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Updated Bible Version

Isaiah 16:8

For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Grape;   Heshbon;   Sibmah;   Thompson Chain Reference - Heshbon;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Moabites;   Vine, the;   Wine;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Sibmah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Heshbon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jaazer;   Vine;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Baal (2);   Jaazer;   Shibmah;   Sibmah (1);   Vine;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Field;   Jazer;   Sea of Jazer;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Branch;   Heshbon;   Jazer;   Moab, Moabites;   Sea;   Sebam;   Sela;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jaazer, Jazer ;   Sibmah ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon ammonites children of ammon;   Handicraft;   Heshbon;   Vine;   Smith Bible Dictionary - She'bam;   Vine,;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Arnon;   Heshbon;   Jazer;   Sea;   Sebam;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ba'al and Ba'al-Worship;   Heshbon;   Jaazer;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
For the fields of Heshbon have languished, the vines of Sibmah as well;The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clustersWhich reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well; The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts; Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For the vines of Hesbon are cut downe: as for the vine of Sibma, the lordes of the heathen haue broken downe her principall braunches, they are come euen vnto Iazer, they went on wandering vnto the wildernesse, her goodly braunches were throwen downe as they went ouer the sea.
Darby Translation
For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants: they reached unto Jaazer, they wandered [through] the wilderness; its shoots stretched out, they went beyond the sea.
New King James Version
For the fields of Heshbon languish, And the vine of Sibmah; The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants, Which have reached to Jazer And wandered through the wilderness. Her branches are stretched out, They are gone over the sea.
Literal Translation
For the fields of Heshbon droop, the vine of Sibmah. The masters of the nations have crushed its choice plants. They have come to Jazer; they wander in the desert; her branches are spread out; they have crossed the sea.
Easy-to-Read Version
The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah no longer grow grapes. Foreign rulers have destroyed the vines. The enemy has reached Jazer and has spread into the desert and down to the sea.
World English Bible
For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches of it, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
King James Version (1611)
For the fieldes of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the heathen haue broken downe the principall plants thereof, they are come euen vnto Iazer, they wandred through the wildernesse, her branches are stretched out, they are gone ouer the sea.
King James Version
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The suburbes also of Hesebon were made waist, & the princes of the Gentyles hewed downe ye vynyardes of Sibma, which were planted with noble grapes, and spred vnto Iazer, and went vnto the ende of the deserte, whose braunches stretched their selues forth beyonde the see.
Amplified Bible
For the fields of Heshbon have languished and withered, and the vines of Sibmah as well; The lords of the nations have trampled down [Moab's] choice vine branches, Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered into the wilderness; Its tendrils stretched out, they passed over [the shores of] the [Dead] Sea.
American Standard Version
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
Bible in Basic English
For the fields of Heshbon are waste, the vine of Sibmah is dead; the lords of nations were overcome by the produce of her vines; her vine-plants went as far as Jazer, and came even to the waste land; her branches were stretched out to the sea.
Webster's Bible Translation
For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down her principal plants, they have come [even] to Jazer, they wandered [through] the wilderness: her branches are extended, they have gone over the sea.
New English Translation
For the fields of Heshbon are dried up, as well as the vines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines, which reach Jazer and spread to the desert; their shoots spread out and cross the sea.
Contemporary English Version
Vineyards near Heshbon and Sibmah have turned brown. The rulers of nations used to get drunk on wine from those vineyards that spread to Jazer, then across the desert and beyond the sea.
Complete Jewish Bible
For the grainfields of Heshbon are withering, also the vineyards of Sibmah, whose red grapes overpowered rulers of nations — once they reached as far as Ya‘zer and trailed out into the desert; their spreading branches even crossed the sea.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For ye vineyards of Heshbon are cut downe, and the vine of Sibmah: the lordes of the heathen haue broken the principal vines thereof: they are come vnto Iaazer: they wandred in the wildernesse: her goodly branches stretched out them selues, and went ouer the sea.
George Lamsa Translation
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the mighty men of the nations have broken down the branches thereof, they are come as far as Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness; its shoots spread out, they are gone over the sea.
Hebrew Names Version
For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sivmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches of it, which reached even to Ya`zer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah, whose choice plants did overcome the lords of nations; they reached even unto Jazer, they wandered into the wilderness; her branches were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
New Living Translation
The farms of Heshbon are abandoned; the vineyards at Sibmah are deserted. The rulers of the nations have broken down Moab— that beautiful grapevine. Its tendrils spread north as far as the town of Jazer and trailed eastward into the wilderness. Its shoots reached so far west that they crossed over the Dead Sea.
New Life Bible
The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah have dried up. The lords of the nations have crushed under foot its best vines, which went as far as Jazer and the desert. They spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The plains of Esebon shall mourn, the vine of Sebama: swallowing up the nations, trample ye her vines, even to Jazer: ye shall not come together; wander ye in the desert: they that were sent are deserted, for they have gone over to the sea.
English Revised Version
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice plants thereof; they reached even unto Jazer, they wandered into the wilderness; her branches were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
Berean Standard Bible
For the fields of Heshbon have withered, along with the grapevines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choicest vines that reached as far as Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots spread out and reached the sea.
New Revised Standard
For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vines of Sibmah, whose clusters once made drunk the lords of the nations, reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; their shoots once spread abroad and crossed over the sea.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, the fields of Heshbon are withered - The vine of Sibmah, the owners of nations, have broken off ruddy branches, Unto Jazer, had they reached, They had spread abroad to the desert, - Her boughs, had stretched forth, had gone over to the sea.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the nations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama: the branches thereof have reached even to Jazer: they have wandered in the wilderness, the branches thereof are left, they are gone over the sea.
Lexham English Bible
For Heshbon withers the fields, the vine of Sibmah; rulers of nations have broken down her tendrils, they reached up to Jazer, they wandered to the desert; her shoots spread abroad, they crossed over the sea.
English Standard Version
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.
New American Standard Bible
For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well; The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts; Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
New Century Version
But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes; foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines. The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert; they had spread as far as the sea.
Good News Translation
The farms near Heshbon and the vineyards of Sibmah are destroyed—those vineyards whose wine used to make the rulers of the nations drunk. At one time the vines spread as far as the city of Jazer, and eastward into the desert, and westward to the other side of the Dead Sea.
Christian Standard Bible®
For Heshbon's terraced vineyards and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choice vines that reached as far as Jazer and spread to the desert. Their shoots spread out and reached the Dead Sea.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For whi the subarbis of Esebon and the vyner of Sabama ben forsakun. The lordis of hethene men han kit doun the siouns therof; thei camen `til to Jaser, thei erriden in desert. The bowis therof ben forsakun, thei passiden the see.
Revised Standard Version
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.
Young's Literal Translation
Because fields of Heshbon languish, The vine of Sibmah, Lords of nations did beat her choice vines, Unto Jazer they have come, They have wandered in a wilderness, Her plants have spread themselves, They have passed over a sea.

Contextual Overview

6 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. 7 Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab, every one shall wail: for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth you shall mourn, completely stricken. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea. 9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the [battle] shout is fallen. 10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the [vintage] shout to cease. 11 Therefore my insides sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir-heres. 12 And it shall come to pass, when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail. 13 This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab in time past. 14 But now Yahweh has spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the fields: Isaiah 15:4, Isaiah 24:7, 2 Samuel 1:21

the vine: Isaiah 16:9, Numbers 32:38

Sibmah: Joshua 13:19

the lords: Isaiah 10:7, Jeremiah 27:6, Jeremiah 27:7

Jazer: Numbers 32:3, Joshua 13:25

stretched out: or, plucked up

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:14 - wandered Numbers 21:25 - in Heshbon Numbers 21:32 - Jaazer Numbers 32:1 - Jazer Joshua 21:39 - Jazer 2 Samuel 24:5 - Jazer Jeremiah 48:2 - Heshbon Jeremiah 48:17 - bemoan Jeremiah 48:32 - vine

Cross-References

Genesis 3:9
And Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?
Genesis 4:10
And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground.
Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no [children]: and she had a female slave, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Genesis 16:2
And Sarai said to Abram, Now seeing that Yahweh has restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray you, to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain [children] by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Genesis 16:4
And he went in to Hagar, and she became pregnant: and when she saw that she had become pregnant, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Genesis 16:5
And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be on you: I gave my slave into your bosom; and when she saw that she had become pregnant, I was despised in her eyes: Yahweh judge between me and you.
Genesis 16:8
And he said, Hagar, Sarai's slave, where did you come from? and where are you going? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
1 Samuel 26:19
Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his slave. If it is Yahweh that has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it is the sons of man, cursed be they before Yahweh: for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave to the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, Go, serve other gods.
Ecclesiastes 10:4
If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don't leave your place; for gentleness allays great offenses.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the fields of Heshbon languish,.... Through drought; or because of the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them; or because there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Heshbon

:-. It seems to have been a place famous for fields and pastures, and to have been a very fruitful and well watered place; hence we read of the fish pools in Heshbon, Song of Solomon 7:4 though Aben Ezra and Kimchi think the word signifies vines, as they suppose it does in Deuteronomy 32:32:

[and] the vine of Sibmah; called Shebam and Shibmah, in

Numbers 32:3 thought to be the Seba of Ptolemy e; and seems to have been famous for vines and vineyards:

the lords of the Heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof; that is, the Chaldeans and their army, and commanders and principal officers of it, dealing with them as the Turks do with vines, wherever they meet with them, destroy them; though Jarchi and Kimchi interpret all this figuratively, both here and in the above clauses, of the inhabitants of these places, the multitude of the common people, and their princes, some being killed, and others carried captive; to which sense the Targum,

"because the armies of Heshbon are spoiled, the multitude of Sebama are killed, the kings of the people have killed their rulers:''

they are come [even] unto Jazer; meaning either the Chaldean army, or the Moabites, who had fled hither; or rather this is to be understood of the vines of Sibmah, expressing the excellency and large spread of them, which reached even to Jazer; which, as Jerom says f, was fifteen miles from Heshbon, called Jaazer, Numbers 21:32:

they wandered [through] the wilderness; the wilderness of Moab, Deuteronomy 2:8 not the lords of the Heathen, nor the Moabites, but the vines and their branches, which crept along, and winded to and fro, as men wander about:

her branches are stretched out; that is, the branches of the vine Sibmah:

they are gone over the sea; the Dead Sea, called the sea of Jazer,

Jeremiah 48:32 or rather a lake near that city.

e Geograph. l. 5. c. 19. f De locis Hebraicis, fol. 92. G.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the fields of Heshbon - (See the note at Isaiah 15:4.)

Languish - They are parched up with drought. The ‘fields’ here evidently mean “vineyards,” for so the parallelism demands. So in Deuteronomy 32:32 :

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom,

And of the fields of Gomorrah.

And the vine of Sibmah - Sibmah, or Shibmah, was a city of Reuben Numbers 32:38; Joshua 13:19. Jeremiah, in the parallel place Jeremiah 48:32 speaks of the vine of Sibmah also. He also says that the enemies of Moab had taken Sibmah, and that the vine and wine had been destroyed Jeremiah 48:33. There was no more certain mode of producing desolation in a land where grapes were extensively cultivated than to cut down the vines. The Turks constantly practice that in regard to their enemies, and the result is, that wide desolation comes upon the countries which they invade. At this time it is probable that Sibmah belonged to the Moabites. It is mentioned here as being distinguished for the luxuriant production of the grape. Seetzen still found the vine cultivated in that region. Jerome says, that between Sibmah and Heshbon there was scarcely a distance of five hundred paces, half a Roman mile.

The lords of the heathen - The princes of the pagan nations that had come to invade Moab. The words ‘have broken down’ (הלמוּ hâlemû) may be taken in either of two senses, either to beat, strike, or break down, as in our version; or “to be” beaten, or smitten with wine - that is, to become intoxicated - like the Greek οἰνοπλὴξ oinoplēx - “smitten with wine.” The former is doubtless the sense here.

The principal plants thereof - The chose vines of it - “her sorek” (שׂרוּקיה s'erûqehā). (See the notes at Isaiah 5:2.)

They are come - That is, the vines of Sibmah had spread or extended themselves even to Jazer, indicating their great luxuriance and fertility.” Jazer was a city at the foot of the mountains of Gilead which was given to Gad, and afterward to the Levites Joshua 21:39. Jerome says it was about fifteen miles from Heshbon. Seetzen found the ruins of a city called Szar, and another place called Szir, from which a small stream (Nahar Szir) flows into the Jordan (Gesenius). That the shoots of the vine of Sibmah reached unto Jazer and the desert, is a beautiful poetic expression for the extensive spread and luxuriance of the vine in that region.

They wandered - The vines “wandered” in the desert. They found no twig or tree to which they could attach themselves, and they spread around in wild luxuriancy.

Through the wilderness - The wilderness or desert of Arabia, which encompassed Moab.

Her branches are stretched out - Are extended far, or are very luxuriant.

They are gone over the sea - Called in the parallel place in Jeremiah 48:32, ‘the Sea of Jazer;’ probably some lake that had that name near the city of Jazer. It may “possibly” mean the Dead Sea, but that name is not elsewhere given to the Dead Sea in the Scriptures. It has been objected by some to this statement that modern travelers have not found any such place as the ‘Sea of Jazer;’ or any lake in the vicinity of Jazer. But we may observe -

(1) that Seetzen found a stream flowing into the Jordan near Jazer; and

(2) that it is possible that a pond or lake may have once there existed which may have been since, in the course of ages, filled with sand.

It is known, for example, that in the vicinity of Suez the ancient narrow gulf there, and the large inland sea made by the Bitter lakes, have been choked up by the sand of the desert. Seetzen also says that he saw some pools near the source of the stream called Nahar Szir (“river Szir”). Prof. Stuart. “Bib. Rep.” vol. vii. p. 158. The whole description of the vines of Sibmah is poetic; designed, not to be literally understood, but to denote their remarkable luxuriance and fertility. A similar description of a “vine” - though there used to denote the Jewish people - occurs in Psalms 80:8-11 :

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt;

Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it;

Thou preparedst room before it,

And didst cause it to take deep root,

And it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it,

And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea,

And her branches unto the river.


Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 16:8. Languish - "Are put to shame"] Here the text of Jeremiah leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly corrupted. The Septuagint join the two last words of this verse with the beginning of the following. Their rendering is: και ουκ εντραπησῃ, τα πεδια Εσεβων. For אך ach they must have read al; otherwise, how came they by the negative, which seems not to belong to this place? Neither is it easy to make sense of the rest without a small alteration, by reading, instead of εντραπησῃ τα, εντραπησεται. In a word, the Arabic version taken from the Septuagint, plainly authorizes this reading of the Septuagint, and without the negative; and it is fully confirmed by MSS. Pachom. and I. D. II., which have both of them εντραπησεται πεδια Εσεβων, without the negative; which makes an excellent sense, and, I think, gives us the true reading of the Hebrew text; אך נכלמו שדמות חשבון ak nichlemu shadmoth cheshbon. They frequently render the verb נכלם nichlam by εντρεπομαι. And נכלמו nichlemu answers perfectly well to אמלל umlal, the parallel word in the next line. The MSS. vary in expressing the word נכאים nechaim, which gives no tolerable sense in this place; one reads נוכאים nochaim; two others בכאים bechaim; in another the כ caph is upon a rasure of two letters; and the Vulgate instead of it reads מכותם mecotham, plagas suas. - L.

For the men of Kirhares ye shall make a moan. For the fields of Heshbon are put to shame. This is Bp. Lowth's sense of the passage.

Her branches are stretched out - "Her branches extended themselves."] For נטשו nitteshu, a MS. has נגשו niggeshu; which may perhaps be right. Compare Jeremiah 48:32, which has in this part of the sentence the synonymous word נגעו nagau.

The meaning of this verse is, that the wines of Sibmah and Heshbon were greatly celebrated, and in high repute with all the great men and princes of that and the neighbouring countries; who indulged themselves even to intemperance in the use of them. So that their vines were so much in request as not only to be propagated all over the country of Moab to the sea of Sodom, but to have scions of them sent even beyond the sea into foreign countries.

הלמו halemu, knocked down, demolished; that is overpowered, intoxicated. The drunkards of Ephraim are called by the prophet, Isaiah 28:1, הלומי יין halumey yayin, drinkers of wine. See Schultens on Proverbs 23:25. Grotius, speaking of the Mareotic wine, says of it,

Pharios quae fregit noxia reges. CYNEG. 312.


 
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