Isaiah 16:12
in Isaiah 16When Moab appears on the high place, when he wearies himself and enters his sanctuary to pray, it will do him no good.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
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This verse in Isaiah 16
Commentary
12 notes on this verseWhen it is seen that Moab, etc. “When Moab shall see,” etc. - For נראה nirah, a MS. reads ראה raah, and so the Syriac and Chaldee. “Perhaps כי נראה ki nirah is only a various reading of כי נלאה ki nilah.” Secker. A very probable conjecture.
This site's exposition
Joy and gladness are removed
on Isaiah 16:10-12
The prophet's grief sounds again, "my heart laments for Moab like a harp," mourning without holding himself apart from the nation under judgment. When Moab enters his sanctuary to pray, "it will do him no good," a sanctuary Adam Clarke takes as the shrine of Chemosh.
This site's exposition
When Moab appears on the high place
Appears is the word used for coming before God at the feasts in Exodus 23:15, here turned to Moab's high place. Moab wearies himself with rites in his sanctuary. Henry notes that men seldom leave their idols until those idols have worn them out.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 12) And it will be, when it appears that Moab has labored in vain for his heights, he will enter his holy places to seek guidance, but he will not prevail. It is the ultimate misery, to not have support from those whom he has always revered. 'Deserted,' he says, 'are your strengths, and with all defenders slain, you will turn to idols, you will worship shrines, but you will not find help in them, as the devastation that is common with you arrives.'
(Verse 12) But when he realizes that he has labored in vain in the lofty doctrines which he once believed, he will enter into his own holy things, not those things which are inherently holy, but those things which he erroneously thought were holy, and he will not be able to find help. Perhaps, in the desert of error and falsehood, he will attempt to enter into the holy Church, to make it his own, and to pray and beseech, but he will not prevail. For we cannot immediately, as we wish, attain perfect virtue.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here he shows their frustration, concerning both the idols to which they sacrificed in high places and the idols to which they sacrificed in temples when they were in fear: where are their gods, in whom they trusted? (Deut 32:37).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When - When it shall appear that all their other devotions are vain. His sanctuary - To the temple of his great God Chemosh. But - His God can neither hear nor help him.
4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,....
Men are generally so stupid that they will not believe, till they are made to see, the vanity of idols and of all creature-confidences, nor will come off from them till they are made weary of them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when it is seen that--rather, "When Moab shall have appeared (before his gods; compare Ex 23:15), when he is weary (that is, when he shall have fatigued himself with observing burdensome rites;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When it is seen - When it occurs; that is, when Moab actually “becomes” weary. Is weary on the high place - The “high place” denotes the place of idolatrous worship, and here means the same as the temple of Chemosh or his sanctuary. Temples and altars were usually constructed on such places, and especially the temples of the pagan gods. Moab is represented here as looking to her gods for protection. Weary, exhausted, worn down with calamities, she is represented as fleeing from the desolate towns and cities, and taking refuge at the altar, and seeking assistance there. This, says Jerome, is the final misery. She is now forsaken of those aids to which she had always trusted, and on which she had relied. Her people slain; her towns destroyed; her strong places broken down; her once fertile fields languishing and desolate, she flees to the shrine of her god, and finds even her god unable to aid and defend her. Shall come to his sanctuary - To his “principle” sanctuary; or to the temple of the principal god which they worshipped - the god “Chemosh” 1Ki 11:7. This does not mean the temple at Jerusalem, though Kimchi so understands it; but the temple of the chief divinity of Moab. Jerome says that this temple was on mount Nebo. Shall not prevail - That is, her prayer shall not be heard.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
that Moab has wearied on the high place to wage war on the high places of the towers.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This is the word the end of Moab’s destruction at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֧ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִֽי־ | khi- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִרְאָ֛ה | nirah | it has presented itself | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִלְאָ֥ה | nilah | it has wearied itself | H3811 → | 19 times |
| מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַבָּמָ֑ה | habamah | the high place | H1116 → | 102 times |
| וּבָ֧א | uva' | and it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִקְדָּשׁ֛וֹ | mikdasho | sanctuary its | H4720 → | 75 times |
| לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֖ל | lehitpalel | to pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּכָֽל׃ | yukhal | it will prevail | H3201 → | 194 times |
וְהָיָ֧הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כִֽי־that
khi-H3588 →4482 times
נִרְאָ֛הit has presented itself
nirahH7200 →1300 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נִלְאָ֥הit has wearied itself
nilahH3811 →19 times
מוֹאָ֖בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַבָּמָ֑הthe high place
habamahH1116 →102 times
וּבָ֧אand it will come
uva'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִקְדָּשׁ֛וֹsanctuary its
mikdashoH4720 →75 times
לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֖לto pray
lehitpalelH6419 →84 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יוּכָֽל׃it will prevail
yukhalH3201 →194 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 48:7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
it leads to
- Numbers 21:29
Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Jeremiah 49:3
Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with…
- Numbers 21:29
Through
Jeremiah 48:46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:7
Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 48:7
Through
Jeremiah 48:35In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.
it leads to
- Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Isaiah 15:2
Through
Isaiah 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:1
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and…
- Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Jeremiah 48:1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.