Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 16:6
We have heard of the pride of Moab; [he is] very proud: [even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: [but] his lies [shall] not [be] so.
6. (Jer 48:29-30.) The prayer is rejected. The writer, speaking in the name of his countrymen, exposes the hollowness of Moab’s professions of allegiance and submission, as altogether opposed to the arrogant spirit for which the nation was notorious. On the pride of Moab cf. (besides Jer 48:29) ch. Isa 25:11; Zep 2:8. The national spirit has found an enduring monument in the inscription of the Moabite Stone.
but his lies shall not be so ] Better: the unreality of his pratings (a contemptuous word, cf. ch. Isa 44:25). R.V. “his boastings are nought.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
We have heard of the pride of Moab – We Jews; we have all heard of it; that is, we know that he is proud. The evident design of the prophet here is, to say that Moab was so proud, and was well known to be so haughty, that he would reject this counsel. He would neither send the usual tribute to the land of Judea Isa 16:1, thus acknowledging his dependence on them; nor would he give protection to the exiled Jews as they should wander through his land, and thus endeavor to conciliate their favor, and secure their friendship. As a consequence of this, the prophet proceeds to state that heavy judgments would come upon Moab as a nation.
He is very proud – The same thing is stated in the parallel place in Jer 48:29 (compare Isa 16:11). Moab was at ease; he was confident in his security; he feared nothing; he sought no means, therefore, of securing the friendship of the Jews.
And his wrath – As the result of pride and haughtiness. Wrath or indignation is excited in a proud man when he is opposed, and when the interests of others are not made to give way to his.
But his lies shall not be so – The Hebrew phrase ( lo’ ken) – not so here seems to be used in the sense of not right; not firm, or established; that is, his vain boasting, his false pretensions, his lies shall not be confirmed, or established; or they shall be vain and impotent. In the parallel place in Jeremiah, it is, But it shall not be so; his lies shall not effect it. The word rendered his lies here ( badayv), means his boasting, or vain and confident speaking. In Isa 44:25, it is connected with the vain and confident responses of diviners and soothsayers. Here it means that Moab boasted of his strength and security, and did not feel his need of the friendship of the Jews; but that his security was false, and that it should not result according to his expectations. That Moab was proud, is also stated in Isa 25:8; and that he was disposed to give vent to his pride by reproaching the people of God, is apparent from Zec 2:8 :
I have heard the reproach of Moab,
And the revilings of the children of Ammon,
Whereby they have reproached my people,
And boasted themselves upon their border.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. We have heard of the pride of Moab – “We have heard the pride of Moab”] For ge, read geah; two MSS., one ancient, and Jer 48:29. Zephaniah, Zep 2:8-10, in his prophecy against Moab, the subject of which is the same with that of Jeremiah in his forty-eighth chapter, (See Clarke on Isa 15:1,) enlarges much on the pride of Moab, and their insolent behaviour towards the Jews: –
“I have heard the reproach of Moab;
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon:
Who have reproached my people;
And have magnified themselves against their borders.
Therefore, as I live, saith JEHOVAH God of hosts,
the God of Israel:
Surely Moab shall be as Sodom,
And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah:
A possession of nettles, and pits of salt,
And a desolation for ever.
The residue of my people shall spoil them,
And the remnant of my nation shall dispossess them:
This shall they have for their pride;
Because they have raised a reproach, and have magnified
themselves
Against the people of JEHOVAH God of hosts.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophet, having spoken to the Moabites, and acquainted them with their duty and interest, now he turneth his speech to Gods people, whom he armeth and comforteth against their approaching misery. The scope and sense of the prophet in this verse is this, I do not expect that my counsels will have any good effect upon Moab, they will still carry themselves insolently and outrageously towards you, and they promise themselves that they shall now effect what they have long desired, even satisfy their malice in your total and final destruction; but they shall be disappointed of their hopes. It is well known to me, and you, and all their neighbours, that they are a haughty and furious people; and therefore they will scorn my advice, and doubt not to stand upon their own legs.
His lies shall not be so; his vain imaginations, and false and crafty counsel, shall not take effect. But the words are and may be otherwise rendered, but his strength (as this word is rendered, Job 18:13; Heb. bars, which are the strength of gates or doors) is not so; not equal to his pride or fury. Or thus, exactly according to the words and order of the Hebrew text, not so lies. A concise speech, such as are very common in this and other prophets. And these words may possibly be brought in as the words of the Moabites, making this short reply to the prophets counsels and threatenings, directed to them in the foregoing verses of this chapter: It is not or shall not be so as thou sayest; thy words are but lies, we fear not thy threats against us. But this I propose with submission.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. WeJews. We reject Moab’ssupplication for his pride.
liesfalse boasts.
not be sorather, “notright”; shall prove vain (Isa 25:10;Jer 48:29; Jer 48:30;Zep 2:8). “It shall not beso; his lies shall not so effect it.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 hope or expect that he would take the advice above given him, or do the good offices for the Jews he was exhorted to; his pride was such, that he would despise the counsel of God, and would never stoop to do any favour for his people:
[even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath; of his contempt of the people of God, and his wrath against them:
[but] his lies [shall] not be so; or, “his strength” shall “not be so” b; as his wrath: he shall not be able to do what in his pride and wrath he said he would do; all his wicked thoughts and devices, all his haughty and wrathful expressions, will signify nothing; they will all be of no effect, for God resisteth the proud, see Jer 48:30. It may be rendered, “not right”, that of “his diviners” c; their words and works, what they say or do; so the word is used in Isa 44:25.
b “non sicut, fortitudo ejus”; so some in Vatablus. c – “non rectum divinorum ejus”, Vitringa.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But if Moab does this, and the law of the history of Israel, which is that “a remnant shall return,” is thus reflected in the history of Moab; Isa 16:6 cannot possibly contain the answer which Moab receives from Zion, as the more modern commentators assume according to an error that has almost become traditional. On the contrary, the prophecy enters here upon a new stage, commencing with Moab’s sin, and depicting the fate of Moab in still more elegiac strains. “We have heard of the pride of Moab, the very haughty ( pride) , his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, the falsehood of his speech.” The future self-humiliation of Moab, which would be the fruit of its sufferings, is here contrasted with the previous self-exaltation, of which these sufferings were the fruit. “ We have heard,” says the prophet, identifying himself with his people. Boasting pompousness has hitherto been the distinguishing characteristic of Moab in relation to the latter (see Isa 25:11). The heaping up of words of the same verbal stem (cf., Isa 3:1) is here intended to indicate how thoroughly haughty was their haughtiness (cf., Rom 7:13, “that sin might become exceeding sinful”), and how completely it had taken possession of Moab. It boasted and was full of rage towards Israel, to which, so far as it retained its consciousness of the truth of Jehovah, the talk of Moab ( from = , , to talk at random) must necessarily appear as , not-right, i.e., at variance with fact. These expressions of opinion had been heard by the people of God, and, as Jeremiah adds in Jer 48:29-30, by Israel’s God as well.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Pride of Moab; The Threatening against Moab; The Doom of Moab. | B. C. 725. |
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea. 9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. 10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. 11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh. 12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
Here we have, I. The sins with which Moab is charged, v. 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; for perhaps there are more precious souls ruined by pride than by any one lust whatsoever. The Moabites were notorious for this: “We have heard in both ears of the pride of Moab; it is what all their neighbours cry out shame upon them for. He is very proud; the body of the nation is so, forgetting the baseness of their origin and the brand of infamy fastened upon them by that law of God which forbade a Moabite to enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever, Deut. xxiii. 3. We have heard of his haughtiness and his pride. It is not the rash and rigid censure of one of two concerning them, but it is the character which all that know them will give of them. They are a proud people, and therefore they will not take good counsel when it is given them. They think themselves too wise to be advised; therefore they will not take example by Hezekiah to do justly and love mercy. They scorn to make him their pattern, for they think themselves able to teach him. They are proud, and therefore will not be subject to God himself nor regard the warnings he gives them. The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. They are proud, and therefore will not entertain and protect God’s outcasts; they scorn to have any thing to do with them.” But this is not all:– 2. “We have heard of his wrath too (for those that are very proud are commonly very passionate), particularly his wrath against the people of God, whom therefore he will rather persecute than protect. 3. It is with his lies that he gains the gratifications of his pride and his passion; but his lies shall not be so; he shall not compass his proud and angry projects as he hoped he should.” Some read it, His haughtiness, his pride, and his wrath, are greater than his strength. “We know that, if we lay at his mercy, we should find no mercy with him, but he has not power equal to his malice. His pride draws down ruin upon him; for it is the preface to destruction, and he has not strength to ward it off.”
II. The sorrows with which Moab is threatened (v. 7): Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab. All the inhabitants shall bitterly lament the ruin of their country. They shall complain one to another: Every one shall howl in despair, and not one shall either see any cause or have any heart to encourage his friend. Observe,
1. The causes of this sorrow. (1.) The destruction of their cities: For the foundations of Kir-haraseth shall you mourn. That great and strong city, which had held out against a mighty force (2 Kings iii. 25), should now be levelled with the ground, either burnt or broken down, and its foundations stricken, bruised and broken (so the word signifies); they shall howl when they see their splendid cities turned into ruinous heaps. (2.) The desolation of their country. Moab was famous for its fields and vineyards; but those shall all be laid waste by the invading army, Isa 16:8; Isa 16:10. See, [1.] What a fruitful pleasant country they had, as the garden of the Lord, Gen. xiii. 10. It was planted with choice and noble vines, with principal plants, which reached even to Jazer, a city in the tribe of Gad. The luxuriant branches of their vines wandered, and wound themselves along the ranges on which they were spread, even through the wilderness of Moab. There were vineyards there. Nay, they were stretched out, and went even to the sea, the Dead Sea: the best grapes grew in their hedge-rows. [2.] How merry and pleasant they had been in it. Many a time they had shouted for their summer fruits, and for their harvest, as the country people sometimes do with us when they have cut down all their corn. They had had joy and gladness in their fields and vineyards, singing and shouting at the treading of their grapes. Nothing is said of their praising God for their abundance, and giving him the glory of it. If they had made it the matter of their thanksgiving, they might still have had it the food and fuel of their lusts; see therefore, [3.] How they should be stripped of all. “The fields shall languish, all the fruits of them being carried away or trodden down; they cannot now enrich their owners as they have done, and therefore they languish. The soldiers, called here the lords of the heathen, shall break down all the plants, though they were principal plants, the choicest that could be got. Now the shouting for the enjoyment of the summer fruits has fallen, and is turned into howling for the loss of them. The joy of harvest has ceased; there is no more singing, no more shouting, for the treading out of wine. They have not what they have had to rejoice in, nor have they a disposition to rejoice; the ruin of their country has marred their mirth.” Note, First, God can easily change the note of those that are most addicted to mirth and pleasure, can soon turn their laughter into mourning and their joy into heaviness. Secondly, Joy in God is, upon this account, far better than the joy of harvest, that it is what we cannot be robbed of, Psa 4:6; Psa 4:7. Destroy the vines and the fig-trees, and you make all the mirth of a carnal heart to cease, Hos 2:11; Hos 2:12. But a gracious soul can rejoice in the Lord as the God of its salvation even when the fig-tree does not blossom and there is no fruit in the vine, Hab 3:17; Hab 3:18. In God therefore let us always rejoice with a holy triumph, and in other things let us always rejoice with a holy trembling, rejoice as though we rejoiced not.
2. The concurrence of the prophet with them in this sorrow: “I will with weeping bewail Jazer, and the vine of Sibmah, and look with a compassionate concern upon the desolations of such a pleasant country. I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon! and mingle them with thy tears;” nay (v. 11), it appears to be an inward grief: My bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab; it should make such an impression upon him that he should feel an inward trembling, like that of the strings of a harp when it is played upon. It well becomes God’s prophets to acquaint themselves with grief; the great prophet did so. The afflictions of the world, as well as those of the church, should be afflictions to us. See ch. xv. 5.
III. In the close of the chapter we have, 1. The insufficiency of the gods of Moab, the false gods, to help them, v. 12. “Moab shall be soon weary of the high place. He shall spend his spirits and strength in vain in praying to his idols; they cannot help him, and he shall be convinced that they cannot.” It is seen that it is to no purpose to expect any relief from the high places on earth; it must come from above the hills. Men are generally so stupid that they will not believe, till they are made to see, the vanity of idols and of all creature-confidences, nor will come off from them till they are made weary of them. But, when he is weary of his high places, he will not go, as he should, to God’s sanctuary, but to his sanctuary, to the temple of Chemosh, the principal idol of Moab (so it is generally understood); and he shall pray there to as little purpose, and as little to his own case and satisfaction, as he did in his high places; for, whatever honours idolaters give to their idols, they do not thereby make them at all the better able to help them. Whether they are the dii majorum gentium–gods of the higher order, or minorum–of the lower order, they are alike the creatures of men’s fancy and the work of men’s hands. Perhaps it may be meant of their coming to God’s sanctuary. When they found they could have no succours from their own high places some of them would come to the temple of God at Jerusalem, to pray there, but in vain; he will justly send them back to the gods whom they have served, Judg. x. 14. 2. The sufficiency of the God of Israel, the only true God, to make good what he had spoken against them. (1.) The thing itself was long since determined (v. 13): This is the word, this is the thing, that the Lord has spoken concerning Moab, since the time that he began to be so proud, and insolent, and abusive to God’s people. The country was long ago doomed to ruin; this was enough to give an assurance of it that it is the word which the Lord has spoken; and, as he will never unsay what he has spoken, so all the power of hell and earth cannot gainsay it, or obstruct the execution of it. (2.) Now it was made known when it should be done. The time was before fixed in the counsel of God, but now it was revealed: The Lord has spoken that it shall be within three years, v. 14. It is not for us to know, or covet to know, the times and the seasons, any further than God has thought fit to make them known, and so far we may and must take notice of them. See how God makes known his mind by degrees; the light of divine revelation shone more and more, and so does the light of divine grace in the heart. Observe, [1.] The sentence passed upon Moab: The glory of Moab shall be contemned, that is, it shall be contemptible, when all those things they have gloried in shall come to nothing. Such is the glory of this world, so fading and uncertain, admired awhile, but soon slighted. Let that therefore which will soon be contemptible in the eyes of others be always contemptible in our eyes in comparison with the far more exceeding weight of glory. It was the glory of Moab that their country was very populous and their forces were courageous; but where is her glory when all that great multitude is in a manner swept away, some by one judgment and some by another, and the little remnant that is left shall be very small and feeble, not able to bear up under their own griefs, much less to make head against their enemies’ insults? Let not therefore the strong glory in their strength nor the many in their numbers. [2.] The time fixed for the execution of this sentence: Within three years, as the years of a hireling, that is, at the three years’ end exactly, for a servant that is hired for a certain term keeps account to a day. Let Moab know that her ruin is very near, and prepare accordingly. Fair warning is given, and with it space to repent, which if they had improved, as Nineveh did, we have reason to think the judgments threatened would have been prevented.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verse 6-14: THE DEVASTATION OF MOAB
1. Moab is charged with pride, arrogance, wrath and boastings which are lies, (Verse 6; Jer 48:29-30).
2. Deep humiliation awaits him; the joyful shout and song of his vineyards will be exchanged for mourning, (Verse 7-8).
a. His grapes are withered – being unattended.
b. And his choice vines are destroyed by the lords of the nations, (Amo 2:1; Oba 1:3-4; Zep 2:8-10).
3. Likening his own feelings to the sad notes of a harp, the prophet is deeply moved at the intensity of Moab’s distress – his heart broken for a guilty, unrepentant people upon whom he must pronounce the calamity of divine wrath, (Verse 9, 11; Jer 48:32-35).
4. Desperately appealing to his idols to deliver him from impending ruin, Moab finds them powerless, (Verse 12; Psa 115:4-7; Jer 10:5; 1Co 8:4; 1Co 10:20).
5. The reference (Verse 13) to what the Lord spoke “concerning Moab of old” may look clear back to the time of Balak, who attempted to hire Balaam to curse the .people of God.
6. The calamity of Moab is now imminent; within three years everything in which he glorified will be. disgraced – that which remains being small and of little value, (Isa 25:10-12; Jer 48:42-44).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. We have heard of the pride of Moab. The Prophet added this statement by way of anticipation. It might be thought that men could not believe what he had promised about restoring the throne of the king and destroying the Moabites, who at that time were in a flourishing state of riches, and were defended by strong fortresses, and who, puffed up with the prosperity which they now enjoyed, were exceedingly proud. Besides, their haughtiness, with which they scorned the unhappy Jews, was a disagreeable and powerful weapon for discouraging or shaking their minds. To provide against this temptation, he relates that their boasting was well known, but that their pride would not prevent God from overthrowing them; because no array of armed forces, no treasures of riches, no multitude of men, can withstand God. Isaiah speaks of it as a thing extensively known, that the Moabites are puffed up in such a manner that they dread nothing; as is commonly the case with those who are well supplied with riches and troops, that they idly exalt themselves above God and men. But whatever may be their arrogance, the Lord will easily restrain it.
His insolence. (257) The Hebrew word עברה ( gnebrah) most frequently signifies indignation; but the connection in which it stands appears to call for something more definite. This noun is derived from the verb עבר, ( gnabar,) to pass or go beyond, answering to the Latin word excessus ; and therefore I have thought it better to translate it insolence. In a parallel passage, after the words pride and arrogance comes the phrase haughtiness of heart. (Jer 48:29.) Both Isaiah and Jeremiah, I have no doubt, mean that the Moabites, in consequence of their stubborn and disdainful behavior, and their sumptuous mode of living, were so cruel, that they kindled into wrath on the most trivial occasions, and rose fiercely against others. This vice is always accompanied by haughtiness of mind; for pride is followed by disdain and contempt of others, and they who claim more than is due to them easily kindle into rage, and become furious for the smallest offense. In short, they can bear nothing, and are not only passionate, but likewise outrageous. They would wish that all should yield to them, and that they should yield to none. If all do not yield at their bidding, they think that injustice is done to them. This passionate temper is easily betrayed by proud men. On the other hand, the humble possess kindness accompanied by corresponding modesty, and easily forgive any one who has injured them.
His lies. The Hebrew word בדים ( baddim) denotes either a mans limbs, or the branches of a tree, and sometimes it is put for divination. Accordingly, the Greek translators (258) render it μαντεἰα, divination, and it has that signification in other passages. Some think that it is here used metaphorically for children; others translate it either discourses or thoughts; and others render it strength or sinews. But in my opinion it is rather put for vain boasting; for this word often denotes falsehood, and we shall soon see how well this signification applies to the present passage.
There is quite as much difference in the interpretation of the word כן ( ken,) so. The greater part suppose it to mean that “the lies are not right,” or that “the discourses are not right,” and others, that “the lies are not true;” and as to the substance of the matter, I am almost of their opinion. I have no doubt that the meaning of the Prophet is, that Moab foolishly utters his vain boastings, for he will not accomplish what he imagines. As to the words, the meaning of them is obtained with greater certainty from Jer 48:30. After the same words which are here employed by Isaiah, he immediately adds, for the sake of explaining them, לא כן, ( lo ken,) Not so; (259) his lies shall not so effect it. As if he had said, “What is determined in their hearts shall fail of accomplishment.” Yet I do not think, that in the former clause the particle כן ( ken) denotes comparison, but rather confirmation, so to speak, but negatively; for he declares that there will be no firmness or stability in his counsels, that his divinations or lies will not take effect. Proud men settle everything as if everything were in their power, and were not subject to the providence of God. “Such arrogance, ” says Isaiah, shall be brought down, and all that they promise, as to their own strength, shall vanish away. This reminds us that pride is highly displeasing to God, and that the more men are puffed up with their riches, they are the nearer to destruction.
(257) Bogus footnote
(258) Bogus footnote
(259) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
c. INSOLENCE
TEXT: Isa. 16:6-12
6
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.
7
Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail; for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken.
8
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
9
Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh; for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen.
10
And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise; no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease.
11
Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.
12
And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.
QUERIES
a.
Why does Moab display such arrogance and pride?
b.
Who is weeping in Isa. 16:9?
PARAPHRASE
The pride of Moab is well known. Moab is very proud, even to the point of arrogance and cruelty. Moabs boastful talk is not right. Moab will wail and mourn his own calamitythe whole nation shall wail bitterly because of this arrogance. Moab will be so utterly stricken down from its self-exaltation its famous raisin-cakes and vineyards will be disregarded by everyone. As a matter of fact, the armies of its enemies will tear down and march over those huge, famous vineyards and completely devastate the land. So I will wail and weep for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah. My tears flow for Heshbon and Elealeh, for destruction has come upon their summer fruits and harvests with the battle shout. Gone will be the gladness, gone the joy of harvest. The happy singing in the vineyards will be heard no more; the treading out of the grapes in the wine presses will cease forever and the customary shout of heydad at the reaping of the vintage will be caused to cease. Mourning for Moab and its people sweeps over my soul like the funeral music that mournfully sweeps across a harp. No last minute appeal to Moabs gods will avert the inevitable judgment of Jehovah upon his arrogance. Even though the whole nation presents itself and cries with much repetition he shall not prevail.
COMMENTS
Isa. 16:6-8 ARROGANCE: The haughty pride of Moab was well known. See Isa. 15:1-9. Moabs pride led to arrogance, ungodly boasting (even to the point of magnifying himself against the Lord (Cf. Jer. 48:42), and to cruel wrath. Moab evidently paid no attention to the invitation of Gods prophet (Isaiah) to call for help from Judah in a submissive penitent attitude. And, in spite of the terrible warnings of complete destruction, Moab refused Judahs help. Moab was also famous for its large and luxurious vineyards. It was famous for a delicacy known as raisin-cakes which it exported throughout the world. The prophet predicts that these things in which Moab gloried and upon which he depended so much, would soon be completely trampled under the feet of enemy nations marching in conquest of their land.
Isa. 16:9-12 AGONY: There is in all of us a sentiment akin to agony and horror when we realize there is no hope for the impenitent and rebellious. This was true of Isaiah. Not all Jews hated their enemies! Agony and sorrow swept across the heart-strings of Isaiah with such mournfulness as one hears sweeping across the strings of a lyre played at funerals. Genuine tears of compassion would flow from the eyes of this sensitive man of God for a people about to be debased because of their arrogance. By faith, the prophet could understand Gods revelation of the deep pain and suffering that was about to come upon the Moabites. Isaiah knew that all their flippant, boastful rejoicing in prosperity and abundance would be turned into wailing and lamenting. There would be a cessation of the exuberance shown at every harvest of the vintage. In Israel and Moab the heydad was the peculiar shout raised by those that trod out the grapes in the wine-press. As each foot stamped into the wine-press, this word gave the accompanying shout, which was quite naturally a joyful and enthusiastic one. In place of the joyful harvest shout will be heard the battle shout. In their hour of complete devastation the Moabites will go to their pagan sanctuaries and cry out in repetitious prayer to their pagan gods until they are wearied with praying, but to no avail. Their wails will be those of those who have no real god, no hope and help.
QUIZ
1.
How far had Moab carried its pride and arrogance?
2.
What did it have to be so arrogant about?
3.
Why was Isaiah agonizing about Moabs fate so?
4.
What contrast did Isaiah make about the cessation of joy in Moab?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(6) We have heard of the pride of Moab . . .The hopes of the prophet are clouded by the remembrance of the characteristic sin of Moab. Of this the Moabite Inscription gives sufficient evidence. (See Notes on Isaiah 15) Isaiahs language finds an echo in Jer. 48:29.
But his lies shall not be so.Better, his lies, or boasts, are of no worth, are not so as they seem to be.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Whether Moab or Israel, or both, were intended in the promise, Moab will give no heed to it.
We Probably Jews.
Have heard of the pride of Moab We all have heard of and know his “pride;” he is so very proud that he will reject both counsel and promise. See the parallel in Jer 48:20; Jer 48:29.
His lies not so Shall not be confirmed or established. Impotent and vain shall they be.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Request To Judah Is Never Actualised Because of the Pride of Moab, With Sad Results ( Isa 16:6-14 ).
Analysis of Isa 16:6-14.
a We have heard of the pride of Moab, (he is very proud), even of his arrogance, and his pride and his wrath. His boastings are nothing
b Therefore will Moab howl for Moab. Everyone will howl. You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth, utterly stricken
c For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations, have broken down its choice plants. They reached even to Jazer, they wandered into the wilderness. Her branches were spread abroad, they passed over the sea
c Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah, I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, for on your summer fruits and on your harvest, the shout has failed, and gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field, and in the vineyards there will be no singing, nor joyful noise, no treader will tread out wine in the presses. I have made the shout to cease
b For which reason My bowels sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-heres. And it will come about that when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, and will come to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail
a This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab in time past. But now Yahweh has spoken saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired servant, and the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, with (in spite of) all his great multitude, and the remnant will be very few and not mighty (Isa 16:13-14).
In ‘a’ the pride of Moab and his boastings are spoken of, and in the parallel their boastings will prove in vain for they will be brought into contempt and become few in number. In ‘b’ the result will be that Moab will howl, and mourn for the lack of their religious rites, and in the parallel Yahweh’s heart will sound like a doleful harp, for when Moab wear themselves out on their high places and come to their sanctuary to pray, they will not prevail. In ‘c’ there is weeping because the fields of Heshbon and the vine of Sibmah fail, and the choice plants that reached to Jazer will be broken down, While in the parallel, following the reverse order, there is weeping in Jazer, and the vine of Sibmah and Heshbon will be watered with their tears because the harvest of grain and vine has failed and there is no joy in harvest there.
Isa 16:6-7
‘We have heard of the pride of Moab.
He is very proud.
Even of his arrogance, and his pride and his wrath.
His boastings are nothing.
Therefore will Moab howl for Moab.
Everyone will howl.
You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,
Utterly stricken.’
On the basis of the first interpretation above this is Isaiah’s comment on why Moab do not take up the offer. Their pride is offended. They do not want to submit to the son of David. They do not want to put their trust in the covenant. They would prefer to stay in Edom where they are appreciated and there are no strict requirements, in spite of it not being as secure or pleasant as in Judah. Thus, says Isaiah, they will suffer for their pride and continue to howl and mourn. They might have had covenant love, righteousness, truth and justice. Instead they cling to their pride, their arrogance and their wrath, although their boastings are really worth nothing. The fact is that in the end they do not want to submit to Yahweh.
On the basis of the second interpretation above this would appear to be a rejection of their pleas by Judah. The grounds are then based on Moab’s behaviour in the past, the pride, arrogance and anger that they have previously shown towards Judah. And they had boasted against Judah, but now their boasting has come to nothing. Therefore they will be left to howl and to make do as they can. We must remember that to shelter the Moabites would be to offend the king of Assyria and to risk invasion.
‘The raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.’ Raisin cakes may refer to an important aspect of the worship of their gods (Hos 3:1 compare Jer 44:19). The suggestion might be that they have refused submission to Yahweh, but now have nowhere else to turn. Or the raisin cakes may have been a recognised delicacy for which Kir-hareseth was famous (compare 1Ch 12:40).
Isa 16:8
‘For the fields of Heshbon languish,
And the vine of Sibmah.
The lords of the nations,
Have broken down its choice plants.
They reached even to Jazer,
They wandered into the wilderness.
Her branches were spread abroad,
They passed over the sea.’
Moab has cause to howl because the fields of their capital city languish as do the choice vine of Sibmah. This is because ‘the lords of the nations’ (compareIsa 13:4), Assyrian allied leaders, have broken down their choice plants.
‘They reached even to Jazer, they wandered into the wilderness. Her branches were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.’ This presumably refers to how choice the plants were. Jazer was beyond the northern border, with the wilderness to the east, and the sea to the west. The picture is of the vine spreading in all directions, signifying the export of its produce. But now there will be no more exports. Their means of prosperity has gone.
(An alternative translation is ‘her choice plants have broken down the lords of the nations’, that is, made them drunk and helpless, referring to local neighbouring royalty. But the above seems more likely).
Isa 16:9-10
‘Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer,
For the vine of Sibmah,
I will water you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh,
For on your summer fruits and on your harvest,
The shout has failed,
And gladness is taken away,
And joy out of the fruitful field,
And in the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor joyful noise,
No treader will tread out wine in the presses.
I have made the shout to cease.’
God is here pictured as weeping along with those who no longer receive the wine because of Moab’s loss. Although judgment has come on Moab, God has no pleasure in it. He feels for those who must suffer. The shouting and gladness and rejoicing has failed. There will be no singing or joyful noise or treading of the wine. For Yahweh has made the shout to cease. The depth of Moab’s loss is emphasised, both in wealth and in happiness, and is emphasised in threefold repetitions. And it is Yahweh Who has done it, for He does all things. But it was with sad heart.
Note the reverse order of the names to Isa 16:8, Jazer, Sibmah, Heshbon, a favourite device of Isaiah. Elealeh was closely related to Heshbon (see Isa 15:4).
Isa 16:11-12
‘For which reason my bowels sound like a harp for Moab,
And my inward parts for Kir-heres.
And it will come about that when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself on the high place,
And will come to his sanctuary to pray,
He will not prevail.’
The genuineness of Yahweh’s grief for Moab is emphasised. His very inner being is like the doleful sound of the harp because of Moab’s misfortune. They had had their opportunity to come within the covenant and had rejected it. All that is now open to them is fruitless prayer to false gods. They will weary themselves pleading with their gods, both in the high places and in their temples, but it will achieve nothing. They will not prevail. Their gods will not hear. (This is in contrast with Yahweh Who will deliver Jerusalem).
Isa 16:13-14
‘This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab in time past. But now Yahweh has spoken saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired servant, and the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, with (in spite of) all his great multitude, and the remnant will be very few and not mighty.’
The prophetic vision of the destruction of Moab has been given previously, now the time of its fulfilment is determined. Yahweh has spoken and within three years all that Moab gloried in will be brought into contempt, and this in spite of his great numbers of people. Those who remain will be few and weak. So much for the pride of Moab.
‘As the years of a hired servant.’ The length of time is fixed by contract and is certain to the day. He does not want ‘three years’ to have its usual significance of an indeterminate period of time.
It is clear from all this that Moab would not have been a safe people to rely on. It is further clear that having had the opportunity of trusting Yahweh they have refused to do so. Therefore their fate is sealed.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Moab’s Pride and Ruin.
The Lord’s invitation was issued to Moab also, for He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The appeal, however, was unavailing, and therefore the prophecy of punishment is once more resumed.
v. 6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, v. 7. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, v. 8. For the fields of Heshbon languish and the vine of Sibmah, v. 9. Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah, v. 10. And gladness is taken away and joy out of the plentiful field, v. 11. Wherefore my bowels, v. 12. And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, v. 13. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time, v. 14. But now the Lord. hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Isa 16:6. We have heard of the pride of Moab These words exhibit the effect or success of the counsel. The prophet shews that the Moabites would not receive, but despise it; the cause whereof he shews to be, the arrogance and pride of the nation; and the immediate cause of that pride, he tells us, are the diviners and vain speakers who excited the Moabites against the Jews, and promised them prosperity of a long continuance; whose vain speeches are called by the prophet, the not-right, the vanity of the divines, and so the last clause should be rendered; the futility or iniquity of his diviners. See Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
If the Reader looks closely to what is here said concerning Moab, he will find it a suited representation of all the pride and ostentation of all the flourishing nations of the earth. The pride of Moab consisted in her wines and luxuries; her strong holds, and noble cities. And what is it now, even in the present hour, among all carnal men and nations? What is said of Calnah, and Hamath, and Gath, may be said of kingdoms and of individuals; they lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches; they eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph! They know not the Lord’s Christ. Take away their carnal rejoicings, and they have nothing left to rejoice in. Amo 6:2-7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 16:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; [he is] very proud: [even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: [but] his lies [shall] not [be] so.
Ver. 6. We have heard of the pride of Moab. ] His harsh and haughty carriage toward God’s poor people, though he were advised the contrary. Isa 16:1 ; Isa 16:3-4 Good counsel is but cast away upon a proud person. Now the Moabites were as much noted then for their pride as now the Spaniards are; and their pride appeared by their brags and threats. But
His lies shall not be so.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 16:6-12
6We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury;
His idle boasts are false.
7Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
8For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;
Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
9Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11Therefore my heart intones like a harp for Moab
And my inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
12So it will come about when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself upon his high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.
Isa 16:6 This begins a new strophe. Isa 16:1-5 is what YHWH hoped would happen, but Isa 16:6 describes why it could not (compare Jer 48:29).
1. the pride of Moab
2. excessive pride
3. arrogance
4. pride
5. fury (BDB 720, insolence)
6. false, idle boasts (BDB 95 III, empty, imaginary pretensions, cf. Job 11:3; Jer 48:30)
The Hebrew term pride (BDB 144) is repeated in different ways four times. Moab, like her idols, claims much, talks much, but cannot do anything!
Isa 16:7-10 Therefore Here are the consequences.
1. Moab shall wail because of her Ba’al worship (i.e., raisin cakes), Isa 16:7; Isa 16:12 (it is possible this is another idiom for agricultural failure)
2. fields wither and no harvest, Isa 16:8-10 (cf. Isa 15:6)
It is also possible that raisin cakes in this context refers to a luxurious lifestyle.
Isa 16:10 wine See Special Topic: Biblical Attitudes Toward Alcohol and Alcoholism .
I have made the shouting to cease This refers to YHWH-sent invaders who disrupted the harvest and its annual festivals.
The concept of the removal of joy is recurrent in this verse.
1. gladness taken away, BDB 62, KB 74, Niphal PERFECT
2. joy taken away (assuming same VERB as #1)
3. no cries (or songs) of joy, BDB 943, KB 1247, Pual IMPERFECT
4. no jubilant shouting, BDB 929, KB 1206, Pola IMPERFECT
5. shouting to cease, BDB 991, KB 1407, Hiphil PERFECT
Isa 16:11 The question is who is speaking.
1. God (, BDB 588, i.e., Isa 63:15; Jer 31:20)
2. the prophet
3. Moab personified
Because of Isa 16:12, Moab (#3) cannot be right. Because of Isa 16:13 it could be #2, the prophet Isaiah, but because of Isa 15:5; Isa 15:9, as well as the Messianic implications of Isa 16:5, I think it is God who grieves over the what-could-have-been. God loves humans made in His image, made for fellowship, yet they turn to false gods, false hopes!
NASB, REBKir-hareseth
NKJV, NRSV,
TEV, NJBKir Heres
The MT is reflected in NKJV, but it is a shortened form of NASB (cf. Isa 16:7; the city was simply referred to as Kir in Isa 15:1).
Isa 16:12 This verse can be understood in two ways.
1. Moab brings offerings (Isa 16:1) to Jerusalem (Isa 16:5), but her pride refuses to fully embrace YHWH (Isa 16:6). YHWH cares for them (Isa 15:5; Isa 16:11).
2. Moab seeks help from her gods (Isa 15:2; Isa 16:12), but they are unable to respond.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
We. Compare Isa 6:8. Gen 1:26.
his lies shall not be so = his resources do not correspond.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 16:6-12
Isa 16:6-12
“We have heard of the pride of Moab, and that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are naught. Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, everyone shall wail: for the raisin-cakes of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken, For the fields of Heshbon languisheth, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the wine presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease. Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres. And it shall come to pass when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.”
The rejection of Moab, whether based upon Isaiah’s perception of their deceit and hypocrisy or upon the unwillingness of Moab to seek the true God, appears here to have been founded upon compelling reasons.
We should note the affirmation of scholars like Kelley who considered the gift of lambs from Moab to Jerusalem and their mention of the Davidic kingdom to come as efforts to deceive Israel into giving them refuge. We reject this notion as being absolutely unsupported in the text; and we believe that Moab’s failure to get the refuge they needed was due not to Israel’s unwillingness to give it, but to Moab’s unwillingness to receive it. Throughout this passage, the pride, arrogance, boastfulness and stubbornness of Moab are repeatedly stressed. One may see the duplication of this attitude continually in the unwillingness of evil men to receive the blessing and forgiveness of God.
It is significant that along with such qualities as arrogance, pride, etc., the Moabites’ love of “raisin-cakes” was mentioned. This was not a mere food item, but an essential tool of the pagan religion so dear to the people. The raisin-cakes were customary payments received by the sacred prostitutes of their pagan shrines. Isa 16:12 cited the pitiful futility of their religious practices.
“The vine of Sibmah …” This must indeed have been a famous vine. The reference to its branches going into the wilderness and even “crossing the sea” probably refers to the propagation of the plant throughout Palestine and beyond.
“Isaiah could not but lament the destruction to be meted out to all of the fair and smiling countryside of Moab. In vain, her supplicants would besiege the heathen altars of their high places.”
We believe that Hailey’s analysis of this passage is correct and that we have in this paragraph “The reasons for Moab’s rejection of Isaiah’s advice and Jehovah’s offer of refuge.” It lay squarely in the same reasons that wicked men still act upon in their denial of heavenly mercy, their pride, arrogance, stubbornness, boastfulness, and self-sufficiency.
Isa 16:6-8 ARROGANCE: The haughty pride of Moab was well known. See Isa 15:1-9. Moabs pride led to arrogance, ungodly boasting (even to the point of magnifying himself against the Lord (Cf. Jer 48:42), and to cruel wrath. Moab evidently paid no attention to the invitation of Gods prophet (Isaiah) to call for help from Judah in a submissive penitent attitude. And, in spite of the terrible warnings of complete destruction, Moab refused Judahs help. Moab was also famous for its large and luxurious vineyards. It was famous for a delicacy known as raisin-cakes which it exported throughout the world. The prophet predicts that these things in which Moab gloried and upon which he depended so much, would soon be completely trampled under the feet of enemy nations marching in conquest of their land.
Isa 16:9-12 AGONY: There is in all of us a sentiment akin to agony and horror when we realize there is no hope for the impenitent and rebellious. This was true of Isaiah. Not all Jews hated their enemies! Agony and sorrow swept across the heart-strings of Isaiah with such mournfulness as one hears sweeping across the strings of a lyre played at funerals. Genuine tears of compassion would flow from the eyes of this sensitive man of God for a people about to be debased because of their arrogance. By faith, the prophet could understand Gods revelation of the deep pain and suffering that was about to come upon the Moabites. Isaiah knew that all their flippant, boastful rejoicing in prosperity and abundance would be turned into wailing and lamenting. There would be a cessation of the exuberance shown at every harvest of the vintage. In Israel and Moab the heydad was the peculiar shout raised by those that trod out the grapes in the wine-press. As each foot stamped into the wine-press, this word gave the accompanying shout, which was quite naturally a joyful and enthusiastic one. In place of the joyful harvest shout will be heard the battle shout. In their hour of complete devastation the Moabites will go to their pagan sanctuaries and cry out in repetitious prayer to their pagan gods until they are wearied with praying, but to no avail. Their wails will be those of those who have no real god, no hope and help.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
have: Isa 2:11, Jer 48:26, Jer 48:29, Jer 48:30, Jer 48:42, Amo 2:1, Oba 1:3, Oba 1:4, Zep 2:9, Zep 2:10, 1Pe 5:5
but: Isa 28:15, Isa 28:18, Isa 44:25, Jer 50:36
Reciprocal: 2Ch 20:1 – the children of Moab Isa 25:11 – he shall bring Jer 13:9 – the great Jer 48:11 – emptied Jer 48:14 – We Eze 16:49 – pride Hab 2:5 – a proud man Jam 4:6 – God
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 16:6-7. We have heard of the pride of Moab, &c. The prophet, having spoken to the Moabites, now turns his speech to Gods people. The sense is, I do not expect that my counsels will have any good effect upon Moab; they will still carry themselves insolently and outrageously. His lies shall not be so His vain imaginations, and false and crafty counsels, shall not take effect. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab One Moabite shall howl or lament to or for another; for the foundations of Kir-hareseth An ancient and eminent city of Moab, called Kir, Isa 15:1, and Kir-haresh, Isa 16:11, which was preserved when their other cities were ruined, and therefore the destruction of it was more lamented. Surely they are stricken Or broken, overthrown or destroyed.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; [he is] very proud: [even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: [but] his {f} lies [shall] not [be] so.
(f) Their vain confidence and proud bragging will deceive them, Jer 48:2 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The prophet explained the reason for Moab’s destruction, pride (cf. Isa 16:1-4 a), and its result, grief (cf. Isa 15:2-4). Her excessive pride, arrogance, and insolence were the reason for her invasion; the invader was but the instrument of God (cf. Isa 13:11). There was no basis in reality for her boasting. Moab was covered with grapevines, which the enemy would destroy. As a grapevine, Moab had extended its influence far beyond its borders, but now an enemy had cut back her fruitfulness. This would result in much despair and wailing in Moab. Raisin cakes appear to have been a major export of the nation that the Moabites relished as a delicacy in their homes (cf. 1Ch 12:40; Hos 3:1).