Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.
Parallel translations
- WEB Send the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
- KJV Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
- NKJV Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela to the wilderness, To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
- NASB Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
- NLT Send lambs from Sela as tribute to the ruler of the land. Send them through the desert to the mountain of beautiful Zion.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moab is counseled to send tribute lambs to the ruler in Zion. Their hope of mercy lies in submitting to the king of Judah.
Overview
Isaiah advises the Moabite fugitives to send the customary tribute of lambs, recalling Moab's past payment to Israel (2 Kings 3:4), to seek refuge under Jerusalem's king. The path to safety runs through Zion, the place God has appointed. This points beyond a political solution to the ultimate refuge found in the King who reigns from David's line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Kgs 3:4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
- Isa 10:32Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
- 2 Kgs 14:7Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
- 2 Sam 8:2David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
- Ezra 7:17With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.
- Isa 42:11Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
- Mic 4:8And you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion—the former dominion will be restored to you; sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.”
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 16:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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