Isaiah 16–18

A New Government in the David Tradition

^1–416“Dispatch a gift of lambs,” says Moab,

“to the leaders in Jerusalem—

Lambs from Sela sent across the desert

to buy the goodwill of Jerusalem.

The towns and people of Moab

are at a loss,

New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,

fluttering helplessly

At the banks of the Arnon River,

unable to cross:

‘Tell us what to do,

help us out!

Protect us,

hide us!

Give the refugees from Moab

sanctuary with you.

Be a safe place for those on the run

from the killing fields.’ ”

^4–5“When this is all over,” Judah answers,

“the tyrant toppled,

The killing at an end,

all signs of these cruelties long gone,

A new government of love will be established

in the venerable David tradition.

A Ruler you can depend upon

will head this government,

A Ruler passionate for justice,

a Ruler quick to set things right.”

^6–12We’ve heard—everyone’s heard!—of Moab’s pride,

world-famous for pride—

Arrogant, self-important, insufferable,

full of hot air.

So now let Moab lament for a change,

with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors!

What a shame! How terrible!

No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies!

All those lush Heshbon fields dried up,

the rich Sibmah vineyards withered!

Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out

the famous grapevines

That once reached all the way to Jazer,

right to the edge of the desert,

Ripped out the crops in every direction

as far as the eye can see.

I’ll join the weeping. I’ll weep right along with Jazer,

weep for the Sibmah vineyards.

And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh,

I’ll mingle my tears with your tears!

The joyful shouting at harvest is gone.

Instead of song and celebration, dead silence.

No more boisterous laughter in the orchards,

no more hearty work songs in the vineyards.

Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields,

silence—deathly and deadening silence.

My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab,

my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres.

When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray,

he wastes both time and energy.

Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief

is useless. Nothing ever happens.

^13–14This is God’s earlier Message on Moab. God’s updated Message is, “In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab’s impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums cadging handouts.”

Damascus: A Pile of Dust and Rubble

^1–317A Message concerning Damascus:

“Watch this: Damascus undone as a city,

a pile of dust and rubble!

Her towns emptied of people.

The sheep and goats will move in

And take over the towns

as if they owned them—which they will!

Not a sign of a fort is left in Ephraim,

not a trace of government left in Damascus.

What’s left of Aram?

The same as what’s left of Israel—not much.”

Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

The Day Is Coming

^4–6“The Day is coming when Jacob’s robust splendor goes pale

and his well-fed body turns skinny.

The country will be left empty, picked clean

as a field harvested by field hands.

She’ll be like a few stalks of barley left standing

in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest,

Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked

in the top of the olive tree,

Or the four or five apples

that the pickers couldn’t reach in the orchard.”

Decree of the God of Israel.

^7–8Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They’ll lose interest in all the stuff they’ve made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, hand-made religion—however impressive it is.

⁹And yes, the Day is coming when their fortress cities will be abandoned—the very same cities that the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when Israel invaded! And the country will be empty, desolate.

You Have Forgotten God

^10–11And why? Because you have forgotten God-Your-Salvation,

not remembered your Rock-of-Refuge.

And so, even though you are very religious,

planting all sorts of bushes and herbs and trees

to honor and influence your fertility gods,

And even though you make them grow so well,

bursting with buds and sprouts and blossoms,

Nothing will come of them. Instead of a harvest

you’ll get nothing but grief and pain, pain, pain.

^12–13Oh my! Thunder! A thundering herd of people!

Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves!

Nations roaring, roaring,

like the roar of a massive waterfall,

Roaring like a deafening Niagara!

But God will silence them with a word,

And then he’ll blow them away like dead leaves off a tree,

like down from a thistle.

¹⁴At bedtime, terror fills the air.

By morning it’s gone—not a sign of it anywhere!

This is what happens to those who would ruin us,

this is the fate of those out to get us.

People Mighty and Merciless

^1–218Doom to the land of flies and mosquitoes

beyond the Ethiopian rivers,

Shipping emissaries all over the world,

down rivers and across seas.

Go, swift messengers,

go to this people tall and handsome,

This people held in respect everywhere,

this people mighty and merciless,

from the land crisscrossed with rivers.

³Everybody everywhere,

all earth-dwellers:

When you see a flag flying on the mountain, look!

When you hear the trumpet blown, listen!

^4–6For here’s what God told me:

“I’m not going to say anything,

but simply look on from where I live,

Quiet as warmth that comes from the sun,

silent as dew during harvest.”

And then, just before harvest, after the blossom

has turned into a maturing grape,

He’ll step in and prune back the new shoots,

ruthlessly hack off all the growing branches.

He’ll leave them piled on the ground

for birds and animals to feed on—

Fodder for the summering birds,

fodder for the wintering animals.

⁷Then tribute will be brought to God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

brought from this people tall and handsome,

This people once held in respect everywhere,

this people once mighty and merciless,

From the land crisscrossed with rivers,

to Mount Zion, God’s place.