Isaiah 16

Isaiah 13–23 is a collection of oracles of warning (prophecies delivering the word of God) against various nations. Chapter 16 takes up and concludes the oracle against Moab that begins in Isaiah 15.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 A command is given to send lambs from Sela, by way of the wilderness, to the ruler of Mount Zion. The daughters of Moab at the fords of Arnon are likened to scattered young birds.
• Verses 3–5 An appeal follows to hide the outcasts and to be a refuge for them. When the oppressor ceases, the throne will be established in mercy in the tabernacle of David, and the one who sits upon it will rule with justice and righteousness.
• Verses 6–8 Moab's pride is denounced, and Moab wails. The fields of Heshbon and the vine of Sibmah have withered, and the lords of the nations have broken down its branches.
• Verses 9–12 The speaker says he will weep with the weeping of Jazer and water Heshbon and Elealeh with his tears. The singing in the vineyards falls silent, and though Moab prays at its high place (a place of worship on elevated ground), it is of no avail.
• Verses 13–14 Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, and the remnant will be very small.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 16:5 "And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David": a promise concerning the Davidic throne, set in the midst of an oracle of judgment.
• Isaiah 16:11 "Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab": an expression of grief over the downfall of an enemy nation.
• Isaiah 16:14 "Within three years, as the years of an hireling": just as a hired laborer counts his days exactly, the time of judgment is fixed.

People and Places

• Moab: a people and nation east of the Dead Sea, and the subject of this chapter.
• Zion: a name for Jerusalem, the destination to which the lambs are sent.
• Sela: known as a city in the region of Edom.
• Arnon: a river valley running through the land of Moab.
• Kir-hareseth: a principal city of Moab.
• Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, and Jazer: cities of northern Moab, described in this chapter in terms of their fields and vineyards.

Points for Reflection

• The lambs of verse 1 are sometimes read against the background of Moab's practice of paying tribute. 2 Kings 3 records that Mesha, king of Moab, paid tribute in sheep to the king of Israel.
• Interpreters differ as to who is addressing whom in verses 3–4. The Korean Revised Version renders the passage as a call for Moab to hide "my outcasts." Other translations, however, divide the Hebrew text differently and render it as a request for Judah to receive Moab's refugees.
• Verse 5 is sometimes understood historically as referring to a king of David's dynasty in Judah. In the Christian tradition, it is widely read as messianic prophecy in connection with the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. In the New Testament context, it is read together with Luke 1:26–35, which says that Jesus will be given "the throne of his father David." The word rendered "mercy" here corresponds to hesed.
• The language of verses 6–11 overlaps extensively with the oracle against Moab in Jeremiah 48.
• The text does not specify when the judgment of verse 14 was fulfilled. Some scholars connect it with the campaigns of Assyria, but there is no consensus.