Isaiah 16:8
in Isaiah 16For the fields of Heshbon have withered, along with the grapevines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choicest vines, which had reached as far as Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots had spread out and passed over the sea.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
KJV
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
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This verse in Isaiah 16
Commentary
10 notes on this verseLanguish “Are put to shame” - Here the text of Jeremiah leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly corrupted. The Septuagint join the two last words of this verse with the beginning of the following. Their rendering is: και ουκ εντραπησῃ, τα πεδια Εσεβων. For אך ach they must have read אל al; otherwise, how came they by the negative, which seems not to belong to this place? Neither is it easy to make sense of the rest without a small alteration, by reading, instead of εντραπησῃ τα, εντραπησεται.
This site's exposition
We have heard of the pride of Moab
on Isaiah 16:6-9
The oracle turns from appeal to a report already circulating: we have heard of the pride of Moab, his haughtiness and his lies, and that pride is exactly what draws the mourning that follows. Kir-hareseth's foundations are struck and every voice in Moab howls, and the vine of Sibmah, famous enough that foreign lords broke its branches for their own vineyards, becomes the prophet's own image of grief, wept over as far as Jazer with tears mingled into Heshbon's summer harvest that never comes. John Gill and Albert Barnes both note the turn from Moab's boast to Moab's weeping as the oracle's whole argument compressed into four verses.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 8.) Since the suburbs of Heshbon are deserted: a vineyard of Sibmah. Between Heshbon and Sibmah, there are barely five hundred steps, and by way of metaphor, the vineyard signifies the desolation of the entire province. The scourges of the Lord against the nations have fallen. He keeps the translation that he had begun, showing the kings of the nations who had devastated Moab, all the villages and castles laid waste. They came as far as Jazer: they wandered in the desert: its branches were left behind: they crossed the sea. Understand the scourge and branches of its people, the fugitives: and the crossing of the sea, the captivity in Babylon, of which we will read later, the burden of the desert sea.
(Verse 8) For the suburbs of Heshbon are desolate, the vine of Sibmah.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the description of the punishment is set out as to the destruction of lands: Hesebon, a city in whose territory wheat abounded; Sabama, a neighboring city, in which wine abounded. As to the strength of their enemies: the lords of the nations, that is, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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
For the fields of Heshbon languish,.... Through drought; or because of the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them; or because there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Heshbon See Gill on Isa 15:
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Many a time they had shouted for their summer fruits, and for their harvest, as the country people sometimes do with us when they have cut down all their corn. They had had joy and gladness in their fields and vineyards, singing and shouting at the treading of their grapes. Nothing is said of their praising God for their abundance, and giving him the glory of it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fields--vine-fields (De 32:32). vine of Sibmah--near Heshbon: namely, languishes. lords of . . . heathen--The heathen princes, the Assyrians, &c., who invaded Moab, destroyed his vines.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For the fields of Heshbon - (See the note at Isa 15:4.) Languish - They are parched up with drought. The ‘fields’ here evidently mean “vineyards,” for so the parallelism demands. So in Deu 32:32: Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah. And the vine of Sibmah - Sibmah, or Shibmah, was a city of Reuben Num 32:38; Jos 13:19. Jeremiah, in the parallel place Jer 48:32 speaks of the vine of Sibmah also. He also says that the enemies of Moab had taken Sibmah, and that the vine and wine had been destroyed Jer 48:33. There was no more certain mode of producing desolation in a land where grapes were extensively cultivated than to cut down the vines. The Turks constantly practice that in regard to their enemies, and the result is, that wide desolation comes upon the countries which they invade. At this time it is probable that Sibmah belonged to the Moabites. It is mentioned here as being distinguished for the luxuriant production of the grape. Seetzen still found the vine cultivated in that region. Jerome says, that between Sibmah and Heshbon there was scarcely a distance of five hundred paces, half a Roman mile. The lords of the heathen - The princes of the pagan nations that had come to invade Moab. The words ‘have broken down’ (הלמוּ hâlemû) may be taken in either of two senses, either to beat, strike, or break down, as in our version; or “to be” beaten, or smitten with wine - that is, to become intoxicated - like the Greek οἰνοπλὴξ oinoplēx - “smitten with wine.” The former is doubtless the sense here. The principal plants thereof - The chose vines of it - “her sorek” (שׂרוּקיה s'erûqehā). […]
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שַׁדְמוֹת֩ | shadmot | [the] fields of | H7709 → | |
| חֶשְׁבּ֨וֹן | cheshbon | Heshbon | H2809 → | 38 times |
| אֻמְלָ֜ל | ʾumlal | it has withered | H535 → | 16 times |
| גֶּ֣פֶן | gefen | [the] vine[s] of | H1612 → | 55 times |
| שִׂבְמָ֗ה | sivmah | Sibmah | H7643 → | |
| בַּעֲלֵ֤י | baalei | rulers of | H1167 → | 84 times |
| גוֹיִם֙ | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הָלְמ֣וּ | halmu | they have struck down | H1986 → | 8 times |
| שְׂרוּקֶּ֔יהָ | serukeiha | choice grapes its | H8291 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יַעְזֵ֥ר | ya'zer | Jazer | H3270 → | |
| נָגָ֖עוּ | nagau | they reached | H5060 → | 150 times |
| תָּ֣עוּ | tau | they wandered | H8582 → | 50 times |
| מִדְבָּ֑ר | midbar | [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| שְׁלֻ֣חוֹתֶ֔יהָ | sheluchoteiha | shoots its | H7976 → | |
| נִטְּשׁ֖וּ | niteshu | they were spread out | H5203 → | 40 times |
| עָ֥בְרוּ | ʾaveru | they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| יָֽם׃ | yam | [the] sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שַׁדְמוֹת֩[the] fields of
shadmotH7709 →
חֶשְׁבּ֨וֹןHeshbon
cheshbonH2809 →38 times
אֻמְלָ֜לit has withered
ʾumlalH535 →16 times
גֶּ֣פֶן[the] vine[s] of
gefenH1612 →55 times
שִׂבְמָ֗הSibmah
sivmahH7643 →
בַּעֲלֵ֤יrulers of
baaleiH1167 →84 times
גוֹיִם֙nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
הָלְמ֣וּthey have struck down
halmuH1986 →8 times
שְׂרוּקֶּ֔יהָchoice grapes its
serukeihaH8291 →
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
יַעְזֵ֥רJazer
ya'zerH3270 →
נָגָ֖עוּthey reached
nagauH5060 →150 times
תָּ֣עוּthey wandered
tauH8582 →50 times
מִדְבָּ֑ר[the] wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
שְׁלֻ֣חוֹתֶ֔יהָshoots its
sheluchoteihaH7976 →
נִטְּשׁ֖וּthey were spread out
niteshuH5203 →40 times
עָ֥בְרוּthey passed over
ʾaveruH5674 →556 times
יָֽם׃[the] sea
yamH3220 →396 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
Numbers 32:38as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.
it leads to
- Isaiah 46:1
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Numbers 32:3
“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Exodus 23:13
Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Isaiah 46:1
Through
2 Samuel 1:21O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 31:1
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- Isaiah 21:5
They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet, they eat, they drink! Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!
- 1 Samuel 31:1
Through
Isaiah 15:4Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:34
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
- Jeremiah 48:34
Through
Isaiah 24:7The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.
it leads to
- Isaiah 16:10
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.
- Isaiah 16:10
Through
Joshua 13:25The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:26
Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
- 2 Samuel 12:26
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.