Send lambs of the ruler of the land Be not proud. Do you not know that the ruler of your land, Mesha, king of Moab, (II Kings 3:4) was a sheepman; and he would repeatedly pay tribute to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs. Send those lambs of your ruler from Sela Midbarah to the mountain of the community of Zion.

like a wandering bird from its nest.

driven from the nest like young birds driven from their nest, who roam and wander, so shall the villages of Moab wander to the fords of the Arnon.

deliberate judgment This is an expression of a debate of judgment, to choose for yourself what is good. Comp. (Job 34:4) “Let us choose for ourselves what is just.” [derajjsnement in O.F., discernment.]

make like the night your shadow Make yourself a shadow at noon that will darken your shadow like night, to hide therein from before your enemies.

conceal the exiles If the exiles of My people flee again through your land in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, do not turn them over to the Chaldees but conceal them.

May My exiles sojourn among you The fleeing children of Israel.

become a hiding place for them for you too shall know the soul of the wanderers, what their distress is.

for the milking has come to an end Your squeezing, your wealth and your glory, which you had through your flocks and your cattle, from which you would squeeze milk and cream.

the udders have vanished Heb. כָּלָה שֹׁד, an expression of breasts that supply milk. Comp. (infra 60:16) “And the breast of (וְשֹׁד) the kings you shall suck.”

the tramplers have ceased Your animals that trample [the earth] in your land.

And the throne shall be established through lovingkindness When this destruction comes upon you, then the throne of David shall be established and magnified, for at that time, Sennacherib shall meet his downfall through Hezekiah, whose throne shall be established through the lovingkindness that he shall perform, as we find that he bestowed lovingkindness, as it is stated in II Chron. (30:24): “For Hezekiah, king of Judah provided for the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep.”

and there shall sit...one who judges and demands justice and performs righteousness Heb. וּמְהִר צֶדֶק. Jonathan renders: and performs justice.

they have become very proud Heb. גֵּא מְאֹד, [lit.] he has become very proud.

their pride and their haughtiness are improper, for the source of the nurturing of their branches was through illegitimacy and the incest of the daughters from their father.

and their conception Heb. וְעֶבְרָתוֹ, their conception, [lit. his conception.] Alternatively, עֶבְרָתוֹ means “his anger,” the anger they bore for Israel.

improper Their heroes acted improperly, for they were unappreciative.

Therefore, Moab shall wail for Moab [lit. to Moab,] for Moab.

for the walls of Kir-hareseth Heb. לַאֲשִׁישֵׁי, for the walls of Kir-hareseth. for the walls Comp. (Jer. 50:15) “Her walls (אָשְׁיוֹתֶיהָ) fell.”

shall you lament, but broken-hearted Heb. נְכָאִים, broken.

shall you lament Heb. תֶּהֶגּוּ.

grain fields Heb. שַׁדְמוֹת.

the vine of Sibmah We can deduce that Heshbon was a place of fields and Sibmah a place of vineyards. Now if you ask, All these are cities of the east side of the Jordan, and Israel took them from the hands of Sihon. Now when did they return to the hands of Moab? When Sennacherib exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites, the neighboring Moabites came and settled in them.

has become desolate Heb. אֻמְלָל, has become desolate.

its saplings its choice saplings.

they reached as far as Jazer The grain fields and the vine and the saplings mentioned here are merely an allegory. They represent camps, companies, and rulers [in the days of these peoples]. So did Jonathan paraphrase it.

they reached as far as Jazer they went into exile.

they strayed to the desert lit. they strayed the desert.

its tendrils its branches; and they are the symbol of its exiles.

spread out Heb. נִטְּשׁוּ, scattered. Comp. (Ezekiel 29:5) “And I will scatter you (וּנְטַשְׁתִּיךָ) in the desert”; (I Sam. 30: 16) “And behold, they were scattered (נְטוּשִׁים)”; (II Sam. 5:22) “And spread out (וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ) in the valley of Rephaim.”

I will weep with the weeping of Jazer Jonathan paraphrases: As I brought camps upon Jazer, so will I bring killers upon Sibmah, and, according to the wording of the verse, the prophet states: Similar to the lamentations of Jazer, I have to lament over you, the vine of Sibmah.

I will be sated over you with my tears Heb. אַרְיָוֶךְ, I will be sated over you. There are some words that serve as two words. Comp. (Jer. 10:20) “My children went out of me (יְצֵאוּנִי)”; (Jos. 15:19) “A dry land you have given to me (נְתַתָּנִי)”; (Gen. 37:4) “To speak to him (דַּבְּרוֹ) peacefully.”

your figs Heb. (קִיצֵךְ), the figs that are dried out in the summer.

a shout the noise of robbers and spoilers.

from the fruitful field Heb. כַּרְמֶל. That is a place of a forest and grain fields.

no shout Heb. יְרֹעָע, an expression of a shout of (תְּרוּעַת) joy.

the shout have I abolished the voice of those assembled to lay the beam to press the grapes.

shall moan in lamentation.

that Moab has wearied on the high place to wage war on the high places of the towers.

and he shall enter his sanctuary to the place where they prepare themselves and ready themselves there to pray.

This is the word the end of Moab’s destruction at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

that the Lord spoke concerning Moab long ago Many days before the calamity came upon it, Isaiah prophesied this about it. Alternatively, “Long ago,” denotes the time when Balak hired Balaam.

And now, the Lord has spoken to bring the retribution near to them.

In three years like the years of a hireling Because of three years that they aided Sennacherib when he besieged Samaria, and they aided him without compensation, as though they were his hirelings, the glory of Moab shall, therefore, be debased among the rest of Sennacherib’s multitudes, for he swept them away into captivity from the midst of that army and went away. And so it is related in Seder Olam (ch. 23): He swept away the Ammonites and the Moabites who aided him when he besieged Samaria three years, to fulfill what is said: “Three years like the years of a hireling, etc.” It can further be explained as follows: “Three years like the years of a hireling.” Three years were decreed upon you as a reprieve, but they will be exact, and the retribution will not be delayed further, as a hireling is exact with the years of his hire, to limit them.

the glory of Moab shall be debased in the eyes of all the great multitude of Sennacherib.

and the remnant The survivors left to Moab.

not many Heb. לוֹא כַּבִּיר, an expression of a large number.