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Isaiah 16
Common English Bible
Isaiah 16
Common English Bible
16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,[a]
from Sela through the desert
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
2 The daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon are like orphaned birds pushed from the nest.
3 Consider carefully, act justly;
at high noon provide your shade like night.
Hide the outcasts;
keep the fugitives hidden.
4 Let the outcasts of Moab live among you.
Be a hiding place for them from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
when destruction has ceased,
when the trampler has vanished from the land,
5 a throne will be established based on goodness,
and someone will sit faithfully on it in David’s dwelling[b]—
a judge who seeks justice and timely righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s pride,
his great pride,
his outrageous pride and arrogance,
his empty boasting.
7 Therefore, let Moab wail;
let everyone wail for Moab.
Let them moan, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
8 The fields of Heshbon languish.
The vines of Sibmah,
whose honored grapes overpowered masters of nations,
had reached as far as Jazer and strayed to the desert.
Their tendrils spread out and crossed the sea.
9 Therefore, I will weep with Jazer’s weeping for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh.
Cheers have fallen silent concerning your summer fruit and your grain harvest.
10 Joy and happiness have been harvested from the farmland,
and in the vineyards no one sings, no one shouts.
No treader crushes grapes in the wine vats;
I have brought the cheers to an end.
11 Therefore, my heart plays sadly like a harp for Moab,
my inner being for Kir-heres.
12 Even if Moab presents himself,
and Moab wears himself out going to the shrine,
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
he won’t prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord had spoken concerning Moab long ago. 14 But now the Lord has said: In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab, with all its great multitude, will dwindle. The small remnant will be few and feeble.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 16:1 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 16:5 Or tent
Isaiah 16
New International Version
Isaiah 16
New International Version
16 Send lambs(A) as tribute(B)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(C) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(D)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(E)
so are the women of Moab(F)
at the fords(G) of the Arnon.(H)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(I)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(J) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(K) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(L)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(M) will be established;(N)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[a] of David(O)—
one who in judging seeks justice(P)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(Q) pride(R)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(S)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(T) of Kir Hareseth.(U)
8 The fields of Heshbon(V) wither,(W)
the vines of Sibmah(X) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(Y)
which once reached Jazer(Z)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(AA)
and went as far as the sea.[b](AB)
9 So I weep,(AC) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(AD)
I drench you with tears!(AE)
The shouts of joy(AF) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(AG) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(AH)
no one sings or shouts(AI) in the vineyards;
no one treads(AJ) out wine at the presses,(AK)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(AL) like a harp,(AM)
my inmost being(AN) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(AO)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(AP) to pray,
it is to no avail.(AQ)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(AR) as a servant bound by contract(AS) would count them,(AT) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(AU) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(AV)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.