Isaiah 16:1-14 NIV

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

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 16:6-14

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;... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:2

For it shall be ,.... Or, "otherwise it shall be" F26 והיה "alioqui", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; 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 Proverbs 26:2 , ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:3

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:4

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,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:5

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 subjects, see Proverbs 20:28 . Hezekiah was a type of Christ, and his throne typical of his, and the ultimate view of the prophecy may be to the stability of the kingdom of Christ; so the Targum, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:6

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:7

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 desolate: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn: surely they are stricken ; this was a very principal city in the land of Moab, and a very strong one, see 2 Kings 3:25 .... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:8

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 See Gill on Isaiah 15:4 . It seems to have been a place famous for fields and pastures, and to have been a very fruitful and well watered place; hence we read of the fish pools in Heshbon, Song of Solomon 7:4 though Aben Ezra and Kimchi think the word signifies vines, as they suppose it does in... read more

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

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 16:6-14

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 16:8

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