Isaiah 16

1 Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Sion.

Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela through the desert, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.

2 And it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, and as young ones flying out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in the passage of Arnon.

The Moabite women at the fords of the Arnon are like birds fluttering around when their nest is destroyed.

3 Take counsel, gather a council: make thy shadow as the night in the midday: hide them that flee, and betray not them that wander about.

Think about it and make a decision. Make your shadow as invisible at midday as during the night. Hide the refugees; don't betray them as they run away.

4 My fugitives shall dwell with thee: O Moab, be thou a covert to them from the face of the destroyer: for the dust is at an end, the wretch is consumed: he hath failed, that trod the earth under foot.

Let my refugees stay among you, Moab. Hide them from our enemies until the destroyer is no more, the destruction is over, and the aggressive invaders have gone.

5 And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and quickly rendering that which is just.

Then a kingdom will be set up based on trustworthy love, and on its throne will sit a faithful king from the line of David. He will judge fairly, and will be passionately committed to doing what is right.

6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogancy, and his indignation is more than his strength.

We know all about the pride of the Moabites, how terribly vain and conceited they are, completely arrogant! But their boasting is false.

7 Therefore shall Moab howl to Moab, every one shall howl: to them that rejoice upon the brick walls, tell ye their stripes.

All the Moabites grieve for Moab. They all mourn the loss of the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth, all of them destroyed.

8 For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the nations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama: the branches thereof have reached even to Jazer: they have wandered in the wilderness, the branches thereof are left, they are gone over the sea.

Heshbon's fields have dried up, as have Sibmah's grapevines. The rulers of the nations have trampled down the vines that once branched out to Jazer and east towards the desert, and west as far as the sea.

9 Therefore I will lament with the weeping of Jazer the vineyard of Sabama: I will water thee with my tears, O Hesebon, and Eleale: for the voice of the treaders hath rushed in upon thy vintage, and upon thy harvest.

So I cry with Jazer for Sibmah's vines; I soak Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Nobody shouts in celebration over your summer fruit and your harvest any more.

10 And gladness and joy shall be taken away from Carmel, and there shall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards. He shall not tread out wine in the press that was wont to tread it out: the voice of the treaders I have taken away.

Joy and happiness are gone. Nobody celebrates in the harvest fields or the vineyards; nobody shouts happily. Nobody treads grapes in the winepresses. I have stopped their cheering.

11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for the brick wall.

Heartbroken I cry for Moab like sad music on a harp; deep inside I weep for Kir-hareseth.

12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is wearied on his high places, that he shall go in to his sanctuaries to pray, and shall not prevail.

The Moabites go and wear themselves out worshiping at their high places. They go to their shrines to pray, but it does them no good.

13 This is the word, that the Lord spoke to Moab from that time:

This is the message that the Lord has already delivered about Moab.

14 And now the Lord hath spoken, saying: In three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be taken away for all the multitude of the people, and it shall be left small and feeble, not many.

But now the Lord speaks again, and says, In three years, just as a contract worker precisely counts years, Moab's glory will turn into something to be laughed at. Despite there being so many Moabites now, soon there will only be a few feeble people left.