Isaiah 16:2
in Isaiah 16Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so shall 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 16
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For it shall be - It shall happen in the time of the calamity that shall come upon Moab. As a wandering bird - (See Isa 10:14.) The same idea is presented in Pro 27:8: As a bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place. The idea here is that of a bird driven away from her nest, where the nest is destroyed, and the young fly about without any home or place of rest. So would Moab be when the inhabitants were driven from their dwellings.
This site's exposition
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
on Isaiah 16:1-2
The burden of Moab continues from chapter 15 with an appeal for royal favor: send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land, the tribute Moab's kings owed Judah's throne, the same toll of lambs and wool 2 Kings 3:4 later names, sent from Sela, the rock fortress later called Petra, toward the mount of the daughter of Zion. Moab's own daughters are left at the fords of Arnon like a bird startled out of its nest, homeless on a border her own land no longer shelters.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Chapter 16, Verse 1) Send forth the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the desert rock to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. This, we interpret, is not history, but prophecy. However, every prophecy is wrapped in riddles and, with interrupted sentences, while speaking of one thing, goes on to another: lest if it preserves the order of Scripture, it be not a prophecy, but a narrative. And the meaning is: O Moab, over whom the lion will rage, and from whom not even remnants will be able to be saved, take solace in this: The Immaculate Lamb will come forth from you, who will take away the sins of the world, who will rule over the whole earth. From the rock of the desert, that is, from Ruth, who, widowed by the death of her husband, bore Obed and from Obed, Jesse, and from Jesse, David, and from David, Christ. But by the mountain of the daughters of Zion, we shall interpret either the city itself, Jerusalem, or according to the sacred understanding, the Church, which is established on the summit of virtues.
(Verse 2) And it shall be, like a flying bird, and like young birds flying from the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in the crossing of the Arnon. They will return to the order they had taken: When I have set, it says, those who fled from Moab, and the remnants of the land, against the fiercest lion, who will break their limbs and bones, then the fearful shall fly away, and all the daughters, that is, the towns and cities of the province of Moab, shall migrate in the crossing of the Arnon, which is the boundary of the Amorites and the Moabites. However, transcensum et hic ponens, captivitatem significat.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the punishment of those who hold the promise in contempt is set out: and it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, whence they fled or were led captive, above: my hand has found the strength of the people as a …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Break off thy sins by righteousness, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. And it is applicable to the great gospel duty of submission to Christ, as the ruler of the land, and our ruler: "Send him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
For it shall be,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cast out of . . . nest--rather, "as a brood cast out" (in apposition with "a wandering bird," or rather, wandering birds), namely, a brood just fledged and expelled from the nest in which they were hatched [HORSLEY]. De 32:11. daughters of Moab--that is, the inhabitants of Moab.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Send lambs of the ruler of the land Be not proud. Do you not know that the ruler of your land, Mesha, king of Moab, (II Kings:4) was a sheepman; and he would repeatedly pay tribute to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
They shall bring tributes to the Messiah of Israel, who shall prevail over those who are in the wilderness, unto the mountain of the congregation of Zion.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְעוֹף־ | kheof- | like a bird | H5775 → | |
| נוֹדֵ֖ד | noded | fluttering | H5074 → | 28 times |
| קֵ֣ן | ken | a nest | H7064 → | |
| מְשֻׁלָּ֑ח | meshulach | sent away | H7971 → | 845 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֙ינָה֙ | tihyeinah | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| מַעְבָּרֹ֖ת | ma'barot | [the] fords | H4569 → | 11 times |
| לְאַרְנֽוֹן׃ | learnon | of Arnon | H769 → |
וְהָיָ֥הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כְעוֹף־like a bird
kheof-H5775 →
נוֹדֵ֖דfluttering
nodedH5074 →28 times
קֵ֣ןa nest
kenH7064 →
מְשֻׁלָּ֑חsent away
meshulachH7971 →845 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֙ינָה֙they will be
tihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
בְּנ֣וֹת[the] daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
מַעְבָּרֹ֖ת[the] fords
ma'barotH4569 →11 times
לְאַרְנֽוֹן׃of Arnon
learnonH769 →
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
Proverbs 27:8Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders from his home.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:16
The man who strays from the path of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.
- Jonah 1:3
Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went…
- Jonah 1:10–17
Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
- 1 Corinthians 7:20
Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called.
- Genesis 16:6–8
“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
- Proverbs 21:16
Through
Joshua 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,
it leads to
- Joshua 13:9
The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
- Joshua 13:9
Through
Deuteronomy 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:36
From 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…
- Deuteronomy 2:36
Through
Judges 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.…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:1–8
Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.
- Deuteronomy 2:1–8
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.