isaiah 16 commentary

63
ISAIAH 16 COMMENTARY EDITED BY GLENN PEASE 1 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion. 1.BARNES, “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 (ποστελ apostelo ) instead of the imperative; and that the Syraic reads ברbar instead of כרkar, “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 (ρπετ 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’ ( כרkar) 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

Upload: glenn-pease

Post on 18-Jul-2015

40 views

Category:

Spiritual


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • ISAIAH 16 COMMENTARY

    EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

    1 Send lambs as tribute

    to the ruler of the land,

    from Sela, across the desert,

    to the mount of Daughter Zion.

    1.BARNES, 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 ( apostelo) instead of

    the imperative; and that the Syraic reads bar instead of 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 ( 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 ( 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 Davids 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 ( 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 ( 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 Relands 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 Robinsons 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 Labordes 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. (Burckhardts Travels in Syria, pp. 428, 429.)

    Burckhardts 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 Robinsons 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 Stephens 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 Robinsons 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.

    2. CLARKE, 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 eshlach, I will send, in the first person singular, future tense:

    the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read shelach, send, singular imperative: some read

    shilchu, send ye forth, or shalechu, they send forth. The Syriac, for car, a lamb, reads 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.

    3. GILL, 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.

  • 4. HENRY, 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.

    5. JAMISON, Isa_16:1-14. Continuation of the prophecy as to Moab.

    lamb 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, 2Ki_3:5). 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).

    from Sela to rather, from Petra through (literally, towards) the wilderness [Maurer].

    Sela means a rock, Petra in Greek; the capital of Idumea and Arabia-Petraea; 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).

    ruler of the land namely, of Idumea, that is, the king of Judah; Amaziah had become master of Idumea and Sela (2Ki_14:7).

    6. K&D, 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)moshel-'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.

    7. BI, A message to Moab

    The fugitives are supposed to have found a temporary home in Edom. The verse may be spoken by the prophet, or (as Prof. Cheyne suggests) it may proceed from the Moabite chiefs themselves, exhorting one another to take this step. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)

    Tribute demanded of Moab

    A very terrible humiliation had already been inflicted on Moab in the reign of Jehoram, King of Israel (2Ki_3:4; 2Ki_3:25). During Ahabs reign, Moab had been compelled to pay a very heavy annual tribute, even 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams. Refusal to pay led to war from time to time; war resulting, however, invariably in the defeat of the Moabites. In such circumstances the prophet urges upon Moab the wisdom of paying this tribute without trouble or demur. (Buchanan Blake, B. D.)

    Gospel submission

  • It is applicable to the great Gospel duty of submission to Christ, as the Ruler of the land and our Ruler.

    1. Send Him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice.

    2. When you come to God, the great Ruler, come in the name of the Lamb, the Lamb of God.

    3. Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered unto the shadow of His wings, shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest (Isa_16:2), 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 everything else. (M. Henry.)

    8. PULPIT, THE BURDEN OF MOAB (CONTINUED). This portion of the "burden" is divided into three

    sections. In section 1 (from Isa_16:1 to the end of Isa_16:5) an offer of mercy is made to Moab on certain

    conditions, viz. that she return to her allegiance to the house of David, and show kindness to fugitive

    Israelites. In section 2 (Isa_16:6-12) she is supposed to have rejected this offer, and is threatened (as

    in Isa_15:1-9.) with severe punishment. In section 3 (which consists of Isa_16:13 and Isa_16:14) the time

    is fixed for the main visitation to fall upon her.

    Isa_16:1

    Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land; rather, the lamb of the ruler of the landthe lamb (or

    lambs, kar being used collectively) due to the ruler as a mark of subjection. In the time of Ahab Mesha

    had paid a tribute to Israel of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams annually

    (2Ki_3:4). The prophet recommends that this, or some similar, tribute should now be paid to the King of

    Judah instead. Israel having been absorbed into Assyria. From Sela. Either Moab is regarded as having

    taken refuge in Edom, and is therefore bidden to send her tribute from the Edomite capital, Sela

    (equivalent to "Petra"), or "Sela," here is not a proper name, but a collective used to designate the rocky

    parts of Moab, to which she had betaken herself (as in Jer_48:28). The latter supposition is, on the whole,

    the more probable. To the wilderness; literally, wildernesswards; i.e. by the way of the wilderness. The

    enemy being regarded as in possession of the northern end of the Dead Sea, Moab is recommended to

    send her tribute round the southern end, and so by way of "the wilderness of Judah," to Jerusalem.

    9. CALVIN, 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, 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, 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, ( ,) 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 (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 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.

    (249) From Sela, (or, Petra.) Eng. Ver.

    FT241 Rock, also called Sela, (Isa_16:1,) and Joktheel, (2Kg_14:7.) The capital of Idumea, and one of

    the most remarkable cities of the ancient world. For more than a thousand years this city remained

    unknown and unvisited, till Burckhardt discovered it in 1812. It was afterwards visited, with some difficulty,

    by Messrs. Legh, Banks, Captains Irby and Mangles, as well as by M. Linant and M. Laborde. Those

    who have not access to the details of those enterprizing researches, or who wish to see it ably stated and

    argued, that present condition of Petra furnishes a remarkable fulfillment of Scripture prophecy, will do

    well to read the article Petra in Dr. Eadie Biblical Cyclopaedia, from which the above extracts are taken;

    an article which draws largely both from the narratives of travelers and from the inspired writers, and

    compresses within moderate limits a large amount of information. Ed

    FT242 As a wandering bird. Eng. Ver.

    FT243 Take (Heb. Bring) counsel. Eng. Ver.

    FT244 a shadow for thee at noon, to throw darkness over thee, as in the night, that by means of it thou

    mayest be concealed from the face of thy enemies. Jarchi

    FT245 For the extortioner (Heb. wringer) is at an end. Eng. Ver.

    FT246 Until the extortioner (ki) answers here to the Latin adverb, usquedum . Tayl. Concord. quoted

    by Stock.

    FT247 And in mercy shall the throne be established, (or, prepared.) Eng. Ver.

    FT248 His wrath. Eng. Ver. In the author version of this chapter, the rendering is, his insolence; but in

  • his margin he puts indignation. Lowth and Stock make it his anger. Ed

    FT249 The rendering of the Septuagint is, , Not so thy divination, not

    so. Ed

    FT250 (lo ken,) non rectum , the frivolous predictions of his diviners, on which no wise man would

    place dependence. Rosenmuller

    FT251 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab. Eng. Ver.

    FT252 Shall ye mourn, (or, mutter,) surely they are stricken Eng. Ver. Moan even ye

    who yourselves are smitten. Stock

    FT253 For the fields of Heshbon languish. Eng. Ver.

    FT254 ought to be known that Heshbon was a place of fields, and Sibmah was a place of vineyards. If

    you object, that all these cities were on the other side of Jordan, and at what time therefore did they fall

    under the hand (or power) of the Moabites? we reply. When Sennacherib carried the Reubenites and

    Gadites into captivity, the Moabites, who were their neighbors, came and dwelt in those cities. Jarchi

    FT255 The lords of the heathen have trodden down the principal plants thereof. Eng. Ver.

    FT256 They are come even unto Jazer. Eng. Ver.

    FT257 The lake of Jazer, as Jeremiah explains it, Jer_48:32. The plantations of this vine spread onward

    to the banks, and seemed to overhang the whole breadth of the lake. Rosenmuller

    FT258 For the shouting for thy summer-fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. (Or, the alarm is fallen upon thy

    summer-fruits and upon thy harvest. Eng. Ver.

    FT259 Jam canit extremos effoetus vinitor antes. Virg. Georg. 2:417.

    FT260 But he shall not prevail. Eng. Ver.

  • 2 Like fluttering birds

    pushed from the nest,

    so are the women of Moab

    at the fords of the Arnon.

    1.BARNES, 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.

    2. PULPIT, For it shall be; rather, and it shall be. The tribute having been paid, Moab will regain some

    confidence. Her fluttered population will return, and collect at the fords of the Amen, ready to recross

    it. As a wandering bird cast out of the nest; rather, as a wandering bird (or, wandering birds)"as a

  • scattered nest" (or, "brood of nestlings"). The daughters of Moab. The population of Moab generally, as

    "the daughter of Zion" (Isa_16:1) is the population of Jerusalem generally.

    3. GILL, 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.

    4. KRETZMANN, . For it shall be that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, like birds

    aimlessly fluttering, like a nest whose occupants have suddenly been turned out, so the daughters of

    Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon; for here, at the boundary of their land, they assemble in huddled

    bands, looking for help and deliverance. To this appeal the prophet answers:

    5. JAMISON, cast out of ... nest 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.

    daughters of Moab that is, the inhabitants of Moab. So 2Ki_19:21; Psa_48:11; Jer_46:11; Lam_4:22 [Maurer].

    at the fords 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.

    6. K&D, 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 ... , 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. 6 we

  • should regard as in apposition to benoth)Moab (the daughters of Moab), if maba
  • 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 ( tegal1y), do not show them to their pursuer; that is, give them concealment and protection.

    2. CLARKE, 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 Kennicotts and De Rossis 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.

  • 3. GILL, 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.

    4. HENRY, 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.

    5. JAMISON, Gesenius, Maurer, etc., 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, Isa_16:4); 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. make ... shadow as ... night ... in ... noonday emblem of a thick shelter from the

    glaring noonday heat (Isa_4:6; Isa_25:4; Isa_32:2).

  • bewray ... wandereth Betray not the fugitive to his pursuer.

    6. PULPIT, Take counsel, execute judgment, etc. According to most critics, these are the words of the

    Moabites, or of a Moabite ambassador at Jerusalem, and are a call on Judaea to give shelter to the

    fugitives from Moab. Some, however, as Dr. Kay, maintain that the words are the prophet's, addressed to

    Moab, calling on her to treat kindly fugitives from Judaea. Make thy shadow as the

    night (comp. Isa_4:6). In the hot land of Moab the sun is an enemy, and "the shadow of a great rock" a

    welcome refuge.

    7.CALVIN, 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, 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.

    4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

    be their shelter from the destroyer.

  • The oppressor will come to an end,

    and destruction will cease;

    the aggressor will vanish from the land.

    1.BARNES, 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 ( yagu

  • 3. GILL, 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.

    4. HENRY, 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.

    5. BI, Gods outcasts in Moab

    An injunction is given to Moab to shelter the Jewish fugitives.

    I. GOD OWNS HIS PEOPLE WHEN ALL THE WORLD FORSAKES OR OPPOSES THEM. No doubt Sennacherib thought the outcasts to be his victims, his prey; but God claims a personal interest in them, watches over them when they wander, supplies them in their need, and protects them by His guardian providence. They are His: His as the subjects of His government; His as the objects of His regard; His as the children of His grace.

    II. GOD RAISES UP FRIENDS AND COMFORTERS FOR HIS CHURCH IN STRANGE AND UNEXPECTED QUARTERS. Here He provides for them a shelter before the storm comes on, and makes Moab, one of the most powerful of the Churchs enemies, a near and a present friend. God proves to Moab that it was their interest to do so, because the Jews would soon be in a condition to requite the favour, when their country should be invaded, and their daughters should wander without a home (Isa_16:2). The providence of God often makes the hostile feelings of bad men the occasion of good to the righteous.

    III. GOD CAN OVERRULE CALAMITIES, WHICH THREATEN NOTHING BUT DISASTER TO HIS CHURCH, INTO THE MEANS OF CONFIRMING FAITH AND HOPE. Gods outcasts in Moab learned many a useful lesson there, and when they returned it was to uphold the government of Hezekiah, and to promote the welfare of the people with whom they had sojourned. And the throne shall be established in mercy, and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David (Isa_16:5). Sennacheribs invasion, which scattered his subjects in exile, threatened the overthrow of Hezekiah, but it really tended to establish him, for never was his kingdom more secure than after the overthrow of the Assyrian army. The same thing obtains in the experience of the Christian. As the birds sing most sweetly after a tempest; as torches shine brighter for shaking; as the flowers shed forth their fragrance at the close of a troubled day, so the graces of a Christian, his faith, his patience, and his hope, are matured by the trials that

  • threatened their utter extinction. In the kingdom of Christ, a kingdom which is established in mercy, you find perpetual progress amidst perpetual storm, and a noontide of brightness often succeeds the darkest night.

    IV. AMIDST ALL WANDERINGS GOD WOULD HAVE HIS PEOPLE REMEMBER THEIR DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER AND PREPARE FOR RETURN. They were to dwell in Moab, but only for a season, and always to bear the heart of a stranger. It is a great thing in days of worldly compliance and conformity, when everyone seems to live as if he were to live here always, to have in exercise a better hope, and for Christians to preserve the distinctness of their character. The Divine hand that created our frame and put life into it, has provided us with other resources than are found in feeble self, or in creatures feeble as ourselves. Besides this earth and these lower skies, there is an invisible world, and a kingdom of spirits. Let Christians seek to be in the world, but not of it. (Homiletic Magazine.)

    6. PULPIT, Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab. The change of one accent will allow of this

    passage being translated, Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with thee; and so it is rendered by the LXX; the

    Syriac, by Lowth, Gesenius, Hitzig, Ewald, and Mr. Cheyne. Delitzsch and Dr. Kay agree with the

    Authorized Version. For the extortioner is at an end. This seems to be urged as a reason why the

    protection asked should be given: it will not be for longthe oppressor is about to receive chastisement.

    He is called "the extortioner," as exacting the utmost possible tribute from conquered lands. Such

    exaction was characteristic of Assyria (2Ki_15:19;2Ki_18:14; 'Assyrian Inscriptions,' passim). The spoiler

    ceaseth; literally, devastation ceaseth.

    7. CALVIN, 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. 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.) Hehears 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, 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 , (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.

    5 In love a throne will be established;

    in faithfulness a man will sit on it

    one from the house[a] of David

    one who in judging seeks justice

    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

    1.BARNES, 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 ( 'o

  • 2. PULPIT, Take counsel, execute judgment, etc. According to most critics, these are the words of the

    Moabites, or of a Moabite ambassador at Jerusalem, and are a call on Judaea to give shelter to the

    fugitives from Moab. Some, however, as Dr. Kay, maintain that the words are the prophet's, addressed to

    Moab, calling on her to treat kindly fugitives from Judaea. Make thy shadow as the

    night (comp. Isa_4:6). In the hot land of Moab the sun is an enemy, and "the shadow of a great rock" a

    welcome refuge.

    3. GILL, 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.

    4. HENRY, 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.

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

    truth ... judgment ... righteousness 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).

    hasting prompt in executing.

    6. BI, The moral purpose of judgment

    The moral purpose of judgment is never concealed in the Divine writings. God is always seeking to bring about the time when in mercy His throne shall be established, and when there shall sit upon it in truth one who will represent the ideal judgment and blessing of God. The fifth verse might be rendered, In mercy shall a throne be established, and One shall sit upon it in truth. The prophet has constantly kept before his mind the image of an ideal king. The ideal was partially fulfilled in Hezekiah, yet only partially; the prophet was sure One was coming who would fulfil it in its utmost meaning, and he steadfastly kept his eye on the bright day when Gods throne should be established among the nations, and His sceptre should be extended over all. God does not exist merely to destroy, nor does He rule only in order that He may humble and crush; His purpose is one of equity, righteousness, blessing, cultivation. (J. Parker, D. D.)

    7.CALVIN, 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 reign; and the blessing of God again began to burst forth on the Jews. It is as if it

    had been said 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, 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. (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 (shophet) to mean Governor, as if he had said, 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.

    6 We have heard of Moabs pride

    how great is her arrogance!

    of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;

    but her boasts are empty.

  • 1.BARNES, 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 ( lo' ke

  • This shall they have for their pride; Because they have raised a reproach, and have magnified themselves Against the people of Jehovah God of hosts.

    3. GILL, 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.

    4. HENRY, 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.

    5. JAMISON, We Jews. We reject Moabs supplication for his pride.

    lies false boasts.

    not be so rather, not right; shall prove vain (Isa_25:10; Jer_48:29, Jer_48:30; Zep_2:8). It shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

    6. K&D, 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 ( from = , , to talk at

    random) must necessarily appear as , 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.

    7.CALVIN, 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 r