CHAPTER XVI _The distress of Moab pathetically described by the son of the_ _prince, or ruler of the land, being forced to flee for his_ _life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea; and the_ _young women, like young birds scared from their nest, wade_ _helpless through the fords of Ar... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:3. _TAKE COUNSEL _- "Impart counsel"] The _Vulgate_ renders the verbs in the beginning of this verse in the singular number, So the _Keri_; and so likewise _sixty-one_ MSS. of _Kennicott's_ and _De_ _Rossi's_ have it, and _nineteen_ editions, and the _Syriac_. The verbs throughout th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:4. _LET MINE OUTCASTS DWELL WITH THEE, MOAB_ - "Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee, O Zion"] Setting the points aside, this is by much the most obvious construction of the _Hebrew_, as well as most agreeable to the context, and the design of the prophet. And it is confirmed b... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:5. _IN MERCY SHALL THE THRONE BE ESTABLISHED_] May not this refer to the throne of Hezekiah? Here we have the character of such a king as cannot fail to be a blessing to the people. 1. "He sitteth on the throne in truth"-He does not merely _profess_ to be the _father_ and protector... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:6. _WE HAVE HEARD OF THE PRIDE OF MOAB_ - "We have heard the pride of Moab"] For גא _ge_, read גאה _geah_; two MSS., one ancient, and Jeremiah 48:29. Zephaniah, Zephaniah 2:8, in his prophecy against Moab, the subject of which is the same with that of Jeremiah in his _forty-eighth_ c... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:7. _FOR THE FOUNDATIONS OF KIR-HARESETH _- "For the men of Kirhares."] A palpable mistake in this place is happily corrected by the parallel text of Jeremiah 48:31, where, instead of אשישי _ashishey, foundations_ or _flagons_, nve read אנשי _anshey, men_. In the same place of Jeremia... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:8. _LANGUISH_ - "Are put to shame"] Here the text of Jeremiah leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly corrupted. The _Septuagint_ join the two last words of this verse with the beginning of the following. Their rendering is: και ουκ εντραπησῃ, τα πεδια Εσεβων.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:9. _WITH THE WEEPING_ - "As with the weeping"] For בבכי _bibechi_, a MS. reads בכי _bechi_. In Jeremiah 48:32, it is מבכי _mibbechi_. The _Septuagint_ read כבכי _kibeki, as with weeping_, which I follow. _FOR THY SUMMER FRUITS AND FOR THY HARVEST IS FALLEN_ - "And upon thy vintage... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:10. _NEITHER SHALL THERE BE SHOUTING_ - "An end is put to the shouting"] The _Septuagint_ read השבת _hishbeth_, passive, and in the third person; rightly, for God is not the speaker in this place. The rendering of the _Septuagint_ is πεπαυται γαρ κελευσμα, "the cry ceaseth;" which la... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:12. _WHEN IT IS SEEN THAT MOAB_, c. - "When Moab shall see," c.] For נראה _nirah_, a MS. reads ראה _raah_, and so the _Syriac_ and _Chaldee_. "Perhaps כי נראה _ki nirah_ is only a various reading of כי נלאה _ki nilah_." SECKER. A very probable conjecture.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 16:14. _WITHIN THREE YEARS_] בשלש _beshalish_ כשלש keshalish, according, or _in or about three years_, is the reading of nine of _Kennicott's_ and _De Rossi's_ MSS., and _two_ ancient editions. But the _present reading_ may well stand: "Now, the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three... [ Continue Reading ]