Chapter Summary
Chapter 16 of Isaiah continues the prophecy concerning Moab, a neighboring nation. It begins with a plea, possibly from Moab or Judah's advice to Moab, to send a lamb as tribute to Jerusalem in exchange for protection from invaders. The prophet describes the desperate state of Moabite refugees, comparing them to helpless birds cast from their nests, seeking safety. There's an appeal for justice and mercy towards these exiles. The chapter then shifts to an intense lament over Moab's downfall, brought on by its excessive pride and arrogance. Isaiah mourns the destruction of Moab's fertile lands, vineyards, and cities, foretelling an end to their joyous harvests and celebrations. The chapter concludes with a specific timeline from God: within three years, Moab's once-great glory will be shattered, leaving only a small, weak remnant.
Bible:Essence Verses
- People of Moab, you should send a tribute lamb from your city of Sela, across the desert lands, all the way to the leader in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion.
- For it will happen that the women of Moab will be like little birds forced out of their nests, fluttering helplessly at the crossing points of the Arnon River.
- O Judah, offer good advice and make fair decisions; provide shade like the deepest night during the hottest part of the day; shelter those who have been driven out and do not betray anyone seeking refuge.
- Let my exiled people find safety with you, Moab; be a hiding place for them from those who seek to destroy them. For soon, the cruel tax collector will disappear, the destructive attacker will cease, and those who hurt others will be removed from the land.
- At that time, a king will rule fairly and truly from his throne in Jerusalem, in the royal lineage of David, always judging rightly, upholding justice, and quickly bringing about what is good and right.
- We have heard about the great arrogance of Moab; how very proud they are, filled with their haughtiness, their self-importance, and their anger; but their boasts are empty and won't stand true.
- Because of this, the people of Moab will cry out in sorrow over Moab, every one of them will mourn. You will grieve for the ruined foundations of Kir Hareseth, truly they are shattered.
- For the farm fields of Heshbon are ruined, and the famous grapevines of Sibmah are destroyed. The foreign rulers have cut down its finest plants, reaching all the way to Jazer and spreading even across the wilderness; its branches once stretched far, even beyond the sea.
- Therefore, I will weep for the vineyards of Sibmah with the same sorrow as Jazer. I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, because the joyful shouts for your summer fruit and your harvest have stopped.
- Happiness and delight have been taken away from the rich farmlands; no songs are heard in the vineyards, and no joyful shouts. Those who usually press the grapes will not make wine in their presses; I have silenced their celebratory cries for the harvest.
- That is why my heart aches with deep sadness for Moab, and my innermost being laments for Kir Hareseth.
- And it will come to pass that when Moab tries to worship at its shrines on the hilltops, exhausted, and goes to its pagan temples to pray, its efforts will be useless.
- This message about Moab is what the Lord announced a long time ago.
- But now, the Lord has declared: within three years, counted precisely like the years of a hired worker, the impressive power and reputation of Moab will be completely dishonored, along with its large population; only a very small and weak group of survivors will remain.
- A serious warning concerning Damascus. Look, Damascus will stop being a city and will just become a pile of rubble.
- The towns in the Aroer area will be deserted. They will become open lands where sheep and goats can graze and rest safely without anyone bothering them.
- Ephraim will lose its strong defenses, and Damascus will no longer be a kingdom, nor will any part of Syria remain powerful. Their importance will fade, just as Israel's power once faded, declares the Almighty God.
- When that time comes, the power and wealth of Jacob (Israel) will become much smaller, and its strength will shrink away.
- It will be like a farmer harvesting all the grain, gathering every stalk by hand; just like when fields are completely cleared of wheat in the Valley of Rephaim.
- But a small number of survivors will remain, like the few grapes left behind after the harvest, or like when an olive tree is shaken and only a couple of olives are left high on the topmost branch, or a few more on the ends of the fruit-bearing branches, declares the God of Israel.
- When that day arrives, people will turn their focus toward God, who created them, and their eyes will honor the Holy God of Israel.
- And they will stop looking to the altars they built with their own hands, and they won't honor the idols their fingers shaped, whether they are the sacred poles or the statues.
- At that time, their fortified towns will be like an abandoned branch or a topmost bough that was deserted, a desolate scene, much like places once left empty because of the people of Israel. There will be complete emptiness.
- This will happen because you have forgotten the God who brings you rescue and haven't paid attention to the powerful God who is your rock of safety. So, you will try to plant charming but foreign plants and set out strange cuttings.
- You will make your new plants grow in a day, and your seeds will sprout quickly in the morning. But when it's time to harvest, there will only be a pile of misery on a day filled with deep sadness and hopelessness.
- Listen to the terrible sound of many people, roaring like the ocean waves! Hear the thundering of nations, crashing forward like powerful floods!
- The nations will surge forward like powerful rushing waters, but God will speak sharply to them, and they will run away into the distance. They will be driven off like light husks of grain blown from the mountains by the wind, or like a tumbleweed rolling away in a strong storm.
- Look, in the evening there is fear and trouble, but before morning comes, the enemy will be gone. This is what will happen to those who attack us and steal from us.