Yesaya 16:3

16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! ¹ 

Provide some shade in the middle of the day! ² 

Hide the fugitives! Do not betray ³  the one who tries to escape!

Yesaya 40:21

40:21 Do you not know?

Do you not hear?

Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?

Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?

[16:3]  ¹ sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.

[16:3]  ² tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.

[16:3]  ³ tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”