Isaiah 16:4

Let my fugitives stay with you; be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.” When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased, and the oppressors have vanished from the land,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The speaker addresses Moab directly, commanding the nation to host "my fugitives" and to function as a protective haven from an approaching destroyer.

The words — The Hebrew יָג֤וּרוּ (ya.Gu.ru) commands displaced persons to "sojourn" or dwell, while סֵ֥תֶר (Se.ter) denotes a "shelter" that the speaker demands Moab provide.

The thread — The promised end of oppression and the vanishing of destroyers aligns with the deliverance described in Isaiah 9:4 and the cessation of the oppressor's fury in Isaiah 14:4.

Why it lands — The passage demands immediate asylum for the displaced while establishing that the removal of the persecutor will follow the end of the assault.

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

יָג֤וּרוּya.Gu.rulet them sojournבָךְ֙vo/Khamong/ youנִדָּחַ֔יni.da.Cha/ioutcasts/ my מוֹאָ֛בmo.'AvMoab הֱוִי־he.vi-be סֵ֥תֶרSe.tera shelterלָ֖מוֹla./moof/ themמִפְּנֵ֣יmi./pe.Neifrom/ before שׁוֹדֵ֑דsho.Ded[the] destroyer כִּֽי־ki-if אָפֵ֤ס'a.Feshe will come to an end הַמֵּץ֙ha./Metzthe/ oppressor כָּ֣לָהKa.lahit will cease שֹׁ֔דShoddevastation תַּ֥מּוּTa.muthey will be finished רֹמֵ֖סro.Mes[the] trampler מִן־min-from הָאָֽרֶץ׃ha./'A.retzthe/ land

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Isaiah 14:4 you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!
Isaiah 9:4 For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
Isaiah 51:13 But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?
Malachi 4:3 Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Deuteronomy 23:15 Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.
Deuteronomy 24:14 Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
Isaiah 15:6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up, and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone, and the greenery is no more.
Isaiah 25:10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
Isaiah 33:1 Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
Jeremiah 21:12 O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.