Isaiah 16:14

But now the Lord hath spoken,.... Something else. What follows is a distinct prophecy from the former, and has a date annexed to it, when it should be fulfilled: the former prophecy relates to the

But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

Hath spoken; hath made this further discovery of his mind to me. Within three years; to be computed either, 1. From the time of Jerusalem’ s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, who did, as is confessed by all, invade the Moabites at or about that time, and execute the judgment first foretold by this prophet, and afterwards by Jeremiah 48. Or rather, 2. From the time of the delivery of this prophecy; which being uncertain, leaves us the greater latitude for the determination of the precise time when this was fulfilled. But this is certain, from , that this prophecy must be delivered, at furthest, before the end of Hezekiah’ s reign. And then there ariseth this great difficulty, How this can consist with the prophecy of Jeremiah, who above or about a hundred years after this time speaketh of Moab as a people that had been at ease from their youth, and had not gone into captivity, , and prophesieth against them in the very same words which Isaiah useth in this prophecy? The answer is, That they do not speak of the same time, nor of the same calamity; but Isaiah of a former tribulation, and Jeremiah of their latter devastation. It is true, Jeremiah useth the same words which Isaiah doth, and so do the later prophets sometimes use the words of the former, to other purposes than they were first delivered, as we shall see hereafter, and as is most evident from the Revelation of St. John, in which the same words are used concerning mystical Babylon. which were used by the foregoing prophets concerning the first and literal Babylon. And although the foregoing prophecy of Isaiah seems to speak of the same destruction threatened by Jeremiah, and inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar; yet this prophecy contained in this verse, and ushered in with another preface, seems to be of a differing nature, and to speak of a more speedy and less grievous affliction that should befall them, which should be as a pledge to assure them of the certain accomplishment of the other prophecy, and of their utter destruction. And therefore it is observable, that the prophet doth not here say, Within three years all that I have foretold and threatened shall be fulfilled; but only, the glory of Moab shall be contemned, & c., which is quite another thing; and as the terms here used are much milder, so that; judgment here denounced seems much less, than in the foregoing prophecy. And therefore this verse may very well be understood of some great blow given to the Moabites, either by Sennacherib, or by his son Esarhaddon, from which notwithstanding they in a little time recovered themselves, and flourished again, and continued so to do till Nebuchadnezzar completed their destruction.

Isaiah 16:14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant [shall be] very small [and] feeble.Ver. 14. Within three years.] In which time the sins of the Moabites shall be full, and themselves ripe and ready for vengeance. Three years hence, therefore, sc., in the fourth year of King Hezekiah; for then came up Shalmaneser against Samaria, and it is probable that in his march thither he invaded and subdued these Moabites, that he might leave all safe behind him. A hundred years after which, or more, Nebuchadnezzar utterly ruined them, according to Jeremiah 48:1-47 As the years of an hireling,] i.e., Praecise, nec citius nec tardius, Three years precisely. This time Moab had to make his peace in; but he minded nothing less, and therefore deservedly perished. So, alas! shall all such infallibly as repent not within their three years’ space! which perhaps may not be three months, or three days, saith Oecolampadius; I may add, three minutes; and yet, Ex hoc momento pendet ceternitas, Upon this short inch of time dependeth eternity. Up, therefore, and be doing. Stat sua cuique dies, &c.

(14) But now the Lord hath spoken . . .—The point of contrast seems to lie in the vaguer character of what had gone before, and the specific defined prediction that follows. “Within three years,” measured with the exactness of the hired labourer, who will not give more than he has contracted for, and of the employer, who will not take less. The same phrase meets us in Isaiah 21:16.The glory of Moab shall be contemned.—We may infer from the fact that the prophecy was recorded when the writings of Isaiah were collected. whether by himself or another, that men looked on it as an instance of his prevision. History is, indeed, silent as to the manner of its fulfilment. It was probable, however, that the armies of Salmaneser or Sargon swept, as those of Pul and Tiglath-pileser had done (1 Chronicles 5:26), over the region east of the Jordan, and so invaded Moab. (See Note on Isaiah 17:1.) We note that here also there was to be a “remnant,” but not like that of Israel, the germ of a renewed strength.

Verse 14. Within three years] בשלש beshalish כשלש keshalish, according, or in or about three years, is the reading of nine of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and two ancient editions. But the present reading may well stand: "Now, the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling." It seems as if this prophecy had been delivered before, without any time specified for its fulfilment; but now the time is determined - "in three years, as the years of a hireling" - for, as a hireling counts even to a single day, and will not abide with his employer an hour beyond the time agreed on; so, in three years, even to a day, from the delivery of this prophecy, shall destruction come upon Moab. This is the import of the present text; but if we take כשלש keshalish, AS in three years, or in about three years' time, the prophecy is not so definite. These three years, says Calmet, are mentioned from the death of Ahaz, see Isaiah 14:28, and end the third year of Hezekiah, three years before the taking of Samaria by Shalmaneser. This conquerer did not ruin Moab so completely as not to leave a man in the land; the final desolation of Moab was reserved for Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the taking of Jerusalem. Feeble - "And without strength."] An ancient MS., with the Septuagint, reads ולא velo, "and not."

14. If ch. Isaiah 15:1 to Isaiah 16:12 describe real events, the verse shews that in the interval Moab had recovered some measure of its former prosperity. as the years of a hireling] As the hireling serves for the stipulated time, but not a moment longer, so the judgment on Moab shall not be deferred beyond the space of three years (cf. ch. Isaiah 21:16). the glory of Moab (Isaiah 16:6) shall be contemned] or “contemptible.” the remnant … feeble] lit. “the remnant shall be small, little (ch. Isaiah 10:25, Isaiah 29:17—of time), not strong.” It is hazardous to assume that the “remnant” here is the nucleus of a regenerated Messianic community.

But now the Lord hath spoken - This refers to the particular and specific prophecy of Isaiah that destruction should come upon them in three years.

12-14. From times long, long past, Jehovah denounced calamity to Moab. Poole refers to Numbers 21:27-30, as intended. To the nation as a whole there was no relief.