Isaiah 16:4-5

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live ¹  among you.

Hide them ²  from the destroyer!”

Certainly ³  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁴ 

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear ⁵  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. ⁶ 

He will be sure to make just decisions

and will be experienced in executing justice. ⁷ 

[16:4]  ¹ tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

[16:4]  ² tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

[16:4]  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.

[16:4]  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.

[16:4]  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.

[16:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”

[16:5]  ⁷ 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.”