Bible Strands
Isaiah 16:1
Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah commands the people of Moab to send tribute from the desert fortress of Sela to Jerusalem. The directive addresses a displaced nation facing imminent flight and loss of territory.
The words — The Hebrew verb שִׁלְחוּ (shilchu) means "send," and כַּר (kar) denotes "a lamb." These terms frame the payment as a specific agricultural levy rather than a voluntary offering.
The thread — This tribute motif echoes 2 Kings 3:4, where Moab's king rendered lambs to Israel, and contrasts with Isaiah 10:32, where enemies threaten the mount of Daughter Zion. The geographic anchor Sela also appears in 2 Kings 14:7 as a captured Edomite fortress.
Why it lands — The text orders a defeated nation to deliver livestock to Jerusalem, establishing a tangible sign of submission. A reader must recognize that political survival here depends on acknowledging Jerusalem's authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 3:4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
- Isaiah 10:32 Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 14:7 Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
- 2 Samuel 8:2 David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
- Ezra 7:17 With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 42:11 Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
- Micah 4:8 And you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion—the former dominion will be restored to you; sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.”