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.
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.
- BSB Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the 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 27:8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
- Judg 11:18Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
- Isa 13:14And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
- Josh 13:16And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;
- Jer 48:20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
- Num 21:13–15From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
- Deut 3:8And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon;
- Deut 3:12And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.
- Deut 2:36From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
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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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