Antichrist, will find refuge in places like Moab (Revelation 12:6, 12:13-14). They will be protected from the face of the spoiler until devastation ceases and the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

c. In those end times, the throne of the Messiah will be established, and the Messiah Himself will sit on the throne: One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David. His reign will be wonderful, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.

B. The pain of the prophet.

1. (6-8) The pain in Moab at the judgment of God.

We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud; of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; but his lies shall not be so. Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab; everyone shall wail. For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn; surely they are stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants, which have reached to Jazer and wandered through the wilderness. Her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

a. We have heard of the pride of Moab: Here is the only place where the sin of Moab is detailed. It is significant that Moab's sin was pride, because they were a fairly small and insignificant nation. We can easily understand how the empires of Babylon or Assyria might fall through pride, but we may be slower to see pride in smaller things. But the small can be just as consumed with pride as the great!

i. "Like Assyria and Babylon, Moab was extremely proud. Isaiah piled term upon term to show that the nation's relative insignificance did not make it immune to pride." (Wolf)

b. This pride is also referred to in the prophecy of judgment found in Jeremiah 48:1-13. God would judge the proud nation, so that Moab shall wail for Moab. The Moabites took great pride in their vineyards, but God used the lords of the nations to break them down, and to destroy everything Moab took pride in.

i. "Even though Moab had been advised to seek help from Zion's King, the seer foresaw at the same time the futility of this advice on account of Moab's pride. Whenever pride is not broken by humility, it will have to be broken by justice." (Bultema)

2. (9-12) Isaiah's sorrow of heart for Moab.

Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah, with the weeping of Jazer; I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for battle cries have fallen over your summer fruits and your harvest. Gladness is taken away, and joy from the plentiful field; in the vineyards there will be no singing, nor will there be shouting; no treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease. Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, and my inner being for Kir Heres. And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he will come to his sanctuary to pray; but he will not prevail.

a. I will bewail the vine of Sibmah . . . I will drench you with my tears: As Isaiah prophesied of the judgment coming upon Moab, he wasn't happy. He was not pleased that judgment was coming upon a rival nation. As far as he was concerned, Gladness is taken away, and joy from the plentiful field. In fact, Isaiah would not even let others be happy at a time like this: I have made their shouting cease. He hurts so badly for Moab that he says, "my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab."

b. At the same time, Isaiah knows that Moab is looking in the wrong places for answers: When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he will come to his sanctuary and pray; but he will not prevail. Isaiah knew the pain of seeing calamity come, and watching people turn to the wrong places in the midst of the destruction.

c. This was the same attitude Jesus had when He wept for Jerusalem: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" (Matthew 23:37-39) When Jesus saw the desolation to come upon the city that rejected Him, He did not rejoice. Jesus also knew that in the midst of their calamity, they would turn to themselves instead of the LORD.

3. (13-14) Three years until judgment comes on Moab.

This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now the LORD has spoken, saying, "Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble."

a. Within three years: Isaiah, speaking for the LORD, announces that judgment will come upon Moab in this time period. The judgment will humble Moab: The glory of Moab will be despised.

b. Since we don't know the exact date of Isaiah's prophecy, it is impossible to independently verify the accuracy of the within three years prediction. But in the phrasing this is the word of which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time, we gather that most of Isaiah 15-16 was given at an earlier time, and the within three years aspect was added at the right time, at a later date.

i. "Apparently King Sargon of Assyria conducted a major operation against the Arabians in 715 B.C., and he may have devastated Moab en route to encountering those tribes." (Wolf)

c. Why did God announce the time frame for His judgment? It was a warning to Moab and an invitation for their humble repentance (it wasn't unthinkable that this prophecy would get to the Moabites somehow). It was a lesson for God's people on how the LORD judges the proud. Finally, it assured God's people that the LORD would deal with other, worse, nations as He also dealt with Israel.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

ISAIAH, son of Amoz (not Amos); contemporary of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, in Israel, but younger than they; and of Micah, in Judah. His call to a higher degree of the prophetic office (Isa 6:1-13) is assigned to the last year of Uzziah, that is, 754 B.C. The first through fifth chapters belong to the closing years of that reign; not, as some think, to Jotham's reign: in the reign of the latter he seems to have exercised his office only orally, and not to have left any record of his prophecies because they were not intended for all ages. The first through fifth and sixth chapters are all that was designed for the Church universal of the prophecies of the first twenty years of his office. New historical epochs, such as occurred in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, when the affairs of Israel became interwoven with those of the Asiatic empires, are marked by prophetic writings. The prophets had now to interpret the judgments of the Lord, so as to make the people conscious of His punitive justice, as also of His mercy. Isa. 7:1-10:4 belong to the reign of Ahaz. The thirty-sixth through thirty-ninth chapters are historical, reaching to the fifteenth year of Hezekiah; probably the tenth through twelfth chapters and all from the thirteenth through twenty-sixth chapters, inclusive, belong to the same reign; the historical section being appended to facilitate the right understanding of these prophecies; thus we have Isaiah's office extending from about 760 to 713 B.C., forty-seven years. Tradition (Talmud) represents him as having been sawn asunder by Manasseh with a wooden saw, for having said that he had seen Jehovah (Exo 33:20; 2Ki 21:16; Heb 11:37). 2Ch 32:32 seems to imply that Isaiah survived Hezekiah; but "first and last" is not added, as in 2Ch 26:22, which makes it possible that his history of Hezekiah was only carried up to a certain point. The second part, the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters, containing complaints of gross idolatry, needs not to be restricted to Manasseh's reign, but is applicable to previous reigns. At the accession of Manasseh, Isaiah would be eighty-four; and if he prophesied for eight years afterwards, he must have endured martyrdom at ninety-two; so Hosea prophesied for sixty years. And Eastern tradition reports that he lived to one hundred and twenty. The conclusive argument against the tradition is that, according to the inscription, all Isaiah's prophecies are included in the time from Uzziah to Hezekiah; and the internal evidence accords with this.

His WIFE is called the prophetess [Isa 8:3], that is, endowed, as Miriam, with a prophetic gift.

His CHILDREN were considered by him as not belonging merely to himself; in their names, Shearjashub, "the remnant shall return" [Isa 7:3, Margin], and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "speeding to the spoil, he hasteth to the prey" [Isa 8:1, Margin], the two chief points of his prophecies are intimated to the people, the judgments of the Lord on the people and the world, and yet His mercy to the elect.

His GARMENT of sackcloth (Isa 20:2), too, was a silent preaching by fact; he appears as the embodiment of that repentance which he taught.

His HISTORICAL WORKS.--History, as written by the prophets, is retroverted prophecy. As the past and future alike proceed from the essence of God, an inspired insight into the past implies an insight into the future, and vice versa. Hence most of the Old Testament histories are written by prophets and are classed with their writings; the Chronicles being not so classed, cannot have been written by them, but are taken from historical monographs of theirs; for example, Isaiah's life of Uzziah, 2Ch 26:22; also of Hezekiah, 2Ch 32:32; of these latter all that was important for all ages has been preserved to us, while the rest, which was local and temporary, has been lost.

The INSCRIPTION (Isa 1:1) applies to the whole book and implies that Isaiah is the author of the second part (the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters), as well as of the first. Nor do the words, "concerning Judah and Jerusalem" [Isa 1:1], oppose the idea that the inscription applies to the whole; for whatever he says against other nations, he says on account of their relation to Judah. So the inscription of Amos, "concerning Israel" [Amo 1:1], though several prophecies follow against foreign nations. EWALD maintains that the fortieth through sixty-sixth chapters, though spurious, were subjoined to the previous portion, in order to preserve the former. But it is untrue that the first portion is unconnected with those chapters. The former ends with the Babylonian exile (Isa 39:6), the latter begins with the coming redemption from it. The portion, the fortieth through forty-sixth chapters, has no heading of its own, a proof that it is closely connected with what precedes, and falls under the general heading in Isa 1:1. JOSEPHUS (The Antiquities of the Jews, 11. 1, sec. 1, 2) says that Cyrus was induced by the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1, Isa 45:13) to aid the Jews in returning and rebuilding the temple Ezr 1:1-11 confirms this; Cyrus in his edict there plainly refers to the prophecies in the second portion, which assign the kingdoms to him from Jehovah, and the duty of rebuilding the temple. Probably he took from them his historical name Cyrus (Coresh). Moreover, subsequent prophets imitate this second portion, which EWALD assigns to later times; for example, compare Jer. 50:1-51:64 with Isaiah's predictions against Babylon [Isa. 13:1-14:23]. "The Holy One of Israel," occurring but three times elsewhere in the Old Testament [2Ki 19:22; Psa 78:41; Psa 89:18; Jer 50:29; Jer 51:5], is a favorite expression in the second, as in the first portion of Isaiah: it expresses God's covenant faithfulness in fulfilling the promises therein: Jeremiah borrows the expression from him. Also Ecclesiasticus 48:22-25 ("comforted"), quotes Isa 40:1 as Isaiah's. Luk 4:17 quotes Isa 61:1-2 as Isaiah's, and as read as such by Jesus Christ in the synagogue.

The DEFINITENESS of the prophecies is striking: As in the second portion of isaiah, so in Mic 4:8-10, the Babylonian exile, and the deliverance from it, are foretold a hundred fifty years before any hostilities had arisen between Babylon and Judah. On the other hand, all the prophets who foretell the Assyrian invasion coincide in stating, that Judah should be delivered from it, not by Egyptian aid, but directly by the Lord. Again Jeremiah, in the height of the Chaldean prosperity, foretold its conquest by the Medes, who should enter Babylon through the dry bed of the Euphrates on a night of general revelry. No human calculation could have discovered these facts. EICHORN terms these prophecies "veiled historical descriptions," recognizing in spite of himself that they are more than general poetical fancies. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah was certainly written ages before the Messiah, yet it minutely portrays His sufferings: these cannot be Jewish inventions, for the Jews looked for a reigning, not a suffering, Messiah.

Rationalists are so far right that THE PROPHECIES ARE ON A GENERAL BASIS whereby they are distinguished from soothsaying. They rest on the essential idea of God. The prophets, penetrated by this inner knowledge of His character, became conscious of the eternal laws by which the world is governed: that sin is man's ruin, and must be followed by judgment, but that God's covenant mercy to His elect is unchangeable. Without prophetism, the elect remnant would have decreased, and even God's judgments would have missed their end, by not being recognized as such: they would have been unmeaning, isolated facts. Babylon was in Isaiah's days under Assyria; it had tried a revolt unsuccessfully: but the elements of its subsequent success and greatness were then existing. The Holy Ghost enlightened his natural powers to discern this its rise; and his spiritual faculties, to foresee its fall, the sure consequence, in God's eternal law, of the pride which pagan success generates--and also Judah's restoration, as the covenant-people, with whom God, according to His essential character, would not be wroth for ever. True conversion is the prophet's grand remedy against all evils: in this alone consists his politics. Rebuke, threatening, and promise, regularly succeed one another. The idea at the basis of all is in Isa 26:7-9; Lev 10:3; Amo 3:2.

The USE OF THE PRESENT AND PRETERITE in prophecy is no proof that the author is later than Isaiah. For seers view the future as present, and indicate what is ideally past, not really past; seeing things in the light of God, who "calls the things that are not as though they were." Moreover, as in looking from a height on a landscape, hills seem close together which are really wide apart, so, in events foretold, the order, succession, and grouping are presented, but the intervals of time are overlooked. The time, however, is sometimes marked (Jer 25:12; Dan 9:26). Thus the deliverance from Babylon, and that effected by Messiah, are in rapid transition grouped together by THE LAW OF PROPHETIC SUGGESTION; yet no prophet so confounds the two as to make Messiah the leader of Israel from Babylon. To the prophet there was probably no double sense; but to his spiritual eye the two events, though distinct, lay so near, and were so analogous, that he could not separate them in description without unfaithfulness to the picture presented before him. The more remote and antitypical event, however, namely, Messiah's coming, is that to which he always hastens, and which he describes with far more minuteness than he does the nearer type; for example, Cyrus (compare Isa 45:1 with Isa 53:1-12). In some cases he takes his stand in the midst of events between, for example, the humiliation of Jesus Christ, which he views as past, and His glorification, as yet to come, using the future tense as to the latter (compare Isa 53:4-9 with Isa 53:10-12). Marks of the time of events are given sparingly in the prophets: yet, as to Messiah, definitely enough to create the general expectation of Him at the time that He was in fact born.

The CHALDÆISMS alleged against the genuineness of the second portion of Isaiah, are found more in the first and undoubted portion. They occur in all the Old Testament, especially in the poetical parts, which prefer unusual expressions, and are due to the fact that the patriarchs were surrounded by Chaldee-speaking people; and in Isaiah's time a few Chaldee words had crept in from abroad.

His SYMBOLS are few and simple, and his poetical images correct; in the prophets, during and after the exile, the reverse holds good; Haggai and Malachi are not exceptions; for, though void of bold images, their style, unlike Isaiah's, rises little above prose: a clear proof that our Isaiah was long before the exile.

Of VISIONS, strictly so called, he has but one, that in the sixth chapter; even it is more simple than those in later prophets. But he often gives SIGNS, that is, a present fact as pledge of the more distant future; God condescending to the feebleness of man (Isa 7:14; Isa 37:30; Isa 38:7).

The VARIETIES IN HIS STYLE do not prove spuriousness, but that he varied his style with his subject. The second portion is not so much addressed to his contemporaries, as to the future people of the Lord, the elect remnant, purified by the previous judgments. Hence its tenderness of style, and frequent repetitions (Isa 40:1): for comforting exhortation uses many words; so also the many epithets added to the name of God, intended as stays whereon faith may rest for comfort, so as not to despair. In both portions alike there are peculiarities characteristic of Isaiah; for example, "to be called" equivalent to to be: the repetition of the same words, instead of synonyms, in the parallel members of verses; the interspersing of his prophecies with hymns: "the remnant of olive trees," &c., for the remnant of people who have escaped God's judgments. Also compare Isa 65:25 with Isa 11:6.

The CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT favors the opinion that Isaiah himself collected his prophecies into the volume; not Hezekiah's men, as the Talmud guesses from Pro 25:1. All the portions, the dates of which can be ascertained, stand in the right place, except a few instances, where prophecies of similar contents are placed together: with the termination of the Assyrian invasion (the thirty-sixth through thirty-ninth chapters) terminated the public life of Isaiah. The second part is his prophetic legacy to the small band of the faithful, analogous to the last speeches of Moses and of Jesus Christ to His chosen disciples.

The EXPECTATION OF MESSIAH is so strong in Isaiah, that JEROME To Paulinus calls his book not a prophecy, but the gospel: "He is not so much a prophet as an evangelist." Messiah was already shadowed forth in Gen 49:10, as the Shiloh, or tranquillizer; also in Psalms 2, 45, 72, 110. Isaiah brings it out more definitely; and, whereas they dwelt on His kingly office, Isaiah develops most His priestly and prophetic office; the hundred tenth Psalm also had set forth His priesthood, but His kingly rather than, as Isaiah, His suffering, priesthood. The latter is especially dwelt on in the second part, addressed to the faithful elect; whereas the first part, addressed to the whole people, dwells on Messiah's glory, the antidote to the fears which then filled the people, and the assurance that the kingdom of God, then represented by Judah, would not be overwhelmed by the surrounding nations.

His STYLE (HENGSTENBERG, Christology of the Old Testament,) is simple and sublime; in imagery, intermediate between the poverty of Jeremiah and the exuberance of Ezekiel. He shows his command of it in varying it to suit his subject.

The FORM is mostly that of Hebrew poetical parallelism, with, however, a freedom unshackled by undue restrictions.

JUDAH, the less apostate people, rather than Israel, was the subject of his prophecies: his residence was mostly at Jerusalem. On his praises, see Ecclesiasticus 48:22-25. Christ and the apostles quote no prophet so frequently.

JFB: Isaiah (Outline)

• PARABLE OF JEHOVAH'S VINEYARD. (Isa. 5:1-30)
• SIX DISTINCT WOES AGAINST CRIMES. (Isa. 5:8-23) (Lev 25:13; Mic 2:2). The jubilee restoration of possessions was intended as a guard against avarice.
• VISION OF JEHOVAH IN HIS TEMPLE. (Isa 6:1-13)
• PREDICTION OF THE ILL SUCCESS OF THE SYRO-ISRAELITISH INVASION OF JUDAH--AHAZ'S ALLIANCE WITH ASSYRIA, AND ITS FATAL RESULTS TO JUDEA--YET THE CERTAINTY OF FINAL PRESERVATION AND OF THE COMING OF MESSIAH. (Isa. 7:1-9:7)
• FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF AHAZ' ASSYRIAN POLICY. (Isa 7:17-25)
• THE COMING DESOLATE STATE OF THE LAND OWING TO THE ASSYRIANS AND EGYPTIANS. (Isa 7:21-25)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. (Isa 9:1-7)
• PROPHECY AS TO THE TEN TRIBES. (Isa. 9:8-10:4) Heading of the prophecy; (Isa 9:8-12), the first strophe.
• THANKSGIVING HYMN OF THE RESTORED AND CONVERTED JEWS. (Isa 12:1-6)
• THE THIRTEENTH THROUGH TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTERS CONTAIN PROPHECIES AS TO FOREIGN NATIONS.--THE THIRTEENTH, FOURTEENTH, AND TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTERS AS TO BABYLON AND ASSYRIA. (Isa. 13:1-22)
• CONFIRMATION OF THIS BY THE HEREFORETOLD DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSYRIANS UNDER SENNACHERIB. (Isa 14:24-27)
• A CHORUS OF JEWS EXPRESS THEIR JOYFUL SURPRISE AT BABYLON'S DOWNFALL. (Isa 14:4-8)
• THE SCENE CHANGES FROM EARTH TO HELL. (Isa 14:9-11)
• THE JEWS ADDRESS HIM AGAIN AS A FALLEN ONCE-BRIGHT STAR. (Isa 14:12-15)
• THE PASSERS-BY CONTEMPLATE WITH ASTONISHMENT THE BODY OF THE KING OF BABYLON CAST OUT, INSTEAD OF LYING IN A SPLENDID MAUSOLEUM, AND CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THEIR SENSES THAT IT IS HE. (Isa 14:16-20)
• GOD'S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY BABYLON. (Isa 14:21-23)
• A FRAGMENT AS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSYRIANS UNDER SENNACHERIB. (Isa 14:24-27) In this verse the Lord's thought (purpose) stands in antithesis to the Assyrians' thoughts (Isa 10:7). (See Isa 46:10-11; 1Sa 15:29; Mal 3:6).
• PROPHECY AGAINST PHILISTIA. (Isa 14:28-32)
• THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CHAPTERS FORM ONE PROPHECY ON MOAB. (Isa 15:1-9)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY AS TO MOAB. (Isa 16:1-14)
• CONTINUATION OF THE SUBJECT OF THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER, BUT AT A LATER DATE. CAPTIVITY OF EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA. (Isa 20:1-6)
• REPETITION OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS TO THE JEWS ABOUT TO BE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, THAT THEIR ENEMY SHOULD BE DESTROYED AND THEY BE DELIVERED. (Isa 21:1-10)
• A PROPHECY TO THE IDUMEANS WHO TAUNTED THE AFFLICTED JEWS IN THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. (Isa 21:11-12)
• PROPHECY THAT ARABIA WOULD BE OVERRUN BY A FOREIGN FOE WITHIN A YEAR. (Isa 21:13-17)
• PROPHECY AS TO AN ATTACK ON JERUSALEM. (Isa 22:1-14)
• PROPHECY THAT SHEBNA SHOULD BE DEPOSED FROM BEING PREFECT OF THE PALACE, AND ELIAKIM PROMOTED TO THE OFFICE. (Isa 22:15-25)
• PROPHECY RESPECTING TYRE. (Isa. 23:1-18)
• THE LAST TIMES OF THE WORLD IN GENERAL, AND OF JUDAH AND THE CHURCH IN PARTICULAR. (Isa. 24:1-23)
• CONTINUATION OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. THANKSGIVING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF THE APOSTATE FACTION, AND THE SETTING UP OF JEHOVAH'S THRONE ON ZION. (Isa 25:1-12)
• CONNECTED WITH THE TWENTY-FOURTH AND TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTERS. SONG OF PRAISE OF ISRAEL AFTER BEING RESTORED TO THEIR OWN LAND. (Isa. 26:1-21)
• CONTINUATION OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH, TWENTY-FIFTH, AND TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTERS. (Isa 27:1-13)
• COMING INVASION OF JERUSALEM: ITS FAILURE: UNBELIEF OF THE JEWS. (Isa. 29:1-24)
• THE THIRTIETH THROUGH THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTERS REFER PROBABLY TO THE SUMMER OF 714 B.C., AS THE TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER TO THE PASSOVER OF THAT YEAR. (Isa. 30:1-32)
• THE CHIEF STRENGTH OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMIES LAY IN THEIR CAVALRY. (Isa 31:1-9)
• MESSIAH'S KINGDOM; DESOLATIONS, TO BE SUCCEEDED BY LASTING PEACE, THE SPIRIT HAVING BEEN POURED OUT. (Isa. 32:1-20)
• JUDGMENT ON IDUMEA. (Isa. 34:1-17) All creation is summoned to hear God's judgments (Eze 6:3; Deu 32:1; Psa 50:4; Mic 6:1-2), for they set forth His glory, which is the end of creation (Rev 15:3; Rev 4:11).
• CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. (Isa 35:1-10)
• SENNACHERIB'S INVASION; BLASPHEMOUS SOLICITATIONS; HEZEKIAH IS TOLD OF THEM. (Isa. 36:1-22)
• CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE IN THE THIRTY-SIXTH CHAPTER. (Isa. 37:1-38)
• HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS; PERHAPS CONNECTED WITH THE PLAGUE OR BLAST WHEREBY THE ASSYRIAN ARMY HAD BEEN DESTROYED. (Isa. 38:1-22)
• HEZEKIAH'S ERROR IN THE DISPLAY OF HIS RICHES TO THE BABYLONIAN AMBASSADOR. (Isa 39:1-8)
• SECOND PART OF THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. (Isa. 40:1-31)
• ADDITIONAL REASONS WHY THE JEWS SHOULD PLACE CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PROMISES OF DELIVERING THEM; HE WILL RAISE UP A PRINCE AS THEIR DELIVERER, WHEREAS THE IDOLS COULD NOT DELIVER THE HEATHEN NATIONS FROM THAT PRINCE. (Isa. 41:1-29) (Zec 2:13). God is about to argue the case; therefore let the nations listen in reverential silence. Compare Gen 28:16-17, as to the spirit in which we ought to behave before God.
• MESSIAH THE ANTITYPE OF CYRUS. (Isa. 42:1-25)
• CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. (Isa. 44:1-28)
• BABYLON'S IDOLS COULD NOT SAVE THEMSELVES, MUCH LESS HER. BUT GOD CAN AND WILL SAVE ISRAEL: CYRUS IS HIS INSTRUMENT. (Isa 46:1-13)
• THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IS REPRESENTED UNDER THE IMAGE OF A ROYAL VIRGIN BROUGHT DOWN IN A MOMENT FROM HER MAGNIFICENT THRONE TO THE EXTREME OF DEGRADATION. (Isa. 47:1-15)
• THE THINGS THAT BEFALL BABYLON JEHOVAH PREDICTED LONG BEFORE, LEST ISRAEL SHOULD ATTRIBUTE THEM, IN ITS "OBSTINATE" PERVERSITY, TO STRANGE GODS. (Isa 48:1-5). (Isa. 48:1-22)
• SIMILAR TO CHAPTER 42. (Isa 49:1-9). (Isa. 49:1-26)
• THE JUDGMENTS ON ISRAEL WERE PROVOKED BY THEIR CRIMES, YET THEY ARE NOT FINALLY CAST OFF BY GOD. (Isa 50:1-11)
• ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FAITHFUL REMNANT OF ISRAEL TO TRUST IN GOD FOR DELIVERANCE, BOTH FROM THEIR LONG BABYLONIAN EXILE, AND FROM THEIR PRESENT DISPERSION. (Isa. 51:1-23)
• FIRST THROUGH THIRTEEN VERSES CONNECTED WITH FIFTY-FIRST CHAPTER. (Isa. 52:1-15)
• MAN'S UNBELIEF: MESSIAH'S VICARIOUS SUFFERINGS, AND FINAL TRIUMPH FOR MAN. (Isa 53:1-12)
• THE FRUIT OF MESSIAH'S SUFFERINGS, AND OF ISRAEL'S FINAL PENITENCE AT HER PAST UNBELIEF (Isa 53:6): HER JOYFUL RESTORATION AND ENLARGEMENT BY JEHOVAH, WHOSE WRATH WAS MOMENTARY, BUT HIS KINDNESS EVERLASTING. (Isa. 54:1-17)
• THE CALL OF THE GENTILE WORLD TO FAITH THE RESULT OF GOD'S GRACE TO THE JEWS FIRST. (Isa 55:1-13)
• THE PREPARATION NEEDED ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO WISH TO BE ADMITTED TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (Isa 56:1-12)
• THE PEACEFUL DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS FEW: THE UNGODLINESS OF THE MANY: A BELIEVING REMNANT SHALL SURVIVE THE GENERAL JUDGMENTS OF THE NATION, AND BE RESTORED BY HIM WHO CREATES PEACE. (Isa. 57:1-21)
• REPROOF OF THE JEWS FOR THEIR DEPENDENCE ON MERE OUTWARD FORMS OF WORSHIP. (Isa 58:1-14)
• THE PEOPLE'S SIN THE CAUSE OF JUDGMENTS: THEY AT LAST OWN IT THEMSELVES: THE REDEEMER'S FUTURE INTERPOSITION IN THEIR EXTREMITY. (Isa. 59:1-21)
• ISRAEL'S GLORY AFTER HER AFFLICTION. (Isa. 60:1-22)
• MESSIAH'S OFFICES: RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. (Isa 61:1-11)
• INTERCESSORY PRAYERS FOR ZION'S RESTORATION, ACCOMPANYING GOD'S PROMISES OF IT, AS THE APPOINTED MEANS OF ACCOMPLISHING IT. (Isa 62:1-12)
• MESSIAH COMING AS THE AVENGER, IN ANSWER TO HIS PEOPLE'S PRAYERS. (Isa. 63:1-19)
• TRANSITION FROM COMPLAINT TO PRAYER. (Isa 64:1-12)
• GOD'S REPLY IN JUSTIFICATION OF HIS DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL. (Isa. 65:1-25)
• THE HUMBLE COMFORTED, THE UNGODLY CONDEMNED, AT THE LORD'S APPEARING: JERUSALEM MADE A JOY ON EARTH. (Isa. 66:1-24)

TSK: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Isaiah has, with singular propriety, been denominated the Evangelical Prophet, on account of the number and variety of his prophecies concerning the advent and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death, and the extensive and permanent kingdom of the Messiah. So explicit and determinate are his predictions, as well as so numerous, that he seems to speak rather of things past than of events yet future; and he may be rather called an evangelist than a prophet. Though later critics, especially those on the continent, have expended much labour and learning in order to rob the prophet of his title; yet no one, whose mind is unprejudiced, can be at a loss in applying select portions of these prophecies to the mission and character of Jesus Christ, and to the events in his history which they are cited to illustrate by the sacred writers of the New Testament. In fact, his prophecies concerning the Messiah seem almost to anticipate the Gospel history; so clearly do they predict his Divine character. (Compare Isa 7:14 with Mat 1:18-23, and Luk 1:27-35; see Isa 6:1-13; Isa 9:6; Isa 35:4; Isa 40:5, Isa 40:9, Isa 40:19; Isa 42:6-8; compare Isa 61:1, with Luk 4:18; see Isa 62:11; Isa 63:1-4); his miracles (Isa 35:5, Isa 35:6); his peculiar character and virtues (Isa 11:2, Isa 11:3; Isa 40:11; Isa 43:1-3); his rejection (Compare Isa 6:9-12 with Mar 13:14; see Isa 7:14, Isa 7:15; Isa 53:3); his sufferings for our sins (Isa 50:6; Isa 53:4-11); his death and burial (Isa 53:8, Isa 53:9); his victory over death (Isa 25:8; Isa 53:10, Isa 53:12); his final glory (Isa 49:7, Isa 49:22, 33; Isa 52:13-15; Isa 53:4, Isa 53:5); and the establishment, increase, and perfection of his kingdom (Isa 2:2-4; Isa 9:2, Isa 9:7; Isa 11:4-10; Isa 16:5; Isa 29:18-24; Isa 32:1; Isa 40:4, Isa 40:5; Isa 42:4; Isa 46:13; Isa 49:9-13; Isa 51:3-6; Isa 53:6-10; Isa 55:1-3; Isa 59:16-21; 60; Isa 61:1-5; Isa 65:25); each specifically pointed out, and pourtrayed with the most striking and discriminating characters. It is impossible, indeed, to reflect on these, and on the whole chain of his illustrious prophecies, and not be sensible that they furnish the most incontestable evidence in support of Christianity. The style of Isaiah has been universally admired as the most perfect model of elegance and sublimity; and as distinguished for all the magnificence, and for all the sweetness of the Hebrew language.

TSK: Isaiah 16 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Isa 16:1, Moab is exhorted to yield obedience to the throne of David; Isa 16:6, Moab is threatened for her pride; Isa 16:9, The prophet bewails her; Isa 16:12, The judgment of Moab.

Poole: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

THE teachers of the ancient church were of two sorts:

1. Ordinary, the priests and Levites.

2. Extraordinary, the prophets. These were immediately called by God, and inspired, as with other singular gifts and graces, so particularly with a supernatural knowledge of Divine mysteries, and of future things, and invested by God with an authority superior not only to the ordinary teachers of the church, but in some sort even to the civil powers of the nation. These holy prophets, whose writings are contained in the sacred Scripture, are sixteen. Of these Isaiah is first in place, and, as may seem probable, in time also. But undoubtedly he was contemporary with Hosea, whom others suppose to have been before him. Compare Isa 1:1 , with Hos 1:1 . The Jews tell us that he was of the blood royal of Judah, which is uncertain. But undoubtedly he was the prince of all the prophets, whether we consider the great extent and variety of his prophecies, the excellency and sublimity of those mysteries which were revealed to him and by him, the majesty and elegancy of his style, or the incomparable liveliness and power of his sermons. He doth so evidently and fully describe the person, and offices, and sufferings, and kingdom of Christ, that some of the ancients called him the fifth evangelist. And it is observed, that there are more testimonies and quotations in the New Testament taken out of Isaiah than out of all the other prophets.

Poole: Isaiah 16 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 16

The Moabites exhorted to entertain kindly the banished Jews, Isa 16:1-5 . They are threatened for their pride and arrogance, Isa 16:6-8 . The prophet bewaileth them, Isa 16:9-11 . Their judgment, Isa 16:12-14 .

The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab in this chapter, and here turneth his speech to them, and gives them counsel what to do, to prevent, if possible, the threatened desolation. In these first words he adviseth them to the practice either,

1. Of justice; Pay that tribute of lambs and goats which you obliged yourselves to pay unto David, and to his posterity, 2Sa 8:2 , and pay it not unto Israel, as you have done, 2Ki 3:4 , but unto the king of Judah, who is the rightful heir of David, and king of the land. Or,

2. Of piety; Send a lamb , for a sacrifice, unto God, who is

MHCC: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He has been well called the evangelical prophet, on account of his numerous and full prophesies concerning the coming and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death of the Messiah, and the extent and continuance of his kingdom. Under the veil of the deliverance from Babylon, Isaiah points to a much greater deliverance, which was to be effected by the Messiah; and seldom does he mention the one, without alluding at the same time to the other; nay, he is often so much enraptured with the prospect of the more distant deliverance, as to lose sight of that which was nearer, and to dwell on the Messiah's person, office, character, and kingdom.

MHCC: Isaiah 16 (Chapter Introduction)

(Isa 16:1-5) Moab is exhorted to yield obedience.

(Isa 16:6-14) The pride and the judgments of Moab.

Matthew Henry: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

Prophet is a title that sounds very great to those that understand it, though, in the eye of the world, many of those that were dignified with it appeared very mean. A prophet is one that has a great intimacy with Heaven and a great interest there, and consequently a commanding authority upon earth. Prophecy is put for all divine revelation (2Pe 1:20, 2Pe 1:21), because that was most commonly by dreams, voices, or visions, communicated to prophets first, and by them to the children of men, Num 12:6. Once indeed God himself spoke to all the thousands of Israel from the top of Mount Sinai; but the effect was so intolerably dreadful that they entreated God would for the future speak to them as he had done before, by men like themselves, whose terror should not make them afraid, nor their hands be heavy upon them, Job 33:7. God approved the motion ( they have well said, says he, Deu 5:27, Deu 5:28), and the matter was then settled by consent of parties, that we must never expect to hear from God any more in that way, but by prophets, who received their instructions immediately from God, with a charge to deliver them to his church. Before the sacred canon of the Old Testament began to be written there were prophets, who were instead of Bibles to the church. Our Saviour seems to reckon Abel among the prophets, Mat 23:31, Mat 23:35. Enoch was a prophet; and by him that was first in prediction which is to be last in execution - the judgment of the great day. Jud 1:14, Behold, the Lord comes with his holy myriads. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. God said of Abraham, He is a prophet, Gen 20:7. Jacob foretold things to come, Gen 49:1. Nay, all the patriarchs are called prophets. Psa 105:15, Do my prophets no harm. Moses was, beyond all comparison, the most illustrious of all the Old Testament prophets, for with him the Lord spoke face to face, Deu 34:10. He was the first writing prophet, and by his hand the first foundations of holy writ were laid. Even those that were called to be his assistants in the government had the spirit of prophecy, such a plentiful effusion was there of that spirit at that time, Num 11:25. But after the death of Moses, for some ages, the Spirit of the Lord appeared and acted in the church of Israel more as a martial spirit than as a spirit of prophecy, and inspired men more for acting than speaking. I mean in the time of the judges. We find the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Othniel, Gideon, Samson, and others, for the service of their country, with their swords, not with their pens. Messages were then sent from heaven by angels, as to Gideon and Manoah, and to the people, Jdg 2:1. In all the book of judges there is never once mention of a prophet, only Deborah is called a prophetess. Then the word of the Lord was precious; there was no open vision, 1Sa 3:1. They had the law of Moses, recently written; let them study that. But in Samuel prophecy revived, and in him a famous epocha, or period of the church began, a time of great light in a constant uninterrupted succession of prophets, till some time after the captivity, when the canon of the Old Testament was completed in Malachi, and then prophecy ceased for nearly 400 years, till the coming of the great prophet and his forerunner. Some prophets were divinely inspired to write the histories of the church. But they did not put their names to their writings; they only referred for proof to the authentic records of those times, which were known to be drawn up by prophets, as Gad, Iddo, etc. David and others were prophets, to write sacred songs for the use of the church. After them we often read of prophets sent on particular errands, and raised up for special public services, among whom the most famous were Elijah and Elisha in the kingdom of Israel. But none of these put their prophecies in writing, nor have we any remains of them but some fragments in the histories of their times; there was nothing of their own writing (that I remember) but one epistle of Elijah's, 2Ch 21:12. But towards the latter end of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, it pleased God to direct his servants the prophets to write and publish some of their sermons, or abstracts of them. The dates of many of their prophecies are uncertain, but the earliest of them was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and Jeroboam the second, his contemporary, king of Israel, about 200 years before the captivity, and not long after Joash had slain Zechariah the son of Jehoiada in the courts of the temple. If they begin to murder the prophets, yet they shall not murder their prophecies; these shall remain as witnesses against them. Hosea was the first of the writing prophets; and Joel, Amos, and Obadiah, published their prophecies about the same time. Isaiah began some time after, and not long; but his prophecy is placed first, because it is the largest of them all, and has most in it of him to whom all the prophets bore witness; and indeed so much of Christ that he is justly styled the Evangelical Prophet, and, by some of the ancients, a fifth Evangelist. We shall have the general title of this book (Isa 1:1) and therefore shall here only observe some things,

I. Concerning the prophet himself. He was (if we may believe the tradition of the Jews) of the royal family, his father being (they say) brother to king Uzziah. He was certainly much at court, especially in Hezekiah's time, as we find in his story, to which many think it is owing that his style is more curious and polite than that of some other of the prophets, and, in some places, exceedingly lofty and soaring. The Spirit of God sometimes served his own purpose by the particular genius of the prophet; for prophets were not speaking trumpets, through which the Spirit spoke, but speaking men, by whom the Spirit spoke, making use of their natural powers, in respect both of light and flame, and advancing them above themselves.

II. Concerning the prophecy. It is transcendently excellent and useful; it was so to the church of God then, serving for conviction of sin, direction in duty, and consolation in trouble. Two great distresses of the church are here referred to, and comfort prescribed in reference to them, that by Sennacherib's invasion, which happened in his own time, and that of the captivity in Babylon, which happened long after; and in the supports and encouragements laid up for each of these times of need we find abundance of the grace of the gospel. There are not so many quotations in the gospels out of any, perhaps not out of all, the prophecies of the Old Testament, as out of this; nor such express testimonies concerning Christ, witness that of his being born of a virgin (ch. 7) and that of his sufferings, Isa 53:1-12. The beginning of this book abounds most with reproofs for sin and threatenings of judgment; the latter end of it is full of wood words and comfortable words. This method the Spirit of Christ took formerly in the prophets and does still, first to convince and then to comfort; and those that would be blessed with the comforts must submit to the convictions. Doubtless Isaiah preached many sermons, and delivered many messages to the people, which are not written in this book, as Christ did; and probably these sermons were delivered more largely and fully than they are here related, but so much is left on record as Infinite Wisdom thought fit to convey to us on whom the ends of the world have come; and these prophecies, as well as the histories of Christ, are written that we might believe on the name of the Son of God, and that, believing, we might have life through his name; for to us is the gospel here preached as well as unto those that lived then, and more clearly. O that it may be mixed with faith!

Matthew Henry: Isaiah 16 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter continues and concludes the burden of Moab. In it, I. The prophet gives good counsel to the Moabites, to reform what was amiss among them, and particularly to be kind to God's people, as the likeliest way to prevent the judgments before threatened (Isa 16:1-5). II. Fearing they would not take this counsel (they were so proud), he goes on to foretel the lamentable devastation of their country, and the confusion they should be brought to, and this within three years (Isa 16:6-14).

Constable: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and writer

The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the other prophetical books, comes from its writer. The book claims to have come from Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 7:3; 13:1; 20:2; 37:2, 6, 21; 38:1, 4, 21; 39:3, 5, 8), and Jesus Christ and the apostles quoted him as being the writer at least 21 times, more often than they quoted all the other writing prophets combined.¹ The name of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, is the only one connected with the book in any of the Hebrew manuscripts or ancient versions. Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote at the end of the first century A.D., believed that Isaiah wrote this book. He said that Cyrus read the prophecies that Isaiah had written about him and wished to fulfill them.²

There is no record of any serious scholar doubting the Isaianic authorship of the entire book before the twelfth century when Ibn Ezra, a Jewish commentator, did so. With the rise of rationalism, however, some German scholars took the lead in questioning it in the late eighteenth century. They claimed that the basis for their new view was the differences in style, content, and emphases in the various parts of the prophecy. Many scholars have noted that it is not really the text itself that argues for multiple authorship as much as the presence of predictive prophecy in chapters 40-66, which antisupernaturalistic critics try to explain away.³ At first, there seemed to these critics to have been two writers whose respective emphases on judgment in chapters 1-39 and consolation in chapters 40-66 pointed to two separate writers, Isaiah and "Deutero-Isaiah." With further study, a theory of three writers ("Trito-Isaiah") emerged because of the differences between chapters 40-55 and 56-66. These critics sensed addresses to three different historical settings in these three parts of the book: Isaiah's lifetime (ca. 739-701 B.C.; chs. 1-39), the Babylonian exile (ca. 605-539 B.C.; chs. 40-55), and the return (ca. 539-400 B.C.; chs. 56-66).⁴

"Along with what is known as the JEDP theory of the origins of the Pentateuch, the belief in the multiple authorship of the book of Isaiah is one of the most generally accepted dogmas of biblical higher criticism today."⁵

However, internal and external evidence points to the unity of authorship. The title for God, "holy one of Israel," which reflects the deep impression that Isaiah's vision in chapter 6 made on him, occurs 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 14 times in chapters 40-66 but only seven times elsewhere in the entire Old Testament. Other key phrases, passages, words, themes, and motifs likewise appear in both parts of the book. Jewish tradition uniformly attributed the entire book to Isaiah as did Christian tradition until the eighteenth century. The Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll, the oldest copy of Isaiah that we have, dating from the second century B.C., has chapter 40 beginning in the same column in which chapter 39 ends.⁶

Isaiah was arguably the greatest of four prophets who lived and wrote toward the end of the eighth century. Amos and Hosea ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel at this time, and Micah and Isaiah served in Judah.⁷ Isaiah's name, "The Lord (Yahweh) is salvation," meaning the Lord is the source of salvation, symbolized his message.

". . . in that one name is compressed the whole contents of the book!"⁸

Isaiah lived in Jerusalem, and that capital city features prominently in his prophecies. His easy access to the court and Judah's kings, revealed in his book, suggests that he ministered to the kings of Judah and may have had royal blood in his veins. Jewish tradition made him the cousin of King Uzziah. His communication gifts and his political connections, whatever those may have been, gave him an opportunity to reach the whole nation of Judah. The prophet was married and had at least two sons to whom he gave names that also summarized major themes of his prophecies (8:18): Shearjashub (a remnant shall return, 7:3), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (hastening to the spoil, 8:3).

Isaiah received his call to prophetic ministry in the year that King Uzziah died (740 B.C.; ch. 6). He responded enthusiastically to this privilege even though he knew from the outset that his ministry would be fruitless and discouraging (6:9-13). His wife was a prophetess (8:3) probably in the sense that she was married to a prophet; we have no record that she prophesied herself. Isaiah also trained a group of disciples who gathered around him (8:16). His vision of God, which he received at the beginning of his ministry, profoundly influenced Isaiah's whole view of life as well as his prophecies, as is clear from what he wrote.⁹

The prophet had a very broad appreciation of the political situation in which he lived. He demonstrated awareness of all the nations around his homeland. Judah and Jerusalem were the focal points of his prophecies, but he saw God's will for them down the corridors of time as well as in his own day. He saw that the kingdom that God would establish through His Messiah would include all people. He was a true patriot who denounced evils in his land as well as giving credit where that was due. He condemned religious cults yet remained neutral politically. His understanding of theology was profound. He set forth the wonder and grandeur of Yahweh more ably than any other biblical writer. As a writer, Isaiah is without a peer among the Old Testament prophets. He was a poetic artist who employed a large vocabulary and many literary devices to express his thoughts beautifully and powerfully. Most of his prophecies appear to have been messages that he delivered, which means that he was probably also a powerful orator.

There is no historical record of Isaiah's death. Jewish tradition held that he suffered martyrdom under King Manasseh (697-642 B.C.) because of his prophesying. The early church father Justin Martyr (ca. A.D. 150) wrote that the Jews sawed him to death with a wooden saw (cf. Heb. 11:37).¹⁰ Another ancient source says he took refuge in a hollow tree, but his persecutors discovered and extracted him. This may account for the unusual method of his execution.

Historical Background and Date

Isaiah ministered during the reigns of four Judean kings (1:1): Uzziah (792-740 B.C.), Jotham (750-732 B.C.), Ahaz (735-715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.).¹¹ The prophet began his ministry in the year that King Uzziah (or Azariah) died, namely, 740 or 739 B.C. (6:1).

During Uzziah's reign Judah enjoyed peace because of her surrounding nations' lack of antagonism and hostility. However, in 745 B.C. Tiglath-pileser III mounted the throne of Assyria and began to expand his empire. His three successors (Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, and Sennacherib) proved equally ambitious. Aram (Syria) and Israel (Ephraim) felt the pressure of Assyrian expansion before Judah did, but in King Ahaz's reign Judah had to make a crucial decision regarding her relationship to Assyria. Isaiah played a major role in that decision.

A second major crisis arose during the reign of King Hezekiah. By this time Babylon had defeated Assyria, and it was also expanding aggressively in Judah's direction. Again Isaiah played a major part in the decision about how Judah would respond to this threat.

". . . Isaiah exercised his prophetic ministry at a time of unique significance, a time in which it was of utmost importance to realize that salvation could not be obtained by reliance upon man but only from God Himself. For Israel it was the central or pivotal point of history between Moses and Christ. The old world was passing and an entirely new order of things was beginning to make its appearance. Where would Israel stand in that new world? Would she be the true theocracy, the light to lighten the Gentiles, or would she fall into the shadow by turning for help to the nations which were about her?"¹²

Sennacherib outlived Hezekiah, who died in 686 B.C., and Isaiah recorded the death of Sennacherib in 681 B.C. (37:38). Just how long the prophet ministered after that event is impossible to determine, but he must have prophesied for at least 60 years. However the bulk of the material in his book derives from the first 50 of those years (ca. 740-690 B.C.).

Important dates for Isaiah
Years	Events
745	Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria begins his reign
740	Uzziah of Judah dies; Isaiah begins his ministry
735	Ahaz of Judah begins his co-regency with Jotham; Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Aramea ally against Assyria
733-32	Tiglath-pileser invades Aramea and Israel
732	Damascus falls; Pekah and Rezin die; Jotham dies
727	Tiglath-pileser dies
722	Samaria falls; Shalmaneser V of Assyria dies and Sargon II begins to reign
715	Ahaz dies and Hezekiah begins his reign
711	Sargon attacks Ashdod and returns to Assyria
710	Sargon attacks Babylon
705	Sargon dies
701	Sennacherib of Assyria defeats Egypt at Eltekah and departs from Jerusalem; Merodach-baladan of Babylon sends messengers to visit Hezekiah
697	Manasseh of Judah begins his co-regency
690	Tirhakah of Egypt begins his reign
689	Sennacherib of Assyria defeats Babylon
686	Hezekiah dies
681	Sennacherib of Assyria dies and Esarhaddon begins to reign
671	Esarhaddon imports foreigners into Israel and defeats Egypt
612	Nineveh falls to Babylon
609	Nabopolassar of Babylon defeats Assyria and Assyria falls
605	Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeats Egypt at Carchemish; first deportation of Judahites to Babylon
597	Second deportation of Judahites to Babylon
586	Jerusalem falls to Nebuchadnezzar
559	Cyrus II of Persia begins to reign
539	Cyrus overthrows Babylon
538	Cyrus issues his decree allowing Jews to return to Palestine
530	Cyrus dies
518	Darius Hystaspes of Persia destroys Babylon

Audience and purpose

Isaiah ministered and wrote to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. His task was to explain to these chosen people that the old world order was passing away and that the new order, controlled by Gentile world empires that sought to swallow Judah up, required a new commitment to trust and obey Yahweh as His servant. The Assyrian threat called for this new dedication. This was a theological even more than a historical and political crisis for Judah. It raised many questions that Isaiah addressed.

"Is God truly the Sovereign of history if the godless nations are stronger than God's nation? Does might make right? What is the role of God's people in the world? Does divine judgment mean divine rejection? What is the nature of trust? What is the future of the Davidic monarchy? Are not the idols stronger than God and therefore superior to him?"¹³

The far-reaching nature of these questions called for reference to the future, which Isaiah revealed from the Lord. The Northern Kingdom had made the wrong commitment, which Amos announced, but the Southern Kingdom still had an opportunity to trust Yahweh and live.

"Stated briefly, the purpose of Isaiah is to display God's glory and holiness through His judgment of sin and His deliverance and blessing of a righteous remnant."¹⁴

Theology

The Book of Isaiah, the third longest book in the Bible after Psalms and Jeremiah, deals with as broad a range of theology as any book in the Old Testament. In this respect it is similar to Romans. However, there are four primary doctrines, all arising out of the prophet's personal experience with God in his call (ch. 6), that receive the most emphasis. These are God, man and the world, sin, and redemption.

Isaiah presented God as great, transcendently separate, authoritative, omnipotent, majestic, holy, and morally and ethically perfect. In contrast, he described sarcastically the stupidity of idolatry. God creates history as well as the cosmos, and He has a special relationship with Israel among the nations. The adjective "holy" (Heb. qadosh) describes God 33 times in Isaiah and only 26 times in the rest of the Old Testament. It is the primary attribute of God that this prophet stressed.

Isaiah showed the tremendous value that God places on humanity and the world but also the folly of pride and unbelief. Assuming pretensions to significance leads to insignificance for the creation, but giving true significance to God results in glory for humanity and the world. As all the other eighth-century prophets, Isaiah condemned injustice.

Sin is rebellion for Isaiah that springs from pride. The book begins and ends on this note (1:2; 66:24). All the evil in the world results from man's refusal to accept Yahweh's lordship. The prophet repeatedly showed how foolish such rebellion is. It not only affects man himself but also his environment. God's response to sin is judgment if people continue to rebel against Him, but He responds with redemption if they abandon self-trust and depend on Him. Sin calls for repentance, and forgiveness for the penitent is available.

God's judgment, the outworking of the personal rage of offended deity, takes many forms: natural disaster, military defeat, and disease being a few, but they all come from God's hand ultimately. The means of salvation can only be through God's activity. Substitutionary atonement makes possible God's announcement of pardon and redemption. This redemption comes through the promised Messiah ultimately, the Lord's anointed king. The goal of redemption is not just deliverance from sin's guilt but the sharing of God's character and fellowship. Salvation could only come to God's people as they accepted the role of servant. Deliverance cannot come to man through his own effort, but he must look to God alone for it. His emphasis on salvation has earned Isaiah the title of evangelist of the Old Testament.

Isaiah is strongly eschatological. In many passages the prophet dealt with the future destiny of Israel and the Gentiles. He wrote more than any other prophet of the great kingdom into which the Israelites would enter under Messiah's rule.

"We stand precisely on 56:1, looking back to the work of the Servant (now fulfilled in the person, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus) and looking forward to the coming of the Anointed Conqueror."¹⁵

Isaiah's emphasis on the coming Messiah is second only to the Psalms in the Old Testament in terms of its fullness and variety. God revealed more about the coming Messiah to Isaiah than He did to any other Old Testament character. Messianic themes in Isaiah include the branch, the stone (refuge), light, child, king, and especially servant. In some of the passages in Isaiah, Israel is the servant of the Lord that is in view, in others the faithful remnant in Israel is the servant, and in still others a future individual, the Messiah, must be in view. As Matthew clarified, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of what God intended the Israelites to be (Matt. 2:15; cf. Hos. 11:1-2).

"What is the overarching theme of OT theology? Perhaps it is the covenant. Here in Isaiah, God's special relationship with Israel is presupposed throughout. Perhaps it is the kingdom of God. The whole structure of the book brings out the implications of God's sovereign control of things in the interests of his kingdom. Perhaps it is promise and fulfillment. Here we see time and again the word of divine authority being fulfilled and further fulfillment thereby pledged. Perhaps it is simply God himself, Israel's Holy One. This book is one long exposition of the implications--for Israel and the world--of who and what he is. So this great prophecy--its whole structure unified by its teaching about the Holy One of Israel, who is true to his word, faithful to his covenant, and pursues the establishment of his kingdom--is a classic disclosure of the very heart of the OT faith."¹⁶

"The theological message of the book may be summarized as follows: The Lord will fulfill His ideal for Israel by purifying His people through judgment and then restoring them to a renewed covenantal relationship. He will establish Jerusalem (Zion) as the center of His worldwide kingdom and reconcile once hostile nations to Himself."¹⁷

Genre and interpretation

The book is a compilation of the visions that Isaiah received from the Lord. He presented this revelation as messages and compiled them into their present form. His disciples may have put finishing touches on the collection under divine inspiration. Most of the book is poetic in form, the prophet having been lifted up in his spirit as he beheld and recorded what God revealed to him. Much of the content is eschatological and therefore prophetic, though most of the ministry of the prophets, including Isaiah, was forth telling rather than foretelling. Much of what is eschatological is also apocalyptic, dealing with the final climax of history in the future. These portions bear the marks of that type of literature: symbols, analogies, and various figures of speech.¹⁸

Students of Isaiah have difficulty understanding the eschatological portions of the book. Some believe that we should look for a literal fulfillment of everything predicted. Others believe that when Isaiah spoke of Israel and Jerusalem he was referring to the church. More literal interpretation results in a premillennial understanding of prophecy whereas spiritualization results in an amillennial or postmillennial understanding. The problem with taking every prophecy literally is that in many places the prophet used metaphors and other figures of speech to describe his meaning; what he wrote does not describe exactly what he meant. The problem with spiritualizing all the prophecies is that the New Testament teaches that Israel will have a future in God's plans as Israel (Rom. 11:26-27). The church will not replace Israel though the church does participate in some of the blessing promised to Israel. The most satisfying position, for me, is to interpret Isaiah as literally as seems legitimate in view of other divine revelation while at the same time remembering that some of what appears to be literal description may in fact be metaphorical. This is the approach taken by most premillennialists.

"Surely God may be expected to have one basic meaning in what he says. This is true, but just as human speech, especially when it is poetical, may suggest further levels of significance beyond the meaning conveyed by the passage in its context, so may the Word of God."¹⁹

Structure

Occasional time references scattered throughout the book indicate that Isaiah arranged his prophecies in a basically chronological order (cf. 6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1; 37:38). However, they are not completely chronological. More fundamentally, Isaiah arranged his prophecies as an anthology in harmony with a unifying principle. That organizing principle seems to be that God's people should view all of life in the light of God's reality and should therefore orient themselves to Him appropriately, namely, as His servants.

Isaiah built a huge mosaic out of his prophecies and used pre-exilic material to serve pre-exilic, exilic, post-exilic, and eschatological ends. It is not unreasonable to assume that after Isaiah had completed what we now have in chapters 1-39 he received new revelations from God along a different line that led him to adopt the somewhat different style that is characteristic of the last part of the book. The first part deals primarily with the threat of Assyria and the second (chs. 40-66) with that of Babylonia, with chapters 36-39 forming a transition. Chapters 1-5 are an introduction to the whole collection of messages. Chapters 6 and 53 are the key chapters because they provide the most concise answers to the great questions raised in the book. The book contains many extended doublets: repetition of the same truth in the same consecutive steps.

Message²⁰

In contrast to the New Testament prophets, Isaiah had very little to say about an individual's relationship with God. His concern was more the relationship of God's people as a whole to the Lord, specifically the nation of Israel's relationship to God. This is true of most of the Old Testament writing prophets. Isaiah focused on Israel's past, her present, her near future, and her distant future. He also gave considerable attention to the fate of the Gentile nations.

In the first section of the book, Isaiah insists that judgment is necessary before there can be peace. He was not referring to judgment beyond this life, judgment when we die. He was dealing with judgment here and now, repentance and divine intervention. Peace on earth requires repentance and divine intervention.

In the last section of the book, Isaiah also stressed the importance of righteousness before there can be peace, righteousness here and now before there can be peace on earth in the future. Thus this emphasis on righteousness and peace acts as bookends and frames the content of Isaiah's prophecies.

The great value of Isaiah is its revelation of the throne of God. This book clarifies the principles by which God rules the universe. In chapter six, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne. This vision of God impacted the rest of Isaiah's ministry and the rest of his book. In chapter 53, the prophet revealed the Servant of the Lord in whom and through whom God reigns. Isaiah balanced the transcendence of God with the immanence of God. These great revelations of Isaiah come together in the Revelation of John, 5:6: "And I saw between the throne and the elders a Lamb standing." Revelation gives more revelation along the same lines that Isaiah gave earlier. God reigns through people, especially one crucial person. Isaiah had much to say about the coming Messiah throughout this book.

Isaiah lived the early part of his life under the reign of King Uzziah. Uzziah was a good king, and he provided stability for the kingdom of Judah. But when Uzziah died, everyone had questions about the direction Judah would go. It was in the year that King Uzziah died that Isaiah saw his vision of the throne in heaven (6:1). He realized in a deeper way than ever before that the true king of Judah was Yahweh and that Yahweh was still firmly on His throne.

There are two things that mark God's throne: government and grace. Isaiah's contemporaries needed a deeper appreciation of God's government and His grace, and so do all the readers of this book. The fact that Yahweh rules and that He rules graciously were truths that were very familiar to God's people in Isaiah's time. In fact, when Isaiah spoke of God's government and His grace the Israelites mocked him for presenting such a simple message. Their taste ran to the more esoteric, and Isaiah's repetition of basic truth bored them. God told his prophet to expect rejection, and that proved to be Israel's characteristic response to Isaiah's ministry.

We also need a reminder of the basic principles of God's government and His grace. It is not because they are unknown to us but because people do not heed these truths that they are so needful today.

Let's consider first what Isaiah revealed about the government of God.

There are three principles by which God governs. These are holiness, righteousness, and justice. Holiness is the inspiration, righteousness the activity, and justice the result of God's government.

The most outstanding characteristic of God that this book reveals is His holiness. The title "the Holy One of Israel" was Isaiah's hallmark. The angelic beings that Isaiah saw assembled around God's heavenly throne ascribed perfect holiness to Him: "Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of Hosts" (6:3). The holiness of God describes His "otherliness" from all His creation. God is different in His essence; He is spirit, whereas the creation is material. He is also different in His morality; He is absolutely upright, in contrast to the creation that has suffered from the Fall and its contacts with sin. When Isaiah saw the Lord, in chapter 6, what impressed him was his own uncleanness and the uncleanness of his people. All of God's government, how He governs, derives from His holiness. His holiness inspires all His government.

Because God is holy, He always does what is right. Conduct issues from and reflects character. Because God is holy in His character, He conducts Himself in righteousness. He always does what is right. There is a strong emphasis on righteousness in Isaiah, God's righteousness and the need for human righteousness. Isaiah's emphasis on righteousness is one of the reasons his book has been called the Romans of the Old Testament.

The result of righteous conduct is justice. God deals with His own people and all other people in justice. A holy God can do nothing else. He will do what is fair, what is straight, what is proper. We can see the justice of God in God's call to His people to reason with Him (1:18). Because God is just, sin inevitably brings punishment. Much of this prophecy is designed to help the people of God know how to avoid sin and its punishment and how to manage sin and its punishment. Justice in interpersonal and international affairs is an important motif in Isaiah.

Whereas the principles of God's government are holiness, righteousness, and justice, the methods by which He governs are revelation, explanation, and prediction.

According to Isaiah, the outstanding characteristic of God that distinguishes Him from all false gods (idols) is that He has revealed Himself; He has spoken. Isaiah referred to three primary revelations of God to humankind: general revelation, special revelation, and incarnate revelation. God has built a revelation of Himself into His creation so that everyone can see that a true God does exist (cf. Rom. 1). Second, He revealed His will as well as His existence. The revelation of His will came to the Israelites through what God taught them, the Torah (instruction). This revelation is what we have in Scripture, and it came to Israel for Israel to share with the world for the world's blessing, not to hoard to herself for her own blessing. Third, God revealed Himself through a person: the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, the Divine Warrior. The revelation of how God would deal with the sin problem came through this person. Isaiah reveals that God would deliver Israel from destruction, from captivity, and from sin. He would make her in the future the servant of His that He always intended her to be but which she failed to become because of her sin.

God went beyond just giving revelations, however. He also provided explanations. This was one of the major ministries of the prophets in general and of Isaiah in particular. God explained through Isaiah why the Israelites and their neighbor nations were experiencing what they were going through. He gave these explanations so they could learn from their past, walk in His ways in the present, and enjoy His blessings in the future. God explained that He not only had the ability to save Israel, but He also had the desire to do so.

Not only did God explain the past, He also predicted the future. He did this to prove that He is the only true God. In order to predict the future accurately, one must be able to control the future. Yahweh is the only true God. He is the only God who can create history in time as well as creating the material world in space. His ability to predict the future is the great testimony to His unique sovereignty. The outstanding predictions in this book concern those whom God would anoint for special ministries in the future. These individuals were Cyrus, who would be Israel's redeemer from Babylon's captivity, and the Servant, who would be Israel's redeemer from sin's captivity. The exodus motif is strong throughout Isaiah looking back to the Exodus from Egypt and forward to future exoduses.

The characteristics of God's government as revealed in Isaiah are also three: patience, persistence, and power.

God deals with people patiently. He allows them the opportunity to repent and to return to Himself. There is much emphasis in this book on the importance of returning to God. God had been very patient with Judah, but the day of His patience would end, so she needed to repent while there was still opportunity. The day of salvation would not last forever.

Second, God deals with people persistently. He does not disregard people's sin after a time, but He always deals with it righteously. Likewise He persists in blessing those who faithfully follow Him even though they live among a nation of apostates. God has a plan for Israel as a nation, and He also had a plan for the faithful among the apostates in the nation. His faithfulness to His promises is the mainspring that keeps the hands of His providence moving persistently.

Third, God ever demonstrates His supernatural power. What is natural does not bind Him. He can and does intervene to provide power that overcomes His sinful people and holds them in captivity. The expectation of more exoduses is strong throughout this book. Isaiah's audience looked forward to captivity in Babylon, but beyond that there was the promise of liberation, and beyond that there was the promise of liberation from sin. Fire is a fitting symbol of all these characteristics of God's government. It consumes patiently, it persists until it has run its full course, and it has great power. Isaiah pictured Yahweh as a consuming fire in relation to His people as well as in relation to unbelieving nations.

Parallel to these emphases on the government of God is an equally strong emphasis on the grace of God in Isaiah.

Along with the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God, we have an equally strong emphasis on the love, mercy, and goodness of God. Isaiah wrote that God's children had rebelled against Him. His wife had been unfaithful to Him. Those He had chosen to bless uniquely among all the nations of the earth had grieved His Holy Spirit. The breaking heart of God is as clear a revelation in Isaiah as are the broken commandments of God.

Similarly, God's revelations, His explanations, and His predictions arise out of His mercy. God has revealed Himself in nature so everyone can enter into relationship with a gracious God. He has explained Himself so His people can understand His dealings with them as being gracious. He has predicted the future so everyone will appreciate that His plans for humanity are gracious plans involving redemption from captivity and sin.

God's grace is the reason He is patient with people. His grace is the inspiration for His persistence with people. And His grace is the passion of His power on behalf of people. In short, all the outstanding characteristics of God in Isaiah trace back to His goodness. The Servant Songs, particularly the third one (52:13-53:12), overflow with the grace of God for His helpless and hopeless people. He is the key to their justification, sanctification, and glorification. Note again the similarity with Romans.

The living message of this book is that acknowledgment of God's sovereign rule is the key to successful human life on every level: individually, nationally, and historically. The only hope for human failure caused by enslavement to sin is divine redemption that a God of grace provides. God is not only able but also willing to save.

To enjoy the benefits of God's grace, people must submit to His government. To submit to His government, they must receive the benefits of His grace. Israel failed to enjoy the benefits of God's grace because she failed to submit to His rule. She failed to submit to His rule because she failed to trust His grace. God brings us into right relationship with His government through His grace. In order to enjoy the benefits of His grace, we must submit to His government. Both government and grace find their source in Yahweh and their expression in Jesus Christ.

Constable: Isaiah (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction chs. 1-5

A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 1

1. The title of the book 1:1

2. Israel's condition 1:2-9

3. God's solution 1:10-20

4. Israel's response 1:21-31

B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-4

1. God's desire for Israel 2:1-4

2. God's discipline of Israel 2:5-4:1

3. God's determination for Israel 4:2-6

C. The analogy of wild grapes ch. 5

1. The song of the vineyard 5:1-7

2. The wildness of the grapes 5:8-25

3. The coming destruction 5:26-30

II. Isaiah's vision of God ch. 6

A. The prophet's vision 6:1-8

B. The prophet's commission 6:9-13

III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7-39

A. The choice between trusting God or Assyria chs. 7-12

1. Signs of God's presence 7:1-9:7

2. Measurement by God's standards 9:8-10:4

3. Hope of God's deliverance 10:5-11:16

4. Trust in God's favor ch. 12

B. God's sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35

1. Divine judgments on the nations chs. 13-23

2. Divine victory over the nations chs. 24-27

3. The folly of trusting the nations chs. 28-33

4. The consequences of Israel's trust chs. 34-35

C. Tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39

1. The Assyrian threat chs. 36-37

2. The Babylonian threat chs. 38-39

IV. Israel's calling in the world chs. 40-55

A. God's grace to Israel chs. 40-48

1. The Lord of the servant ch. 40

2. The servant of the Lord chs. 41:1-44:22

3. The Lord's redemption of His servant chs. 44:23-47:15

4. The servant's attention to her Lord ch. 48

B. God's atonement for Israel chs. 49-55

1. Anticipation of salvation 49:1-52:12

2. Announcement of salvation 52:13-53:12

3. Invitation to salvation chs. 54-55

V. Israel's future transformation chs. 56-66

A. Recognition of human inability chs. 56-59

1. The need for humility and holiness chs. 56-57

2. The relationship of righteousness and ritual chs. 58-59

B. Revelation of future glory chs. 60-62

1. Israel among the nations ch. 60

2. Israel under the Lord chs. 61-62

C. Recognition of divine ability chs. 63-66

1. God's faithfulness in spite of Israel's unfaithfulness 63:1-65:16

2. The culmination of Israel's future 65:17-66:24

Constable: Isaiah

Isaiah

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

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Haydock: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAS.

INTRODUCTION.

This inspired writer is called by the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 25.) the great prophet; from the greatness of his prophetic spirit, by which he hath foretold, so long before, and in so clear a manner, the coming of Christ, the mysteries of our redemption, the calling of the Gentiles, and the glorious establishment, and perpeutal flourishing of the Church of Christ: insomuch that he seems to have been rather an evangelist than a prophet. His very name is not without mystery: for Isaias in Hebrew signifies the salvation of the Lord, or, Jesus is the Lord. He was, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, of the blood royal of the kings of Juda; an after a most holy life, ended his days by a glorious martyrdom; being sawed in two, at the command of his wicked son-in-law, king Manasses, for reproving his evil ways. (Challoner) --- He began to prophesy ten years before the foundation of Rome, and the ruin of Ninive. His style is suitable to his high birth. He may be called the prophet of the mercies of the Lord. Under the figure of the return from captivity, he foretells the redemption of mankind (Calmet) with such perspicuity, that he might seem to be an evangelist. (St. Jerome)

Gill: Isaiah (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH

This book is called, in the New Testament, sometimes "the Book of the Words of the Prophet Esaias", Luk 3:4 sometimes only the "Prophet Esaias", Act 8:28 and sometimes, as here, the "Book of the Prophet Esaias", Luk 4:17. In the Syriac version the title is, "the Prophecy of Isaiah the Son of Amos": and in the Arabic version, "the Beginning of the Prophecy of Isaiah the Prophet". It stands first of all the prophets; though the order of the prophets, according to the Jews ^a, is, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve. But it is here placed first, not because Isaiah prophesied before the other prophets; for Joel, Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, begun before him, namely, in or before the days of Jeroboam the Second; but because of the excellency of the matter contained in it. Isaiah is called by Ben Syra ^b the great prophet, and by Eusebius ^c the greatest of the prophets; and Jerom ^d a says, he should rather be called an evangelist than a prophet, since he seems rather to write a history of things past, than to prophesy of things to come; yea, he styles him an apostle, as well as an evangelist ^e: and certain it is that no one writes so fully and clearly of the person, offices, grace, and kingdom of Christ; of his incarnation and birth of a virgin; of his sufferings and death, and the glory that should follow, as he does. John, the forerunner of Christ, began his ministry with a passage out of him concerning himself, Mat 3:3. Our Lord preached his first sermon at Nazareth out of this book, Luk 4:17 and it was in this the eunuch was reading when Philip came up to him, who from the same Scripture preached to him Christ, Act 8:28. And there are more citations in the New Testament made out of this prophecy than any other book, excepting the book of Psalms, as Musculus observes. To which may be added, as another reason, the elegance and sublimity of his style in which he exceeds the greatest of orators, Demosthenes among the Greeks, and Tully among the Romans; and this is observed both by Jews and Christians. Abarbinel ^f says, that the purity, and elegance of his diction is like that of kings and counsellors, who speak more purely and elegantly than other men: hence their Rabbins, he says, compare Isaiah to a citizen, and Ezekiel to a countryman. And Jerom ^g observes, that Isaiah is so eloquent and polite, that there is nothing of rusticity in his language; and that his style is so florid, that a translation cannot preserve it. Moreover, another reason of this book being placed first may be the bulk of it; it being larger, and containing more chapters, than any of the greater prophets, and almost as many as all the lesser prophets put together. That Isaiah was the writer of this book is not to be questioned; many of the prophecies in it are by name ascribed to him, Mat 13:14 though some others might be the compilers of it, collect his prophecies, and digest them in order: so the Jews say ^h, that Hezekiah and his company wrote Isaiah, &c. At what time, and in whose days he prophesied, may be learnt from Isa 1:1 by which it appears that he prophesied long, and lived to a good old age. He began to prophesy about A. M. 3236, and about seven hundred and seventy years before Christ. Abulpharagius, an Arabic writer, says ⁱ, he lived an hundred and twenty years, eighty five of which he prophesied. It is a generally received tradition with the Jews, that he lived to the time of Manasseh, and that he was sawn asunder by him; and which has been embraced by the ancient Christian writers, and is thought to be referred to in Heb 11:37. See Gill on Heb 11:37. But Aben Ezra on Isa 1:1 observes, that had he lived to the time of Manasseh, it would have been written, and is of opinion that he died in Hezekiah's time. According to the Cippi Hebraici ^k, he was buried at Tekoah, over whose grave a beautiful monument was erected; though Epiphanius ^l, or the author of the Lives of the Prophets that go by his name, says he was buried under the oak of Rogel, near the fountain of Siloam; and it is a tradition with the Syriac writers, that his body lay hid in the waters of Siloah; See Gill on Joh 5:4 but these are things not to be depended on; and alike fabulous are all other writings ascribed to him, besides this prophecy; as what are called the ascension of Isaiah, the vision of Isaiah, and the conference of Isaiah. This book contains some things historical, but chiefly prophetic; of which some relate to the punishment of the Jews, and other nations; but for the most part are evangelical, and concern the kingdom and grace of Christ; of which some are delivered out more clearly and perspicuously, and others more obscurely, under the type of the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity.

Gill: Isaiah 16 (Chapter Introduction)

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 to protect, and not betray the people of the Jews that should flee to them, because of the Assyrian army, Isa 16:3 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 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 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.