Isaiah 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!

Jud 9:15; Ps 82:3,4; Isa 1:17; Isa 9:6; Isa 25:4; Isa 32:2; Isa 56:8; Jer 21:12; Jer 22:3; Eze 45:9-12; Da 4:27; Ob 1:12-14; Jon 4:5-8; Zec 7:9; Mt 25:35; Heb 13:2

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.

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.

³ tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”