Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
Parallel translations
- WEB For it will be that as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so will the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.
- KJV For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
- NKJV For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest; So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
- NASB Then, like fluttering birds or scattered nestlings, The daughters of Moab will be at the crossing places of the Arnon.
- NLT The women of Moab are left like homeless birds at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.
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
The women of Moab are like fluttering birds driven from a scattered nest at the fords of the Arnon. The nation is depicted as helpless and homeless refugees.
Overview
The image of frightened birds at the river crossings conveys Moab's defenselessness and desperation as its people flee. Stripped of security, they wander seeking shelter. Their plight sets the stage for the appeal to find refuge in Zion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 27:8Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders from his home.
- Judg 11:18Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.
- Isa 13:14Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
- Josh 13:16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,
- Jer 48:20Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
- Num 21:13–15From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.
- Deut 3:8At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon—
- Deut 3:12So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.
- Deut 2:36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:2 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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