Isaiah 16:6

English Standard Version

We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
We have heard that the people of Moab are very proud and conceited. They are hot-tempered braggers, but their boasts are only empty words.

New Living Translation
We have heard about proud Moab— about its pride and arrogance and rage. But all that boasting has disappeared.

Update Bible Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab, [that] he is very proud; even of his arrogance, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nothing.

New Century Version
We have heard that the people of Moab are proud and very conceited. They are very proud and angry, but their bragging means nothing.

New English Translation
We have heard about Moab's pride, their great arrogance, their boasting, pride, and excess. But their boastful claims are empty!

Webster's Bible Translation
We have heard of the pride of Moab; [he is] very proud: [even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: [but] his lies [shall] not [be] so.

World English Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, [that] he is very proud; even of his arrogance, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nothing.

Amplified Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride— Even of his arrogance, his conceit, his rage, His untruthful boasting.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
We han herd the pride of Moab, he is ful proud; his pride, and his boost, and his indignacioun is more than his strengthe.

English Revised Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.

Berean Standard Bible
We have heard of Moab's pride, his exceeding pride and conceit, his overflowing arrogance. But his boasting is empty.

Contemporary English Version
We have heard of Moab's pride. Its people strut and boast, but without reason.

American Standard Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.

Bible in Basic English
We have had word of the pride of Moab, how great it is; how he is lifted up in pride and passion: his high words about himself are false.

Complete Jewish Bible
We have heard about Mo'av's pride, how very proud they are; about their haughty arrogance, their insolence and bravado.

Darby Translation
We have heard of the arrogance of Moab,—[he is] very proud,—of his pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath: his pratings are vain.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud; even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, his ill-founded boastings.

King James Version (1611)
We haue heard of the pride of Moab (hee is very proud) euen of his hautines, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

New Life Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is. We have heard of how proud he is of himself and of his anger. His proud words are false.

New Revised Standard
We have heard of the pride of Moab —how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false.

Geneva Bible (1587)
We haue heard of the pride of Moab, (he is very proud) euen his pride, and his arrogancie, and his indignation, but his lies shall not be so.

George Lamsa Translation
We have heard of the majesty of Moab; he is very proud, even of his haughtiness and his wrath; his augurers so predict concerning him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Proud exceedingly! His haughtiness and his arrogance and his passion, Not true, are his boastings.

Douay-Rheims Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogancy, and his indignation is more than his strength.

Revised Standard Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab, how proud he was; of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence--his boasts are false.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
We haue hearde of the pride of Moab, he is very proude, presumptuous, arrogant, and full of indignation, and vayne are his lyes.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud. I have cut off his pride: thy prophecy shall not be thus, no not thus.

Good News Translation
The people of Judah say, "We have heard how proud the people of Moab are. We know that they are arrogant and conceited, but their boasts are empty."

Christian Standard Bible®
We have heard of Moab’s pride—how very proud he is—his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,and his empty boasting.

Hebrew Names Version
We have heard of the pride of Mo'av, [that] he is very proud; even of his arrogance, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nothing.

King James Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

Lexham English Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab—exceedingly proud— of his arrogance, pride, and insolence; his boasting is not true.

Literal Translation
We have heard of the pride of Moab, very proud; of his pride, his arrogance, and his rage; not so are his babblings.

Young's Literal Translation
We have heard of the pride of Moab -- very proud, His pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath, Not right [are] his devices.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for Moabs pride (shal they answere) it is wel knowne. And all though they be excellent, proude, arrogant, & hie mynded: yet is their strength nothinge like.

THE MESSAGE
We've heard—everyone's heard!—of Moab's pride, world-famous for pride— Arrogant, self-important, insufferable, full of hot air. So now let Moab lament for a change, with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors! What a shame! How terrible! No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies! All those lush Heshbon fields dried up, the rich Sibmah vineyards withered! Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out the famous grapevines That once reached all the way to Jazer, right to the edge of the desert, Ripped out the crops in every direction as far as the eye can see. I'll join the weeping. I'll weep right along with Jazer, weep for the Sibmah vineyards. And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh, I'll mingle my tears with your tears! The joyful shouting at harvest is gone. Instead of song and celebration, dead silence. No more boisterous laughter in the orchards, no more hearty work songs in the vineyards. Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields, silence—deathly and deadening silence. My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab, my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres. When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray, he wastes both time and energy. Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief is useless. Nothing ever happens.

New American Standard Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false.

New King James Version
We have heard of the pride of Moab-- He is very proud-- Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; But his lies shall not be so.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false.

Legacy Standard Bible
We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;Even of his lofty pride, pride, and fury;His idle boasts are false.

Contextual Overview

⁶ We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right. ⁷ Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. ⁸ For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. ⁹ Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased. ¹⁰ And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting. ¹¹ Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. ¹² And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. ¹³ This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. ¹⁴ But now the Lord has spoken, saying, "In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

have: Isaiah 2:11, Jeremiah 48:26, Jeremiah 48:29, Jeremiah 48:30, Jeremiah 48:42, Amos 2:1, Obadiah 1:3, Obadiah 1:4, Zephaniah 2:9, Zephaniah 2:10, 1 Peter 5:5

but: Isaiah 28:15, Isaiah 28:18, Isaiah 44:25, Jeremiah 50:36

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 20:1 - the children of Moab Isaiah 25:11 - he shall bring Jeremiah 13:9 - the great Jeremiah 48:11 - emptied Jeremiah 48:14 - We Ezekiel 16:49 - pride Habakkuk 2:5 - a proud man James 4:6 - God

Cross-References

Genesis 16:8
And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai."

Genesis 16:9
The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her."

Genesis 24:10
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

Exodus 2:15
When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

Job 2:6
And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life."

Proverbs 14:29
Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 27:8
Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.

Proverbs 29:19
By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond.

Ecclesiastes 10:4
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

We have heard of the pride of Moab,.... These are the words of the prophet, either in the name of the Lord, or in the person of the Jews, or of other nations, who had heard very frequently, and from many persons, and from every quarter, of the excessive pride of this people, and had many instances of it related to them, which foretold their ruin; for pride comes before a fall:

([he] is very proud): though his original was so base and infamous; and therefore there is little reason to hope or expect that he would take the advice above given him, or do the good offices for the Jews he was exhorted to; his pride was such, that he would despise the counsel of God, and would never stoop to do any favour for his people:

[even] of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath; of his contempt of the people of God, and his wrath against them:

[but] his lies [shall] not be so; or, "his strength" shall "not be so" b; as his wrath: he shall not be able to do what in his pride and wrath he said he would do; all his wicked thoughts and devices, all his haughty and wrathful expressions, will signify nothing; they will all be of no effect, for God resisteth the proud, see Jeremiah 48:30. It may be rendered, "not right", that of "his diviners" c; their words and works, what they say or do; so the word is used in Isaiah 44:25.

b לא כן בדיו "non sicut, fortitudo ejus"; so some in Vatablus. c לא-כן בדיו "non rectum divinorum ejus", Vitringa.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We have heard of the pride of Moab - We Jews; we have “all” heard of it; that is, we “know” that he is proud. The evident design of the prophet here is, to say that Moab was so proud, and was well known to be so haughty, that he would “reject” this counsel. He would neither send the usual tribute to the land of Judea Isaiah 16:1, thus acknowledging his dependence on them; nor would he give protection to the exiled Jews as they should wander through his land, and “thus” endeavor to conciliate their favor, and secure their friendship. As a consequence of this, the prophet proceeds to state that heavy judgments would come upon Moab as a nation.

He is very proud - The same thing is stated in the parallel place in Jeremiah 48:29 (compare Isaiah 16:11). Moab was at ease; he was confident in his security; he feared nothing; he sought “no” means, therefore, of securing the friendship of the Jews.

And his wrath - As the result of pride and haughtiness. Wrath or indignation is excited in a proud man when he is opposed, and when the interests of others are not made to give way to his.

But his lies shall not be so - The Hebrew phrase (לא־כן lo' kên) - ‘not so’ here seems to be used in the sense of ‘not right;’ ‘not firm, or established;’ that is, his vain boasting, his false pretensions, his “lies” shall not be confirmed, or established; or they shall be vain and impotent. In the parallel place in Jeremiah, it is, ‘But it shall not be so; his lies shall not effect it.’ The word rendered ‘his lies’ here (בדיו badāyv), means his boasting, or vain and confident speaking. In Isaiah 44:25, it is connected with the vain and confident responses of diviners and soothsayers. Here it means that Moab boasted of his strength and security, and did not feel his need of the friendship of the Jews; but that his security was false, and that it should not result according to his expectations. That Moab was proud, is also stated in Isaiah 25:8; and that he was disposed to give vent to his pride by reproaching the people of God, is apparent from Zechariah 2:8 :

I have heard the reproach of Moab,

And the revilings of the children of Ammon,

Whereby they have reproached my people,

And boasted themselves upon their border.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 16:6. We have heard of the pride of Moab - "We have heard the pride of Moab"] For גא ge, read גאה geah; two MSS., one ancient, and Jeremiah 48:29. Zephaniah, Zephaniah 2:8-10, in his prophecy against Moab, the subject of which is the same with that of Jeremiah in his forty-eighth chapter, (Isaiah 15:1,) enlarges much on the pride of Moab, and their insolent behaviour towards the Jews: -

"I have heard the reproach of Moab;

And the revilings of the sons of Ammon:

Who have reproached my people;

And have magnified themselves against their borders.

Therefore, as I live, saith JEHOVAH God of hosts,

the God of Israel:

Surely Moab shall be as Sodom,

And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah:

A possession of nettles, and pits of salt,

And a desolation for ever.

The residue of my people shall spoil them,

And the remnant of my nation shall dispossess them:

This shall they have for their pride;

Because they have raised a reproach, and have magnified

themselves

Against the people of JEHOVAH God of hosts."