Isaías 16

VBL · Chapter 16/66

1Envíen corderos como tributo al gobernante de la tierra, desde Sela a lo largo del desierto, hasta la montaña de la hija de Sion.

2Las mujeres moabitas en los vados del Arnón son como los pájaros que revolotean cuando se destruye su nido.

3Piénsalo y toma una decisión. Haz que tu sombra sea tan invisible al mediodía como durante la noche. Esconde a los refugiados; no los traiciones mientras huyen.

4Deja que mis refugiados se queden entre ustedes, Moab. Escóndelos de nuestros enemigos hasta que desaparezca el destructor, termine la destrucción y se vayan los invasores agresivos.

5Entonces se instaurará un reino basado en el amor digno de confianza, y en su trono se sentará un rey fiel del linaje de David. Él juzgará con justicia y se comprometerá apasionadamente a hacer lo que es correcto.

6Sabemos todo sobre el orgullo de los moabitas, lo terriblemente vanidosos y engreídos que son, completamente arrogantes. Pero su jactancia es falsa.

7Todos los moabitas se lamentan por Moab. Todos lloran la pérdida de los pasteles de pasas de Kir-hareset, todos ellos destruidos.

8Los campos de Hesbón se han secado, al igual que las vides de Sibma. Los gobernantes de las naciones han pisoteado las vides que antes se ramificaban hasta Jazer y al este hacia el desierto, y al oeste hasta el mar.

9Por eso lloro con Jazer por las vides de Sibma; empapo con mis lágrimas a Hesbón y Eleale. Ya nadie grita en celebración por sus frutos de verano y su cosecha.

10La alegría y el gozo han desaparecido. Nadie celebra en los campos de cosecha ni en los viñedos; nadie grita de alegría. Nadie pisa las uvas en los lagares. Han dejado de alegrarse.

11Con el corazón roto, lloro por Moab como una música triste en un arpa; en el fondo lloro por Kir-hareset.

12Los moabitas van y se desgastan adorando en sus lugares altos. Van a sus santuarios a rezar, pero no les sirve de nada.

13Este es el mensaje que el Señor ya ha dado sobre Moab.

14Pero ahora el Señor vuelve a hablar y dice: Dentro de tres años, como un obrero contratado cuenta los años con precisión, la gloria de Moab se convertirá en algo de lo que habrá que reírse. A pesar de que ahora hay tantos moabitas, pronto sólo quedarán unos pocos débiles.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The lament over Moab continues: the prophet asks for refuge for Moabite fugitives in Judah and mourns the destruction of its vineyards and cities. At the end, a specific deadline is given: in three years Moab's glory will be almost entirely wiped out.

Explanation

The chapter directly continues the subject of the previous one, with Isaiah suggesting that Moab should seek protection under David's throne ('the tabernacle of David') instead of trusting in its own pride, cited as a defining trait of the Moabite people. The mention of the vineyards of Sibmah and Jazer shows that wine agriculture was the region's economic pride, and its destruction meant the total collapse of the local economy. The deadline of 'three years, as the years of a hired worker' (an exact count, not rounded) demonstrates the precision of Isaiah's prophecies, fulfilled when Assyria invaded the region. Today's application is that pride often keeps us from accepting help or refuge even when it is available.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'years of a hired worker' refers to the precise count a contracted laborer kept of his time of service — used here to emphasize that the prophetic deadline would be exact, not approximate.
  • The vineyards of Sibmah and Heshbon were famous in the region for producing high-quality wine, and archaeologists have found evidence of ancient wine presses in the area that today corresponds to Jordan.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaías 16:1Sending lambs was the standard way a vassal kingdom paid tribute to its overlord. Here Moab is advised to send this tribute to Judah in search of protection, a common political custom among small kingdoms of the time.
  2. Isaías 16:2Describes Moabite refugees crossing the fords of the Arnon River like startled birds pushed out of the nest — an image of a people in flight, disoriented, seeking shelter after losing their own home.
  3. Isaías 16:3A request directed at Moab: to give shelter and protection to the refugees, like shade at noonday, hiding the fugitives instead of handing them over to danger.
  4. Isaías 16:4Continues the request for refuge: that Judah’s outcasts may live in Moab as a temporary shelter until the oppressor, probably Assyria, is gone and the destruction passes — a plea for solidarity between neighboring peoples.
  5. Isaías 16:5In the middle of the lament over Moab, the text briefly shifts subject and projects hope onto David’s throne. The idea of a just king coming from that line appears as a contrast to the chaos in the rest of the chapter.
  6. Isaías 16:6Changes tone: Moab’s extreme pride is already well known, its arrogance and fury — but the text warns that this excessive confidence will not hold up against the destruction to come.
  7. Isaías 16:7As a result of this pride, all of Moab will weep for itself, mourning the already-destroyed foundations of the city of Kirhareseth — pride turns into mourning.
  8. Isaías 16:8Describes the agricultural devastation: the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah, famous in the region, are destroyed by invaders, and their branches, which once spread far away, now lie only in ruin.
  9. Isaías 16:9The narrator himself is moved by this loss, promising to weep along with Jazer over the vine of Sibmah, because the joy of the summer harvest has disappeared.
  10. Isaías 16:10Continues the mourning over the lost harvest: there is no more feasting or singing in the vineyards, no one treads the grapes in the winepresses — all of Moab’s agricultural joy has been silenced.
  11. Isaías 16:11An expression of deep, personal sorrow: the “bowels,” the seat of emotion in Hebrew language, sound like a harp with sadness over Moab.
  12. Isaías 16:12Describes the futility of Moab’s religion: when the exhausted people go to pray at their high places and their sanctuary, they will not get any real help — the Moabite gods cannot save them.
  13. Isaías 16:13A transition sentence: this was the word the LORD had already spoken about Moab before, preparing the more specific announcement in the next verse about a three-year deadline.
  14. Isaías 16:14Counting time in “the years of an hireling” meant using the precision of a labor contract, since a hired worker had a fixed term and would not stay a single extra day. The verse is saying that the timing of Moab’s fall is exact, not a vague forecast.

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