In the previous chapter, the prophet described the downfall of Moav. In Chapter 16, the prophet comes and gives them counsel on how they might be saved: they have no other option but to send an emissary to the people of Jerusalem and ask them for permission to dwell and take refuge in the land of Yehudah. The prophet even places into the emissary's mouth the exact words to say to the people of Yehudah so that they will agree to receive them, promising that if they indeed send an emissary to beg for mercy, the people of Yehudah will have compassion on them and grant their request, even though Moav had not treated them fairly in the past. But then the prophet realizes that Moav, in their immense pride, are unwilling to humble themselves and seek salvation from the people of Yehudah. Therefore, the prophet tells them: If so, you are solely to blame for the downfall and the terrible fate that will overtake you. This is the central axis of the chapter.
שִׁלְחוּ כַר מֹשֵׁל אֶרֶץ מִסֶּלַע מִדְבָּרָה אֶל הַר בַּת צִיּוֹן׃ - "Send a courier [or lamb] to the ruler of the land, from Sela toward the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion."
The Malbim explains: "Kar" means an emissary, a courier or runner. And why is a runner called "kar"? For the same reason that a carriage or wagon is called a "kirkara" - because those riding inside it rattle and shake continuously. It is a general rule in the Holy Tongue: any root that doubles its letters expresses an intensification or repetition of the action. "Potzetz" (shattered) comes from "patz" (break), and "pitzetz" means breaking again and again. "Yarotz et rosho" means shattering, while "rotzetz" means repeatedly crushing until it is reduced to gravel. Similarly, "kirkara" reflects rattling after rattling. And because couriers were dispatched in rattling carriages, the runner is called a "kar."
And who should the emissary be? "The ruler of the land" - the ruler of Moav himself should serve as the emissary. "From Sela toward the wilderness" - the kingdom of Moav was centered in Sela, the well-known "Red Rock," Petra. In other words: send a distinguished person, an emissary who is the ruler of the land, from the capital of the kingdom of Moav in Sela, "to the mount of the daughter of Zion" - to the head of the kingdom of Yehudah, to plead for help so that they will take you into their land.
The Radak explains "kar" differently. Meisha, king of Moav, was a sheep breeder ("noked") and possessed vast flocks. When Moav was subjugated under the rule of Israel, he would render to the king of Israel an annual tribute of one hundred thousand lambs ("karim") and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. But upon the death of Achav, the king of Moav saw an opportunity to cast off the yoke, and "the king of Moav rebelled against the king of Israel." Therefore, the prophet comes and says: Those same lambs and rams that you used to send as tribute to the king of Israel, against whom you rebelled - send them now to the king of Yehudah. Though there is no longer a king of Israel to whom you are subject, the kingdom of Yehudah remains: send tribute to Chizkiyahu, who is a righteous king and powerful in his realm; surrender to him and bring him tribute.
וְהָיָה כְעוֹף נוֹדֵד קֵן מְשֻׁלָּח תִּהְיֶינָה בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב מַעְבָּרֹת לְאַרְנוֹן׃ - "And like a wandering bird, a nest cast out, so shall the daughters of Moav be at the fords of the Arnon."
The people of Moav will not wait for the emissary to return with an answer. Even as the messenger is on his way to Zion, the daughters of Moav will already be crossing through the fords of the Arnon, adjacent to the Land of Israel. Driven by the severity of the crisis, they will flee immediately without waiting for him. And they need not fear that the people of Yehudah might turn them away, for the prophet has already assured them that they will be received.
And how will they flee? "Like a wandering bird, a nest cast out." The Malbim explains: when a bird has its nest taken away, and it returns to search for it but finds nothing, it has no choice but to wander and seek another nest. In that scenario, the nest is cast out first, and only then does the bird wander. The analogy would imply that if the enemy were to conquer the country first, the people would be forced into wandering exile. Here, however, the prophet urges them to flee on their own initiative: It is in your best interest to abandon the nest before it is taken from you, for soon your nest will be destroyed, and you will become wandering birds anyway. Therefore, I advise you: let the bird wander first, and let the nest be cast out only afterward. Leave your land before you suffer the blow, for if you wait to be driven out after your nest is destroyed, you will suffer a severe, catastrophic strike.
הָבִיאִי עֵצָה עֲשׂוּ פְלִילָה שִׁיתִי כַלַּיִל צִלֵּךְ בְּתוֹךְ צָהֳרָיִם סַתְּרִי נִדָּחִים נֹדֵד אַל תְּגַלִּי׃ - Give counsel, execute justice; make your shadow like the night in the midst of noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the wanderer.
Here the prophet places into the mouth of the emissary the words he should address to the mount of the daughter of Zion. When a nation is pressed hard by its oppressors and seeks refuge in the shadow of another nation, it faces three scenarios, and corresponding to them are three requests. If it still possesses strength and might, its army has not been crushed, and it has the power to fight and prevail - lacking only tactics and military stratagem - it asks, "Give counsel": I have tanks, I merely need guidance on how to overcome the enemy.
If its strength is already depleted and it lacks weapons to withstand the foe, it asks that they dispatch troops to fight in its place. This is "execute justice (pelilah)" - as in "and he shall give as the judges (pelilim) determine" (Shemot 21:22); pelilim are judges and magistrates. That is to say: mete out our justice yourselves, champion our cause, and send an army to fight on our behalf.
And if the enemy is so formidable that even the nation you ask to fight for you is not powerful enough to vanquish him, there is no choice left but to plead for sanctuary: "Make your shadow like the night in the midst of noon." Cast shade for us, just as night provides cover, and through this, "hide the outcasts" - hide at least the refugees and fugitives, so they may find refuge among you. Picture a tranquil, peaceful land enjoying a pastoral midday, when suddenly darkness descends and an enemy strikes - grant us a place where our refugees can be saved.
Not only should you give them a designated place of concealment in the forest or in caves, but also "do not betray the wanderer": even one who wanders openly through the land without hiding, roaming freely - do not deliver him into the hands of the enemy. Why was there reason to fear they might surrender him? Lest the enemy vent his wrath against us for harboring his foes in our midst, Assyria might become enraged at Judah for turning into a sanctuary for Moabite refugees while Moab was at war with Assyria. Therefore, the king of Moab pleads: even those walking the streets, do not expose them or surrender them out of dread of the king of Assyria.
יָגוּרוּ בָךְ נִדָּחַי מוֹאָב הֱוִי סֵתֶר לָמוֹ מִפְּנֵי שׁוֹדֵד כִּי אָפֵס הַמֵּץ כָּלָה שֹׁד תַּמּוּ רֹמֵס מִן הָאָרֶץ׃ - Let my outcasts dwell in you, Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the plunderer; for the extortioner has ceased, devastation is ended, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
At first the emissary requested permission for them to hide in the forests; then he asked that those walking the streets not be betrayed; and now he asks for yet another tier: that they be permitted to live as ordinary citizens, "let Moab's outcasts dwell in you" - wherever they wish. He calls them "my outcasts" (nidachai) because the speaker is the king of Moab himself: allow my outcasts, my fugitives, to reside among you. Furthermore, do not merely refrain from handing them over, but "be a shelter to them from the face of the plunderer" - shield them from those who come to plunder them, meaning, take up arms to defend them if anyone attempts to harm them.
The Malbim explains the end of the verse through the parable of an animal whose milk is sucked dry by another beast. Moab is like a beast with milk in its udder, and the king of Assyria is the predator coming to suck and extract that milk - meaning, to strip away all their wealth and the abundance of their land. The emissary says: You need not fear Assyria. "For the sucker (ha-meitz) has ceased" - the predator who drinks our milk, the enemy, has already refrained from marching against us. Why? "Devastation (shod) is ended" - shod is related to shadayim (breasts), as in "you shall suck the milk (shod) of nations" (Yeshayahu 60:16); there is nothing left for him to suckle from us, as all our property is depleted. Moreover, "the oppressors are consumed out of the land" - even the livestock that tread the earth and carry the milk are gone from the land. That is: not only has the wealth and property vanished, but the inhabitants of the country are gone as well. Had the local populace remained, the enemy would have a reason to invade and exact tribute, since tomorrow they would produce more milk; but once the land lies ruined and desolate, the enemy has nothing left to take from us. Therefore, pleads the king of Moab, "be a shelter to them" - let us find refuge in your territory and dwell wherever we wish.
It remains to clarify the repeated, threefold terminology: "afes" (ceased), "kalah" (ended), and "tamu" (consumed), all of which seemingly express the same thing - it is finished. The Malbim explains: "Afes" refers to something that is nonexistent and absent from reality altogether, as in "less than nothing (me-efes) and void" (Yeshayahu 40:17). "Kalah" refers to something that diminishes gradually until it is depleted; hence the expression "until complete consumption" (ad le-chaleh) rather than "ad le-efes," because kilyon denotes a steady decline from existence to nonexistence. In addition, "kalah" shares the root of kol (all) and kalil (entirely) - finishing something in full, as in "and he finished (vayechal) the house" (I Melachim 6:9) or "and He finished (vayechal) His work" (Bereishit 2:2): laboring continually until completion. Thus, the root kalah is used both for construction and for destruction, and its underlying theme is always gradual completion.
By contrast, the verb "tamam" - related to tamim (complete, whole) - denotes absolute totality: an entity is brought to an end or disappears completely, leaving no remnant behind. Originally it was whole and complete, and now it is utterly gone without a trace. Therefore Scripture states: "all the nation had completely passed over (tamu... la'avor)" (Yehoshua 4:1), "until their year was completed (ad tom shnatam)" (Bereishit 47:18), and "until your carcasses be consumed (ad tom pigreichem)" (Bemidbar 14:33) - all expressing absolute totality. However, Scripture says, "my days are consumed like smoke (kalu ve-ashan yamai)" (Tehillim 102:4) rather than tamu, for my days do not abruptly end all at once, but rather slip away gradually; "my eyes fail with tears (kalu va-dema'ot einai)" (Eichah 2:11) rather than tamu, for my eyes are not destroyed, but their sight is steadily worn out; and likewise, "kalah za'am" (fury is spent) and "kalah api" (My wrath is fully vented) signify the gradual exhaustion of all My fury and wrath.
The sharpest example of this is: "The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended (kallu)" (Tehillim 72:20) versus "The words of Iyov are completed (tammu)" (Iyov 31:40). Iyov's words were finished; he had said completely everything he had to say, so the term tammu applies to them. But regarding David, it says kallu, related to kalil (consumed with yearning toward completion), not tammu. For did David really finish praising and lauding Hashem? Could anyone ever exhaust the praises of Hashem? "Have you finished all the praises of your Master?!" (Megillah 18a). The praises of Hashem can never be brought to final completion, and therefore the term of absolute wholeness or finality (temimut / sheleimut) cannot apply to them.
Now let us examine the precise wording in our verse. Regarding the enemy who sucked them dry, it says "ceased" (afes) - he is simply no longer present here; he did not perish or end, but ceased to appear because there was nothing left to take. Regarding the udders - the breasts expressing the abundance and wealth that the enemy came to suckle from - it says "the devastation has ended" (kalah shod), gradually dwindling away to nothing. And regarding "the trampler" - the people of Moav - it says "are consumed" (tammu): absolute destruction was decreed upon them, for they abandoned the land and nothing remained of them.
וְהוּכַן בַּחֶסֶד כִּסֵּא וְיָשַׁב עָלָיו בֶּאֱמֶת בְּאֹהֶל דָּוִד שֹׁפֵט וְדֹרֵשׁ מִשְׁפָּט וּמְהִר צֶדֶק׃ - And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking justice, and swift in righteousness.
The prophet says to them: If you do this and send a lamb to seek help from Yehudah, you need not fear that they will reject you. "And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness" - a throne will be prepared for the king, who will sit and investigate the case thoroughly to see whether it is fitting to champion your cause. Do not think he will judge strictly according to the letter of the law, for according to strict justice you might well not deserve his protection; rather, this throne is established in lovingkindness (chesed), out of a genuine desire to do good to you.
"And one shall sit upon it in truth in the tent of David" - King David used to judge Israel, and the king sitting in the tent of David will judge "in truth": not in anticipation of reward, not to gain anything, but out of a love of truth. Furthermore: "judging and seeking justice" - he does not merely judge when two litigants come before him demanding justice, but he himself actively inquires, seeks out, and investigates the truth to see who is in the right; it is not merely a reactive response to those who approach him. "And swift in righteousness" - once he arrives at a conclusion, he executes justice swiftly, vindicating and strengthening the righteous party and subduing the wrongdoer. This king is Chizkiyahu of the Davidic dynasty, who will act justly with you without delay and will not stall justice. Therefore, you have nothing to fear; simply send an emissary to the kingdom of Yehudah, and they will judge your case fairly and protect you.
שָׁמַעְנוּ גְאוֹן מוֹאָב גֵּא מְאֹד גַּאֲוָתוֹ וּגְאוֹנוֹ וְעֶבְרָתוֹ לֹא כֵן בַּדָּיו׃ - We have heard of the pride of Moav, exceedingly proud, his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; his boastings are not so.
The prophet says: I offer them sound counsel, but it does not appear that they take it seriously. "We have heard of the pride of Moav, exceedingly proud" - we have heard that Moav is prideful and unwilling to humble himself. "Shall I approach Yehudah to ask them for help? I, who aided their enemies, will now come like a helpless pauper and beg them for assistance?!"
Three flaws were heard regarding Moav. The first is "his haughtiness" (ga'avato), arrogance and an inflated spirit of pride. The Malbim explains the distinction between ga'on and ga'avah: ga'on refers to something in which a person takes genuine pride, where he has real accomplishments to show for it; ga'avah is false pride, boasting of what one does not truly possess. With Moav, there is "his haughtiness" - a proud spirit over things he lacks, for given his current predicament he has nothing to boast about. The second is "his pride" (ge'ono), what he genuinely has to boast of: that they are a large, powerful nation, and even though they were impoverished, they remain considerable. The third is "his wrath" (ebrato), an ancient hatred harbored in his heart from antiquity - "and he kept his wrath forever" (Amos 1:11) - a deep-seated enmity toward Israel.
"His boastings are not so" (lo chen baddav) - his thoughts are not aligned with what I advise him. Baddav refers to his thoughts, for thought is compared to the branches (baddim) of a tree: a person contemplates one thing and moves from there to another, drawing analogies between matters and branching out to a third. Therefore, thoughts are also called se'ipim (branches), just as tree boughs branch out from the trunk. That is: I am certain that he has no intention of seeking refuge under the kings of Yehudah. First, because he trusts in his pride and might - "We are still a great nation." Second, because of his haughtiness - "Shall I humble myself?" And third, because of his hatred toward us, which prevents him from turning to those he views as inferior: "Shall I ask them for aid and support?"
לָכֵן יְיֵלִיל מוֹאָב לְמוֹאָב כֻּלֹּה יְיֵלִיל לַאֲשִׁישֵׁי קִיר חֲרֶשֶׂת תֶּהְגּוּ אַךְ נְכָאִים׃ - Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab, all of it shall wail; for the foundations of Kir Chareseth you shall mourn, utterly stricken.
Since you were given advice on how to be saved and did not act upon it, your blood is on your own head. You brought this trouble upon yourself; you had an opportunity to be saved and did not take advantage of it, so who will weep for you? When something happens to a person through no fault of his own, many people grieve for him and weep over him. But when he was warned time and again, "Beware, this is what will happen to you," and he did not listen, and went ahead and it happened to him, people do not grieve for him. Instead, they say: Fool, they warned you, so why did you act against their words? Weep for yourself! And this is the meaning of "Moab shall wail for Moab" - only Moab will wail for Moab. Nor should you think that only some of them will wail for others; rather, "all of it shall wail." The destruction will be total, engulfing the entire land, and consequently everyone will weep.
"For the foundations of Kir Chareseth" - ashishim refers to fortified walls and strongholds, from the expression naflu oshiyoteha ("its foundations have fallen"), for oshiyot are foundations, and mighty fortresses serve as great foundations. Their custom was to bring their mighty warriors out to these walls, to stand atop the rampart and battle the enemy. But now, "you shall mourn, utterly stricken" (tehgu ach necha'im) - you will only remove the battle-wounded thither, brought there to heal, for you will have no warriors going forth to fight. Necha'im is related to nacheh, crippled or struck in battle, and tehgu means to remove, as in "Remove (hago) the dross from the silver" and "he was removed (hugah) from the highway." That is to say: those who are removed from the battlefield due to their wounds, those are the ones you will bring to Kir Chareseth, not mighty warriors.
כִּי שַׁדְמוֹת חֶשְׁבּוֹן אֻמְלָל גֶּפֶן שִׂבְמָה בַּעֲלֵי גוֹיִם הָלְמוּ שְׂרוּקֶּיהָ עַד יַעְזֵר נָגָעוּ תָּעוּ מִדְבָּר שְׁלֻחוֹתֶיהָ נִטְּשׁוּ עָבְרוּ יָם׃ - For the fields of Cheshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of nations have beaten down its choice branches, reaching as far as Yazer, wandering into the wilderness; its shoots spread abroad, crossing the sea.
Shadmot refers to the area of vineyards and trees, as in, "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields (shadmot) of Gomorrah." Cheshbon was the royal capital of Moab. "The fields of Cheshbon languish" - those places that were once prominent and magnificent have become wretched and desolate. "The vine of Sibmah" denotes a vineyard of the finest quality, meaning that even the choicest among them will be brought low.
"The lords of nations have beaten down its choice branches" (ba'alei goyim halmu serukeha) - ba'alei can also be read as be'eli, with a pestle, in the mortar where groats are pounded, as it is written: "Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle (ba'eli) among the groats, his foolishness will not depart from him." And as explained previously: the pestle is the pounding instrument and the mortar is the receptacle below; why then are the groats needed in the verse? To teach you that when grain groats are placed in the mortar to be crushed, and the fool is cast in alongside them, the fool draws no conclusions and learns nothing, for he tells himself: "They do not mean me, they mean the groats, and I just happened to get caught here by mistake." Therefore, his foolishness will not depart from him.
"Have beaten down its choice branches" - serukim are the tendrils of the vine, the branches that intertwine and connect with one another until they form a kind of bound mosaic. The Malbim explains the difference between hikkah (striking) and halam (pounding and shattering): hikkah simply means striking an object, but to pound (lahalom) it means delivering blows so severe that it shatters and falls apart. The allegorical meaning is: You claim to have mighty warriors who go out to battle, bound like interlaced tendrils of the vine, united and strong. Do not imagine they will prevail against the nations facing them; on the contrary, the nations will strike them with such a shattering blow that they will be scattered and unable to remain unified.
"Reaching as far as Yazer" - they will flee, unable to hold the line of battle, and will be scattered as far as Yazer, which is a place name. "Wandering into the wilderness" - from there they will wander into the deserts, as each man flees for his life. These are the warriors you imagined would unite against the enemy. "Its shoots spread abroad, crossing the sea" - the Malbim explains that there is a distinction between sheluchot (shoots or branches) and netushot (spread abroad): sheluchot extend lengthwise, as the vine puts forth branches that stretch outward; whereas being spread (netushim) over the open field refers to spreading across widthwise. Those who were supposed to be shoots extending far ahead will instead be scattered and spread far and wide. The allegorical meaning applies to the rest of the populace: they will not unite to go out to war like entwined and organized tendrils, but will disperse and immediately wander to other lands, even crossing the sea out of sheer dread to escape the enemy.
עַל כֵּן אֶבְכֶּה בִּבְכִי יַעְזֵר גֶּפֶן שִׂבְמָה אֲרַיָּוֶךְ דִּמְעָתִי חֶשְׁבּוֹן וְאֶלְעָלֵה כִּי עַל קֵיצֵךְ וְעַל קְצִירֵךְ הֵידָד נָפָל׃ - Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Yazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will drench you with my tears, O Cheshbon and El'aleh, for over your summer fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen.
When I weep the weeping of Yazer over its downfall, I will also weep over "the vine of Sibmah," that is, over the warriors of Sibmah; for once Yazer falls, I already know that Sibmah will fall, and its doom is sealed. "I will drench you with my tears, O Cheshbon and El'aleh" - Cheshbon and El'aleh will likewise be wept over, for they too will fall. "For over your summer fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen" - keitzteich refers to the summer fruits, such as dried figs, and ketzireich refers to the grain harvest. It was customary during the grain and grape harvests to encourage one another and cry "Heidad!" in joy. But now, instead of shouting "Heidad!" in Cheshbon over the harvested grapes and reaped grain, it will be the shout of war - the roar of the enemy shouting their battle cry as they advance against you.
וְנֶאֱסַף שִׂמְחָה וָגִיל מִן הַכַּרְמֶל וּבַכְּרָמִים לֹא יְרֻנָּן לֹא יְרֹעָע יַיִן בַּיְקָבִים לֹא יִדְרֹךְ הַדֹּרֵךְ הֵידָד הִשְׁבַּתִּי׃ - Joy and gladness are withdrawn from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting; the treader shall tread out no wine in the presses; I have silenced the cheering shout.
The Malbim explains the distinction between simchah (joy) and gil (gladness): Simchah always denotes a continuous, constant joy, the opposite of sadness, as in the verse, "and you shall be altogether joyful" (vehayita ach same'ach). Gil, by contrast, is a momentary burst of joy that is aroused at a specific moment. If someone is notified that he won the lottery, that is gil, not simchah. If he finds a lost object or hears good tidings, that is gil.
Accordingly, simchah is the ongoing joy experienced year-round, when a person has food in his home and produce to satiety; gil is the joy experienced at the time of the harvest, when he gathers all the grain and brings this great wealth into his house. The prophet proclaims: not only will they not gather the produce into their homes, but they will not even harvest it at all, for the crop will not grow in the first place, since the land will be devastated, just as the prophet told them earlier.
"In the vineyards there shall be no singing" - it was their custom to sing, chant, and make music during the labor in the vineyards, celebrating with great joy. We find this similarly with King David, when he sent messengers to Nabal the Carmelite at sheep-shearing time, saying, "for we have come on a festive day." And we find this with Avshalom: after the incident of Amnon and Tamar, Avshalom invited the king to join the celebration he had arranged in the field for sheep-shearing and harvesting. When David replied that he could not go, Avshalom asked that he at least send his firstborn son Amnon; Amnon came to the celebration, and there Avshalom seized the opportunity and assassinated him. We see that the gathering of the yield was considered a festival and a day of rejoicing. But now, in the vineyards there will be no singing, nor will there be shouting ("neither shall there be shouting") - even the blast or shout raised to summon the laborers to come will not be heard, for no laborers will come at all, given that the vines have produced no yield.
The verse continues: not only will they not harvest the vineyards, but even one who already has grapes ready in the winepresses - "no treader shall tread out wine in the presses"; he who usually treads will tread no more. And why? "I have silenced the cheering shout" - I have brought an end to the call of heidad with which they would summon the laborers to come and tread the grapes. They will not shout heidad to gather, for no people will be found there at all. Where does the word heidad come from? It is an expression of shouting, related to the echo of the mountains (hed), the reverberating voice in the mountains where one shouts and it answers back. Those who trod wine in the winepress would shout heidad, and it was likewise the custom of warriors going out to battle to shout war cries and cheer heidad. Therefore it was stated earlier, "a cheering shout has fallen": instead of the heidad of the grape-treaders, it is the heidad of the enemy army shouting as they come to wage war against you, Moab.
עַל כֵּן מֵעַי לְמוֹאָב כַּכִּנּוֹר יֶהֱמוּ וְקִרְבִּי לְקִיר חָרֶשׂ׃ - Wherefore my heart moans like a harp for Moab, and my innards for Kir-heres.
Here the prophet compares the wailing to a harp whose strings are plucked. The sound emanates from the soundbox, from the "belly" of the instrument, as instruments like the harp, guitar, and others have a hollow body into which vibrations resonate and from which music emerges. In this way, he compares his internal organs to strings and the cavity of his body to the soundbox of the harp from which the sound is heard. He associates the strings with Moab, and the body of the harp with Kir-heres. As explained earlier regarding the "foundations of Kir-hareseth," where the injured and wounded from the battlefield would be brought, it is from there that the wailing and cries will be heard when Moab's strings are struck and plucked. When Moab is struck, where will the sound come from? From Kir-hareseth. That is where all the destitute, crushed, and wounded of the battlefield will be gathered - in that same wall and fortress where heroes once stood, but where now only the beaten will be brought. Then Moab will cry out like a harp: the strings are plucked, and the sound reverberates from the soundbox, Kir-hareseth.
וְהָיָה כִי נִרְאָה כִּי נִלְאָה מוֹאָב עַל הַבָּמָה וּבָא אֶל מִקְדָּשׁוֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא יוּכָל׃ - And it shall come to pass, when Moab presents himself and is wearied upon the high place, and comes to his sanctuary to pray, he shall not prevail.
The Malbim explains that nir'ah here has the connotation of disgrace, as in the phrase le-ra'avah bah (exposed to public disgrace), and like mur'atah ve-notzata (its crop with its plumage) - where the mur'ah is the discarded, base part of the bird. That is to say: after Moab has been disgraced, bloodied, and wounded, "when Moab is wearied" - he will no longer have the strength to stand; up to this point he fought, but he has grown exhausted and lacks the strength to continue fighting. Then, "and comes to his sanctuary to pray" - he goes to his pagan temple, to the place designated for his idol worship, saying: Let us go and pray; perhaps my idol will help me.
From this emerges a profound lesson in mussar. When does a person far from faith pray? Only when all other options have been exhausted. A person whose faith is strong prays before undertaking any physical action, knowing that everything depends upon prayer; the physical action is merely an act of hishtadlut (effort). But for someone distant from faith, the reverse is true: first I will act on my own, and if I fail, perhaps there is Someone Above who, under certain circumstances, might assist me. This was Moab: only when he was utterly exhausted did he come to his sanctuary to pray. "And he shall not prevail" - his prayer will not avail him to overcome his enemies, nor will his prayer bring him any strength.
זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה אֶל מוֹאָב מֵאָז׃ - This is the word that Hashem spoke concerning Moab long ago.
Everything we have said until now is the prophecy that Hashem made known concerning Moab long ago. This also explains why "he will not prevail" and why prayer will not avail him: because there is an established prophecy about this. This matter was decreed long ago through the early prophets, and not a single word of His returns empty. And since it has already been decreed, no prayer will avail Moab.
וְעַתָּה דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה לֵאמֹר בְּשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים כִּשְׁנֵי שָׂכִיר וְנִקְלָה כְּבוֹד מוֹאָב בְּכֹל הֶהָמוֹן הָרָב וּשְׁאָר מְעַט מִזְעָר לוֹא כַבִּיר׃ - And now Hashem has spoken, saying: Within three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be degraded with all the great multitude; and the remnant will be very small, not mighty.
And now Hashem speaks to hasten their retribution. Rashi explains: "Within three years" - on account of those three years during which they assisted Sennacherib when he besieged Samaria. And if you might say, perhaps they helped him so that it would be profitable for them and they would gain from it? The verse says, "like the years of a hired worker" - they assisted him voluntarily, without monetary gain and without any benefit to themselves, as though they were his hired laborers. Is that so? You go and help the enemies of Israel, not out of profit, but simply, so to speak, "for the sake of Heaven"? Therefore, "the glory of Moab will be degraded" - your honor will turn to shame and disgrace, for Sennacherib will come, take you captive, and depart. "With all the great multitude" - all the great multitude with Sennacherib will bring Moab to disgrace and captivity.
"And the remnant will be very small, not mighty" - what remains will be a tiny fraction, meaning a diminution after a diminution: only a few will remain, and from those few, only a meager fraction will be left. Not only that, but "not mighty" - kabir denotes greatness and usually refers to strength. That is, not only will they be few in quantity, but in quality they will not be strong either - diminished in quantity and quality alike.
Rashi cites another explanation, and the Malbim explains similarly: "Within three years" - three years have been decreed upon you, meaning over a span of time and not immediately; however, "like the years of a hired worker" - they will be exact, and the retribution will not be delayed any further. Just as a hired worker counts and is exacting with the years of his hire, not staying even two extra days out of goodwill - once the days of hire end, he leaves at that very moment; and just as a laborer does not stay two extra hours at work, but the moment the workday ends he clocks out and heads home - so Hashem will not prolong the decree over a lengthy period, but will measure it precisely and bring it all at once: three years corresponding to those three years in which you oppressed Israel. And so may Hashem exact retribution from the enemies and from the nations, Amen and Amen.
Chapter 16 is a chapter of rejected counsel. The prophet offers Moab a practical path to salvation: to send the ruler of the land as an emissary to the mount of the daughter of Zion, to seek counsel, or an army, or at the very least refuge and shelter, and to flee voluntarily before their nest is taken from them. He even promises that the throne of the Davidic dynasty is established in loving-kindness and truth, and that the king seeks justice and is swift in righteousness and will not turn them away. Yet Moab's pride, arrogance, and ancient wrath prevent him from submitting, and therefore "Moab shall wail for Moab" - he alone will weep for himself, for his blood is upon his own head. From here on, the prophet depicts the disintegration: the warriors are struck down and scattered, joy and gladness are withdrawn from the vineyards, the cheerful shout of the vintage is replaced by the war cry of the enemy, and the prophet's innards moan like a harp, with Kir-hareseth as its resonating chamber. Finally, Moab goes to his sanctuary to pray and is unable to prevail, for the decree was already established long ago, and within three precise years, like the years of a hired worker - corresponding to the three years he aided Sennacherib for free - his glory will be degraded, and nothing will remain of him except a tiny, feeble remnant.
And the message that emerges from the chapter: when a person is warned and given counsel on how to be saved, yet fails to listen because of his pride - he no longer has anyone to blame. And regarding prayer: a person of faith prays before taking action, because everything depends on prayer, and physical effort is merely hishtadlut (human endeavor); one who is far from faith turns to prayer only when all other options are exhausted - and then, at times, "he will not prevail."