INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 16
This chapter is a continuation of the prophecy against Moab; in which
the prophet gives good advice, but in case of a haughty neglect of it,
which he foresaw, threatens with ruin, and fixes a time for it. He
advises the Moabites to pay their tribute to the king of Judah, o... [ Continue Reading ]
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, 2 Samuel 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 o... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 resol... [ Continue Reading ]
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 peac... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IN MERCY SHALL THE THRONE BE ESTABLISHED,.... That is, the throne
of Hezekiah, and his government over Judah, which was more firmly
settled and established after the overthrow of the Assyrian army,
through the mercy of God vouchsafed to him, and on account of the
mercy he exercised among his sub... [ Continue Reading ]
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 o... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE SHALL MOAB HOWL FOR MOAB,.... One Moabite shall mourn for
another; the living for the dead; or one part of the country for
another; or to Moab, they shall howl in turns, answering to one
another:
EVERYONE SHALL HOWL: every Moabite, or the whole country of Moab shall
howl, being everywhere... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE FIELDS OF HESHBON LANGUISH,.... Through drought; or because of
the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them; or because
there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Heshbon
Isaiah 15:4. It seems to have been a place famous for fields and
pastures, and to have been a very frui... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE I WILL BEWAIL WITH THE WEEPING OF JAZER THE VINE OF
SIBMAH,.... That is, bewail the one, as he had done the other, both
places with the fruits about them being destroyed by the enemy; or
"therefore with weeping I will bewail" (most vehemently lament, an
usual Hebraism) "Jazer", and "the vi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND GLADNESS IS TAKEN AWAY, AND JOY OUT OF THE PLENTIFUL FIELD,.... Or
"is gathered" h, though their harvest was not; all cause of joy and
gladness was removed; a plentiful field being foraged, trampled upon,
and destroyed by the enemy, and left desolate without any to manure
it:
AND IN THE VINEYAR... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREFORE MY BOWELS SHALL SOUND LIKE A HARP FOR MOAB,.... Making a
noise as the harp does, and a mournful one as that, when used at
funerals; which it makes when it is stricken or played on with the
hand, as these were, through the afflictive and punitive hand of God;
and which, when stricken, cause... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHEN IT IS SEEN THAT MOAB IS WEARY ON THE
HIGH PLACE,.... With weeping there, Isaiah 15:2 or with frequent
sacrifices, and going from one high place to another, as Balak king of
Moab did; and by comparing places together, it looks as if this was
the way of the Moabites in... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS [IS] THE WORD THAT THE LORD HATH SPOKEN CONCERNING MOAB,.... That
is, this prophecy now delivered out is what comes from the Lord; it is
the word of the Lord, and not of man, and so shall certainly come to
pass; when this word was spoken follows:
SINCE THAT TIME; from eternity, as some, and so... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT NOW THE LORD HATH SPOKEN,.... Something else. What follows is a
distinct prophecy from the former, and has a date annexed to it, when
it should be fulfilled: the former prophecy relates to the utter
destruction of the Moabites by the Babylonians, in the times of
Nebuchadnezzar; of which Jeremiah... [ Continue Reading ]