View Isaiah 16 in the note window.
The Moabites exhorted to entertain kindly the banished Jews,
ver. 1 - 5.
They are threatened for their pride and arrogance, ver. 6 - 8.
The prophet bewaileth them, ver. 9 - 11.
Their judgment, ver. 12 - 14.
1: Send - The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab, and
gives them counsel what to do, to prevent, if possible, the desolation.
Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him,
and to his people. Sela - An eminent city of Moab, seated upon a rock.
Unto the mount - Unto the temple upon mount Zion.
2: Cast out - Which knows not whither to go. Arnon - Which was the
border of the land of Moab, where they were, with design to flee out
of their land, tho' they knew not whither.
3: Take counsel - Consider seriously what course to take.
Shadow - Or, as the shadow of the night, large and dark, as the
shadow of the earth is in the night - season. Conceal and protect my
people in the time of their distress. The out - casts - Those of my
people who are driven out of their land. Wandereth - Unto their enemies.
4: Mine out - casts - Whom tho' I have sorely chastened, yet I own for
my people. At an end - Shall shortly be destroyed, and then thou wilt not
lose the fruit of thy kindness. The present tense is put for the future.
5: In mercy - By my mercy. I am now punishing their sins, yet I
will deliver them for my own mercy's sake. The throne - The kingdom of
Judah. He - Their king. In truth - That is, firmly and constantly;
for truth is often put for the stability and certainty of a thing, as(2Ch 32:1,Pr 11:18).
Tabernacle - ln the house, or palace, which is called a tent, or
tabernacle, with respect to the unsettledness of David's house,
which now indeed was more like a tabernacle than a strong palace.
Seeking - Searching out the truth of things with care and diligence.
Hasting - Neither denying, nor yet delaying justice.
6: We - The prophet having spoken to the Moabites, now turns his
speech to God's people. The sense is, I do not expect that my counsels
will have any good effect upon Moab; they will still carry themselves
insolently and outrageously. His lies - His vain imaginations, and false
and crafty counsels, shall not take effect.
7: Moab - One Moabite shall howl or lament to or for another.
Kirhareseth - An ancient and eminent city of Moab, which was preserved
when their other cities were ruined, and therefore the destruction of
it was more lamented. Stricken - Or, broken, overthrown or destroyed.
8: The lords - The Assyrians or Chaldeans, the great rulers of
the eastern nations. Plants - The choicest vines. Under which one
particular he seems to understand, not only all other fruits and goods,
but even their choicest people. They - The lords of the heathen are come
as far as Jazer, which is the utmost border of Moab. Wandered - The
Moabites fled for their lives, and wandered hither and thither in the
wilderness of Moab. Branches - Her people, called plants before.
Stretched - Driven from their own homes, and dispersed into several
countries. The sea - Over the Dead - sea, which was the border of
Moab. They were forced to flee out of their own country to save
their lives.
9: Sibmah - I will bewail Sibmah, as I did bewail Jazer, which
was destroyed before Sibmah. Fallen - Those joyful shouts which were
customary in the time of harvest and vintage, shall cease.
10: Treaders - In those times they used to squeeze out the juice of
their grapes by treading them with their feet.
11: My bowels - Thro' compassion. In excessive grief, the bowels are
sometimes rolled together, so as to make an audible noise.
12: When - When it shall appear that all their other devotions are
vain. His sanctuary - To the temple of his great god Chemosh.
But - His god can neither hear nor help him.
13: Since - Since the beginning of God's revelation to me concerning
Moab, hitherto.
14: The Lord - Hath made this farther discovery of his mind to me.
Three years - This may well be understood of some great blow given to the
Moabites, either by Sennacherib, or his son Esarhaddon, from
which notwithstanding they recovered and flourished again 'till
Nebuchadnezzar compleated their destruction. Hireling - Within three
years precisely counted; for hirelings are very punctual in observing
the time for which they are hired. The glory - Their strength, and wealth,
and other things in which they glory, shall be made contemptible to those
who formerly admired them. With - With the great numbers of their people,
of which they boasted.
