Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 1. Send ye the lamb, &c. "I will send forth the son, &c."] Both the reading and meaning of this verse are still more doubtful than those of the preceding. The Septuagint and Syriac read jla eshlach, I will send, in the first person singular, future tense: the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read jl shelach, send, singular imperative: some read wjl shilchu, send ye forth, or shalechu, they send forth. The Syriac, for rk car, a lamb, reads rb bar, a son, which is confirmed by five MSS. of Kennicott and De Rossi. The two first verses describe the distress of Moab on the Assyrian invasion in which even the son of the prince of the country is represented as forced to flee for his life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea; and the young women are driven forth like young birds cast out of the nest, and endeavouring to wade through the fords of the river Arnon.
Perhaps there is not so much difficulty in this verse as appears at first view. "Send the lamb to the ruler of the land," may receive light from 2 Kings iii. 4, 5: "And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs with their wool, and one hundred thousand rams: but when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against Israel." Now the prophet exhorts them to begin paying the tribute as formerly, that their punishment might be averted or mitigated.
Matthew Henry Commentary
- The Divine judgments about to come upon the Moabites.
This prophecy coming to pass within three years, would confirm the prophet's mission, and the belief in all his other prophecies Concerning Moab it is foretold, Is. 15:1. That their chief citie should be surprised by the enemy. Great changes, and very dismal ones may be made in a very little time. Is. 15:2. The Moabites would have recourse to their idols for relief. Ungodly men, when in trouble, have no comforter. But they are seldom brought by their terrors to approac our forgiving God with true sorrow and believing prayer. Is. 15:3 There should be the cries of grief through the land. It is poor relie to have many fellow-sufferers, fellow-mourners. Is. 15:4. The courag of their soldiers should fail. God can easily deprive a nation of tha on which it most depended for strength and defence. 5. These calamitie should cause grief in the neighbouring parts. Though enemies to Israel yet as our fellow-creatures, it should be grievous to see them in suc distress. In Is. 15:6-9, the prophet describes the woful lamentation heard through the country of Moab, when it became a prey to the Assyrian army. The country should be plundered. And famine is usuall the sad effect of war. Those who are eager to get abundance of thi world, and to lay up what they have gotten, little consider how soon it may be all taken from them. While we warn our enemies to escape from ruin, let us pray for them, that they may seek and find forgiveness of their sins _________________________________________________
Original Hebrew שׁלחו7971 כר3733 משׁל4910 ארץ776 מסלע5554 מדברה4057 אל413 הר2022 בת1323 ציון׃6726
