Isaiah 16:10 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Isaiah 16:10 kjv
And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
Isaiah 16:10 nkjv
Gladness is taken away, And joy from the plentiful field; In the vineyards there will be no singing, Nor will there be shouting; No treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease.
Isaiah 16:10 niv
Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting.
Isaiah 16:10 esv
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.
Isaiah 16:10 nlt
Gone now is the gladness,
gone the joy of harvest.
There will be no singing in the vineyards,
no more happy shouts,
no treading of grapes in the winepresses.
I have ended all their harvest joys.
Isaiah 16 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 48:33 | "Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; I have made the wine to cease from the presses..." | Direct parallel describing Moab's desolation |
| Isa 24:11 | "There is an outcry for lack of wine in the streets; all joy has turned to gloom; all gaiety has vanished from the earth." | Lack of wine leading to vanished joy, broader judgment |
| Jer 7:34 | "Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah... the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness..." | Divine act causing cessation of joy/celebration |
| Jer 16:9 | "I will make to cease from this place... the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom..." | Similar divine decree against festive sounds |
| Joel 1:10-12 | "The field is ruined, the ground mourns... new wine is dried up... all joy has withered away from the children of man." | Agricultural devastation causing loss of human joy |
| Amos 8:9-10 | "I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation..." | Feasts of joy transformed into sorrowful lamentation |
| Hos 2:11 | "And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts." | Ending of national festivities and celebration |
| Rev 18:22 | "The sound of harpists... musicians... will never be heard in you again... No craftsman... no sound of a millstone will ever be heard..." | Total cessation of joyful and productive sounds (Babylon) |
| Isa 24:7 | "The new wine mourns, the vine languishes; all the merryhearted sigh." | Grapes/wine personified as mourning |
| Lam 1:15 | "The Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah." | God's active role in bringing judgment, using winepress metaphor |
| Deut 28:39 | "You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them." | Curse: Labor without harvest, no joy from fruit |
| Zech 8:12 | "For there shall be a sowing of peace: the vine shall yield its fruit... and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these." | Prophecy of restoration, contrasting desolation |
| Psa 104:15 | "Wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread that sustains man's heart." | Wine as a source of human gladness (contrast) |
| Judg 9:13 | "The vine said to them, 'Shall I leave my wine which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?'" | Wine's traditional role in cheering and celebration |
| Mal 3:11 | "I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before harvest." | God's blessing protects harvest and fruitfulness |
| Lev 26:20 | "Your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit." | Disobedience leading to land barrenness and fruitless labor |
| Hag 1:6 | "You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough... you drink, but you never have your fill..." | Divine withholding of agricultural bounty |
| Isa 17:11 | "...yet the harvest will flee away in a day of sickness and incurable pain." | Judgment targeting fruitfulness, despite effort |
| Jer 25:10 | "I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom... and the sound of the millstones..." | Broader scope of ceased sounds, including labor |
| Job 30:31 | "My harp is tuned to mourning, and my flute to the voice of those who weep." | Transformation of joyful music into instruments of sorrow |
| Eze 26:13 | "I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more." | Cessation of celebratory music and sounds |
| Hos 9:2 | "The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them; the new wine shall fail them." | Failed harvest and wine production due to judgment |
| Psa 126:2 | "Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy..." | Shouts of joy (positive, as opposed to cessation) |
Isaiah 16 verses
Isaiah 16 10 meaning
Isaiah 16:10 paints a vivid picture of utter desolation and the cessation of all joy and revelry in the land of Moab. It specifically focuses on the agricultural realm, which was a source of great prosperity and celebration. The verse describes how the abundant fields and vineyards, once filled with gladness, singing, and shouting from those treading wine in the presses, will now be silent and barren. This cessation of festive sounds and the halt of wine production are depicted as a direct divine act, signifying God's judgment upon Moab.
Isaiah 16 10 Context
Isaiah 16:10 is embedded within a broader oracle against Moab (Isaiah 15-16), a neighboring kingdom east of the Dead Sea, often at odds with Israel but sharing historical and cultural ties. Chapter 15 describes the immediate devastation and lament over various Moabite cities. Chapter 16 shifts, showing Judah appealing to Moab for aid or shelter for Moabite refugees (vv. 3-5), then quickly returns to detailing Moab's judgment. The context immediately preceding this verse (16:6-9) attributes Moab's downfall to its immense pride and arrogance, stating, "We have heard of the pride of Moab—how great is her arrogance, her pride and her insolence" (16:6). This pride is the underlying cause for the divine intervention described in verse 10. Moab was renowned for its fertile land, especially its vineyards, producing rich grapes and wine (often associated with their capital, Kir Hareseth), which became a symbol of their national strength and celebratory culture. The judgment is precisely aimed at stripping them of this defining characteristic and source of their boasting.
Isaiah 16 10 Word analysis
- And gladness (וְשִׂמְחָה wᵉśimḥâ): Simḥâ means joy, gladness, merriment. It's a fundamental emotion associated with blessings and celebration in the Bible. The conjunction "And" connects it to the previous lament, intensifying the picture of loss.
- is taken away (נֶאְסַף ne'esaf): From the verb ʾāsap, meaning "to gather, remove, collect." In the Niphal (passive) form, it indicates that gladness is removed or gathered up, often implying an impersonal or divine agency. It signifies a complete withdrawal.
- and joy (וְגִיל wᵉgîl): Gîl is often paired with simḥâ and describes a more exuberant, sometimes dancing, joy or revelry. Its removal reinforces the total cessation of cheerful feelings.
- from the plentiful field (מִכַּרְמֶל mikkarmel): Karmel literally means "garden land" or "fruitful field." While sometimes referring specifically to Mount Carmel, here it signifies any rich, productive agricultural area of Moab, highlighting that even their most fertile ground will lose its source of gladness.
- and in the vineyards (וּבַכְּרָמִים ûvakkᵉrāmîm): Kerāmîm is the plural of kerem, meaning "vineyard." Vineyards were central to Moab's economy and culture, symbolizing abundance and celebration.
- there shall be no singing (לֹא־יְרֻנָּן lōʾ yᵉrûnnan): Yᵉrûnnan comes from rānan, to shout for joy, sing, rejoice. The negative lōʾ emphasizes the absence, directly countering the customary sounds of a working vineyard.
- neither shall there be shouting (לֹא־יְרֻעַע lōʾ yᵉrûaʿaʿ): This refers to a specific type of joyful cry or shout, often associated with a loud acclamation or a festive noise. Its absence underscores the pervasive silence.
- the treaders (דֹּרֵךְ dôrēḵ - This is a singular participle for 'treader' but context implies plural or action) shall tread out no wine (וְיַיִן לֹא wᵉyayyin lōʾ): Dôrekh is the one who treads grapes. The absence of yayyin (wine) emphasizes the futility of their labor or even the lack of grapes to tread.
- in their presses (יִדְרְכוּ בַּיְקָבִים yidrᵉkhû bayyᵉqāvîm): Yᵉqāvîm is plural for yeqev, "winepress." These were essential structures for turning grapes into wine and were sites of vigorous activity and celebratory noise.
- I have made their vintage shout to cease. (הֵידָד הִשְׁבַּתִּי hêdād hišbattî): Hêdād is a distinct, festive shouting associated specifically with the wine harvest and treading. Hišbattî is from shābat, "to cease" or "cause to cease," here in the Hiphil (causative) form. The emphatic "I" (understood from the verb's first-person perfect form) makes it clear that the LORD is the active agent in stopping these sounds and the source of Moab's desolation.
Word-groups by word-group analysis:
- "gladness... joy from the plentiful field": This pairing uses two distinct Hebrew terms for joy to indicate a complete eradication of emotional well-being tied to their land's bounty. The "plentiful field" (karmel) represents the very source of their wealth and the reason for their former celebrations.
- "in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting": This group focuses on the auditory aspect of desolation. Vineyards, typically sites of joyous, boisterous activity during harvest, will now be devoid of any human sound of festivity, highlighting the extent of the loss.
- "the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses": This describes the concrete, physical result of the desolation. No grapes, no treading, no wine. It points to economic ruin and the cessation of a central cultural practice. The phrase also suggests either there are no grapes, or no one to tread them, or both, implying a profound lack of vitality.
- "I have made their vintage shout to cease": This concluding phrase directly attributes the calamity to divine action, emphasizing God's sovereign control over nations and their fortunes. The specific "vintage shout" (hêdād) being silenced powerfully signifies the end of a cherished annual event and its associated jubilation.
Isaiah 16 10 Bonus section
The repeated emphasis on the cessation of sound is a crucial literary device in Isaiah 16:10. It is not just about the loss of grapes or wine, but the loss of the joyous human expression associated with these blessings. The absence of "singing," "shouting," and the "vintage shout" signifies the death of hope, community, and the very spirit of life within Moab. This auditory void serves as a powerful metaphor for utter national collapse. The explicit "I have made" (Hebrew hišbattî) is significant, placing the destruction squarely at the feet of YHWH. It counters any belief in the power of Moab's own deities, such as Chemosh, to sustain their fertility and joy, unequivocally proclaiming the sovereignty of Israel's God over all nations and their produce.
Isaiah 16 10 Commentary
Isaiah 16:10 is a potent declaration of divine judgment against Moab, specifically targeting the very symbols of its pride and prosperity: its fruitful land and the celebratory culture surrounding its renowned wine production. The verse moves from an abstract concept of joy (simḥâ and gîl) being removed from the landscape, to concrete examples of silenced activity in the vineyards and presses. The sounds of joy, singing (rînnâ), and the characteristic vintage shout (hêdād)—all auditory markers of life and abundance—are unequivocally silenced. This creates a profound sensory experience of desolation for the audience, imagining a vibrant, noisy agricultural scene transformed into an eerie silence. The crucial declaration, "I have made their vintage shout to cease," leaves no doubt about the ultimate agent behind this destruction. It is not merely a natural disaster, but a direct intervention by God in response to Moab's arrogance and rebellion, effectively turning their source of boasting into a testament to their downfall. This prophetic lament serves as a universal warning against pride and a reminder that all blessings ultimately stem from the Creator, who can also choose to remove them.