Isaiah 16:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 16:1-5

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, 2 Sam. 8:2. They became his servants, and brought gifts. Afterwards they paid their tribute to the kings of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:1

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 of Ahab, when the Moabites rebelled, and refused to pay it, 2 Kings 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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 16:1

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 אשלח eshlach , I will send, in the first person singular, future tense: the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read שלח shelach , send, singular imperative: some read שלחו shilchu , send ye forth, or shalechu , they send forth. The Syriac, for כר car , a lamb, reads בר bar , a son, which is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1

Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land ; rather, the lamb of the ruler of the land— the 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 ( 2 Kings 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1

Recovering false steps. The word "lamb" in this verse should be rendered "lambs." From 2 Kings 3:4 we learn that the tribute rendered to the King of Israel by Mesha, King of Moab, was a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. At the death of Ahab Mesha refused to pay this tribute, and asserted his independence. In view of the exposure of Moab to attacks from Assyria, this was a false step, and Mesha is here urged to retrace that step, and at once send the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1-4

The wisdom of the weaker. The prophet counsels Moab to "make submission meet" to Judah ( Isaiah 16:1 ), and to show her such kindness in the day of her distress ( Isaiah 16:3 , Isaiah 16:4 ) as will be remembered in the day when prosperity and power will be again her portion. I. THE WISDOM OF THE WEAKER COMMUNITY . 1. Submission to the greater power under its lawful claim . "Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land"—pay the tribute which is due, and which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1-5

God's offer of mercy to the sinner. Scarcely ever does God punish sin by a sudden unannounced visitation, or without previous warning to the sinner of what is coming upon him. And this warning is almost always accompanied by an offer of mercy. God has " no pleasure in the death of him that dieth" ( Ezekiel 18:32 ); he " would not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" ( 2 Peter 3:9 ). And therefore he warns men. He warned even the ungodly world before the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1-6

The King in Zion. "I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion" ( Psalms 2:1-12 .). The destined Ruler of the world, he shall spread the wing of his mild government and protection over the nations in their harassment and despair, as now over Moab. 1. THE CALL TO THE FUGITIVES . They have fled into Edom, as far as to Petra, near Mount Hor. It was a region surrounded by rocky cliffs. Sela itself means rock or cliff. Between Petra—whose ruins the Arab guide of Seetzen said he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 16:1-14

THE BURDEN OF MOAB ( CONTINUED ). This portion of the "burden" is divided into three sections. In section 1 (from Isaiah 16:1 to the end of Isaiah 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 ( Isaiah 16:6-12 ) she is supposed to have rejected this offer, and is threatened (as in Isaiah 15:1-9 .) with severe punishment. In section 3... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 16:1

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 (ἀποστελῶ apostelō) instead of the imperative; and that the Syraic... read more

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