Isaiah 16:5

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of the Daughter of Zion. ²Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon: ³"Give us counsel, render a decision. Shelter us at noonday with shade as dark as night. Hide the refugees; do not betray the one who flees. ⁴Let 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, ⁵in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and prompt in righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in mercy: Psalms 61:6, Psalms 61:7, Psalms 85:10, Psalms 89:1, Psalms 89:2, Psalms 89:14, Proverbs 20:28, Proverbs 29:14, Luke 1:69-75

established: or, prepared

in the: Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 9:7, 2 Samuel 5:9, 2 Samuel 7:16, Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 23:6, Daniel 7:14, Daniel 7:27, Amos 9:11, Micah 4:7, Luke 1:31-33, Acts 15:16, Acts 15:17

judging: Isaiah 11:1-5, Isaiah 32:1, Isaiah 32:2, 2 Samuel 23:3, 1 Kings 10:9, 2 Chronicles 31:20, Psalms 72:2-4, Psalms 96:13, Psalms 98:9, Psalms 99:4, Zechariah 9:9, Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 1:9

hasting: 2 Peter 3:11, 2 Peter 3:12

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:13 - General Exodus 18:21 - men 2 Samuel 19:22 - shall there any man 1 Kings 20:31 - merciful kings Psalms 113:5 - like Proverbs 25:5 - his Luke 1:32 - give Acts 24:25 - righteousness

Cross-References

Genesis 16:12
He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

Genesis 16:15
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

Genesis 31:53
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the One feared by his father Isaac.

Exodus 5:21
"May the LORD look upon you and judge you," the foremen said, "for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!"

2 Chronicles 24:22
Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada's son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, "May the LORD see this and call you to account."

Psalms 7:8
The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.

Psalms 35:23
Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!

Psalms 43:1
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And in mercy shall the throne be established,.... That is, the throne of Hezekiah, and his government over Judah, which was more firmly settled and established after the overthrow of the Assyrian army, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to him, and on account of the mercy he exercised among his subjects, see Proverbs 20:28. Hezekiah was a type of Christ, and his throne typical of his, and the ultimate view of the prophecy may be to the stability of the kingdom of Christ; so the Targum,

"then the Christ of Israel, his throne shall be established in goodness:''

and he shall sit upon it in truth; which does not so much intend the reality of his sitting there, as his continuance, signified by sitting, and the constancy and stability of his reign, or his governing with faith fulness and truth;

in the tabernacle of David; or "tent"; meaning his palace, or house in Jerusalem, alluding to his having been a shepherd before he was a king, or referring to the unsettled state of David's house; this was typical of the church of God, where Christ sits and reigns as King, see Amos 9:11; the Targum is,

"in the city of David;''

Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra:

judging and seeking judgment; acting the part of a righteous, faithful, and diligent Judge; seeking to do justice to the poor and needy, and searching into the cause that comes before him, to find out, and take the right side of it:

and hasting righteousness; not delaying justice, protracting a cause, deferring the sentence, and the execution of it, but dispatching the whole as speedily as may be; all which characters, though they may be found in Hezekiah, yet are much more eminently in Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And in mercy - In benignity; kindness; benevolence.

Shall the throne be established - The throne of the king of Judah. That is, he that shall sit upon the throne of David shall be disposed to repay the kindness which is now sought at the hand of Moab, and shall be able to do it.

And he shall sit upon it - The king of Israel.

In truth - In faithfulness; that is, shall be true and faithful. His character shall be such that he will do justice, and will furnish protection and aid to the Moabites, if they now receive the fugitives of Israel.

In the tabernacle of David - In the dwelling place; the palace of David; for so the word “tabernacle, or tent” (אהל 'ôhel) seems to be used here. It means “temple” in Ezekiel 41:1. It denotes a habitation, or dwelling place, in general, in Proverbs 14:11; Psalms 52:7; Psalms 91:10. The palace, court, or “citadel” of David, was on mount Zion; and the sense here is, that the king to whom Israel refers would be a worthy successor of David - just, true, faithful, benignant, and disposed to repay the favors now sought at the hand of Moab.

Seeking judgment - Anxious to do right; and seeking an opportunity to recompense those who had shown any favor to the people of the Jews. Moab, therefore, if she would now afford protection to the Jews, might be certain of a recompense.

And hasting righteousness - Not tardy and slow in doing what should be done - anxious to do justice to all. It is implied here also, that a king who would be so just, and so anxious to do “right” to all, would not only be ready to show kindness to the Moabites, if they protected the fugitives of Judea, but would also be disposed to do “right” if they refused that protection; that is, would be disposed to inflict “punishment” on them. Alike, therefore, by the hope of the protection and favor of the king of the Jews, and by the dread of punishment, the prophet endeavors to persuade Moab now to secure their favor by granting protection to their exiles.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 16:5. In mercy shall the throne be established — May not this refer to the throne of Hezekiah? Here we have the character of such a king as cannot fail to be a blessing to the people.

1. "He sitteth on the throne in truth"-He does not merely profess to be the father and protector of his people: but he is actually such.

2. He is judging. He is not a man of war or blood, who wastes his subjects' lives and treasures in contentions with neighbouring nations, in order to satisfy his ambition by the extension of his territory. On the contrary, his whole life is occupied in the distribution of justice.

3. He seeketh judgment. He seeks out the poor distressed ones who cannot make their way to him, and avenges them on their oppressors.

4. He hastens righteousness. He does not suffer any of the courts of justice to delay the determination of the causes brought before them: he so orders that the point in litigation be fairly, fully, and speedily heard; and then judgment pronounced. Delays in the execution of justice answer little end but the enriching of unprincipled lawyers.