Isaiah 16:13

Study note

Setting — The prophet transmits a divine declaration concerning Moab immediately following a description of the nation's exhausted and ineffective sanctuary worship. This verse operates as a structural boundary marking the end of one oracle and the preamble to a specific judgment timeline.

The words — The phrase זֶה הַדָּבָר (zeh ha-davar) literally means "this is the word," while מֵאָז (me'az) translates to "from then" or "earlier." These terms explicitly identify the passage as a restatement of a previously delivered divine utterance.

The thread — Isaiah 44:8 uses identical prophetic framing when Yahweh asks, "Have I not told you and declared it long ago?" This structural repetition ties Isaiah 16:13 to a broader biblical pattern where prior divine declarations serve as the basis for later judgment. The text states that God spoke earlier; interpreters note this pattern confirms prophetic reliability.

Why it lands — The text asserts that the coming judgment on Moab was already fixed in a prior divine message. Readers must acknowledge that the prophecy carries binding authority because it originates from a declared word of Yahweh, not human prediction.

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.