clawrence9008
Puritan Board Freshman
I was reading Isaiah ch. 15 & 16 (an oracle against Moab; Isa. 15:1) this afternoon when I came across a wonderful promise regarding the establishment of the Davidic kingdom under the Messiah in Isa. 16:5. Given the context of Moab’s destruction (Isa. 15:1-9) and their flight of the Moabite people from their land because of the imminent Assyrian invasion (Isa. 15:9-16:2), it seems that v. 3-5 are either Isaiah or the nation of Moab pleading with Judah to allow the escaped outcasts of Moab to find safety under the rule of the Davidic king. In a broader way, this is an encouragement to the Gentile nations to seek shelter in their only true hope, which is Jesus Christ; see also Amos 9:11-12 cited in Acts 15:16-17. Verses 6-14 seem to then go on and describe the outcome of this proud and arrogant nation rejecting the salvation that has been put in from them, namely complete destruction. My Reformation Study Bible and ESV Study Bible both have similar interpretations of 16:3-5, but Calvin, Poole, and Henry all interpret these verses as the people of Judah speaking to Moab and imploring them to let the outcasts of Judah find shelter in Moab due to some imminent threat. This interpretation personally doesn’t make much sense to me, but these men are all far more gifted expositors than I could ever dream to be, and so there is a conundrum.
The KJV renders v. 4 as “let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressor is consumed out of the land” (Isa. 16:4 KJV), which is the version that Poole and Henry make use of. The ESV, CSB, LSB, and NASB1995 all render it as referring to the outcasts of Moab, however. I don’t know Hebrew so I don’t know which is a better translation, so would anyone be able to help?
The KJV renders v. 4 as “let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressor is consumed out of the land” (Isa. 16:4 KJV), which is the version that Poole and Henry make use of. The ESV, CSB, LSB, and NASB1995 all render it as referring to the outcasts of Moab, however. I don’t know Hebrew so I don’t know which is a better translation, so would anyone be able to help?
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