Isaiah 16:10 · Bible study
Isaiah 16:10 Commentary: When God Silences the Vintage Shout
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God personally claim responsibility for ending joy in Moab's vineyards? Explore the Hebrew, the cultural setting, and the theology of divine judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God personally silences every joyful sound of the vintage as judgment on Moab's pride.
- Key words: simchah (gladness), gil (rejoicing), heidad (shout of the winepress).
- Main debate: Whether the final clause is God speaking ('I have made to cease') or a passive statement ('the cry ceaseth'), as the Septuagint renders it.
- Theological theme: Divine sovereignty over human celebration, God gives and takes away the sources of joy.
- Best use: A sobering reminder that God's judgment can strip away even the most innocent-seeming pleasures when they become tokens of pride.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there will be no singing, neither joyful noise. Nobody will tread out wine in the presses. I have made the shouting stop.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And removed have been gladness and joy from the fruitful field, And in vineyards they sing not, nor shout, Wine in the presses treadeth not the treader, Shouting I have caused to cease.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And joy and gladness is taken away out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there is no singing, neither is there shouting: the treaders tread out no wine in the presses, I have made the cry [of the winepress] to cease.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And gladness and joy shall be taken away from Carmel, and there shall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards. He shall not tread out wine in the press that was wont to tread it out: the voice of the treaders I have taken away.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Quitado es el gozo y la alegría del campo fértil; en las viñas no cantarán, ni se regocijarán; no pisará vino en los lagares el pisador: la canción he hecho cesar.
E foram tirados a alegria e o prazer do campo frutífero; e nas vinhas não se canta, nem grito de alegria se faz; o pisador não pisará as uvas nos lagares; eu pus fim aos clamores de alegria.
La joie et l’ allégresse ont disparu des campagnes;
daß Freude und Wonne im Felde aufhört, und in den Weinbergen jauchzt noch ruft man nicht. Man keltert keinen Wein in den Keltern; ich habe dem Gesang ein Ende gemacht.
Alzo dat de blijdschap en vrolijkheid weggenomen is van het vruchtbare veld, en in de wijngaarden wordt niet gezongen, noch enig gejuich gemaakt; de druiven treder treedt geen wijn uit in de wijnbakken, ik heb het vreugdegeschrei doen ophouden.
La gioia, il giubilo sono scomparsi dalla ferace campagna; e nelle vigne non ci sono più canti, né grida d’allegrezza; il vendemmiatore non pigia più l’uva nei tini; io ho fatto cessare il grido di gioia della vendemmia.
I ustało wesele i radość nad polem urodzajnem; na winnicach nie śpiewają ani wykrzykają; wina w prasach nie tłoczy ten, który je tłoczył; i jać wykrzykania poprzestaję.
Исчезло с плодоносной земли веселье и ликование, и в виноградниках не поют, не ликуют; виноградарь не топчет винограда в точилах: Я прекратил ликование.
從 肥美的田 中奪去了 歡喜 快樂；在葡萄園裡 必無 歌唱，也無 歡呼的聲音。踹酒的 在酒醡中 不得 踹出 酒來；我使他歡呼的聲音 止息。
And all joy is gone; no longer are they glad for the fertile field; and in the vine-gardens there are no songs or sounds of joy: the crushing of grapes has come to an end, and its glad cry has been stopped.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 16:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse depicts the complete undoing of Moab's agricultural abundance and festive joy. The gladness and rejoicing are not simply absent; they are actively removed. Barnes notes that the Hebrew phrase 'from Carmel' refers to the fruitful field, not the mountain, so that the desolation touches the land's richest produce. Calvin, Gill, and the Geneva Bible all understand the last clause, 'I have made the shouting stop,' as the direct action of God: Yahweh Himself silences the vintage shout. The Cambridge Bible observes that the voice of Jehovah is heard again after the earlier lament. The consensus holds that the verse shows God as the sovereign agent behind Moab's judgment, using natural calamity or enemy invasion to strip away every cause for celebration.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Divine speaker: The Hebrew verb form <em>hishbatii</em> is first-person singular, and the surrounding context (v. 14) has God speaking directly.
- Passive reading: The Septuagint reads a passive form, and Adam Clarke argues that God is not the speaker in this particular place.
What is clear: The verse describes a complete cessation of joy in Moab's vineyards, understood by all as a result of divine judgment.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The cause of the desolation | All traditions see the cessation of joy as a direct result of God's judgment against Moab's pride. | Some (e.g., Adam Clarke, following the LXX) argue the last clause should be read passively, 'the cry ceases', making the statement descriptive rather than a direct divine claim. Others (Calvin, Barnes, Gill, Cambridge) hold that God is the speaker, emphasizing personal divine agency. |
| The identity of 'Carmel' | Most agree 'Carmel' here means the fruitful field or garden-land, not the mountain of that name. | Barnes explicitly distinguishes it from the mountain, while some earlier readers may have taken it as a place name. No significant debate remains. |
| The nature of the joy | All agree the joy is earthly, tied to agricultural blessing and community celebration. | Whether this joy was inherently sinful (because it came from a proud nation) or simply a legitimate blessing that God removed as judgment is a matter of emphasis. Most see it as a natural delight turned into a mark of judgment. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Vineyard harvest in ancient Israel and Moab was an intensely social, joyful occasion. Grapes were trampled in winepresses (Heb. yeqev) with bare feet, and the workers sang and shouted as they worked. Calvin compares it to sailors cheering when they reach port. The shout of the treader is not random noise; it is the sound of a community sharing in the reward of a year's labor. Wesley's Explanatory Notes confirms that 'treading the grapes' was the normal method of extracting juice.
Isaiah 16:10 sits inside a longer oracle against Moab (chapters 15, 16). Moab was a neighbor and sometimes enemy of Israel, known for its pride (v. 6). The prophet describes its vineyards covering the region of Sibmah and Heshbon, vines that stretched even to the wilderness and the sea (v. 8). Now enemy armies have broken down the branches (v. 8), and the battle shout has fallen on the harvest (v. 9). In verse 10 the prophet presses home the loss: every sound of vineyard joy is gone. Loudest of all is the divine claim: God personally puts an end to the celebration. The judgment is not impersonal fate; it is the deliberate act of the Lord, who has determined to humble Moab within three years (v. 14).
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note one variant of interest. The Masoretic text reads hishbatii ('I have made to cease'), a first-person singular verb. The Septuagint, however, renders the clause passively: 'the cry ceaseth' (Greek pepautai gar keleusma), suggesting a Hebrew reading of hishbat (passive). Adam Clarke prefers this reading, arguing that God is not the direct speaker here. Most other commentators retain the Masoretic reading, understanding it as God's direct claim, consistent with the surrounding passages where Yahweh speaks (e.g., Isa 16:14). No other significant textual variants are noted in the supplied sources.
Reception History
In the early church, this verse was read as part of the larger prophetic witness that God judges prideful nations. The image of silenced vintage shouts appears again in Jeremiah 48:33, reinforcing the pattern. During the Reformation, Calvin highlighted the ancient custom of singing during the vintage and saw the verse as a threat that God would cause vine-dressers to cease. Matthew Henry connected it directly to Moab's arrogance, seeing the removal of joy as a fitting punishment for their haughtiness. In the 19th century, Keil & Delitzsch explored the psychological depth of the passage, noting that the prophet's bowels sound like a harp as he grieves even while announcing judgment. Modern readers often use this verse in sermons on the sovereignty of God over life's blessings and the seriousness of national pride.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The loss of joy is total. Every source of gladness, field, vineyard, winepress, is stripped away. No singing, no shouting, no treading. God leaves nothing untouched.
- The loss of joy is divine. The final line is God's own claim: 'I have made the shouting stop.' Judgment is not accident; it is intentional, and it is His work.
- The prophet grieves even as he announces judgment. Verse 11 shows the prophet's bowels sounding like a harp for Moab. God's justice and the prophet's sorrow run together.
Five-point outline
- The fruitful field (Carmel) stripped of gladness
- Vineyards with no singing
- Winepresses with no treader
- The vintage shout silenced by God
- The prophet's heart breaks alongside the judgment
Illustration hooks
- A town that cancels its annual harvest festival because the crops failed, the removal of a shared joy that defined the community.
- A sports stadium that lies empty after a championship season was lost: no fans, no cheering, no celebration.
- A wedding reception where the music stops mid-dance when terrible news arrives, the sudden end of joy.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God causes joy to cease, can I trust Him with the good things in my life?
- When tragedy hits, how do I know whether it is judgment or simply the brokenness of the world?
- Is it okay to grieve even when the loss is the result of sin?
Leading a Discussion
This verse pulls back the curtain on divine judgment in a way that is both uncomfortable and clarifying. As you discuss, let the weight of the words rest on you: the same God who gives joy can also take it away. That truth invites humility, not fear.
Discussion questions
- What do the words 'gladness' and 'joy' (simchah, gil) mean in the context of village life? Why would their removal be so devastating?
- The verse mentions four specific things that stop: singing, shouting, treading wine, and the vintage shout. What does each represent?
- Who is the speaker of the last line, and what does it mean that God says 'I have made the shouting stop'?
- Read Jeremiah 48:33, which echoes this verse almost word for word. Why do you think the same image is used again for Moab?
- How does the prophet's personal grief in verse 11 change how you hear the judgment in verse 10?
- In your own life, what 'vintage shouts' might need to be silenced so that you can hear God more clearly?
- How does this passage help you understand the relationship between God's justice and His love?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Judges 9:27 | They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. |
| Job 24:11 | They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst. |
| Isaiah 24:7 | The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. |
| Isaiah 24:9 | They will not drink wine with a song. Strong drink will be bitter to those who drink it. |
| Isaiah 32:10 | For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage will fail. The harvest won’t come. |
| Jeremiah 48:33 | Gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab. I have caused wine to cease from the wine presses. No one will tread with shouting. The shouting will be no shouting. |
| Amos 5:11 | Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take taxes from him of wheat, you have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. |
| Amos 5:17 | In all vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through the middle of you,” says Yahweh. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the Hebrew word "Carmel" here means a fruitful field, not the mountain name. The gladness and harvest shout that once filled such fields have been silenced by the desolation God brought on the land.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin connects the loss of joy directly to the ancient custom of singing and dancing during harvest. Without the vintage, there is nothing left but mourning. The removal of the produce itself strips away the natural occasion for celebration, leaving only lament.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator observes that the poet shows deep sympathy for Moab in these lines. He draws attention to two distinct Hebrew words for shouting, one denoting joyful noise and the other vintage
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight that the loss of joy and celebration in the fields and vineyards comes not from mere misfortune but from God's direct action. It is the Lord who personally silences the harvest songs and stops the winepress, making the absence of gladness a deliberate divine judgment rather than an accident.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that the removal of gladness and joy is a direct act of God's judgment. By allowing the enemy to destroy the harvest, God deliberately ended the customary singing and shouting that accompanied the grape gathering and wine treading, silencing what should have been a season of celebration.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB connects gladness specifically to the joy of a rich harvest. Because the land lies in desolation with no harvest or vintage to gather, that source of gladness is entirely gone.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argues that the prophet himself, not God, is the one whose innermost organs vibrate with pain for Moab like a harp. The terrible judgments God revealed touched the prophet's soul through his physical body, producing these sounds of grief while he remained unable to change the divine purpose.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this passage as Isaiah’s strategic counsel: Moab should shelter Judah’s refugees because the age of violent world-power is ending. A righteous ruler from David’s line will soon establish a throne of gentleness, not mere grace. To share in that coming kingdom, Moab must first side with God’s people.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that the prophet seems to check himself, realizing that giving counsel to proud Moab is futile. He does his duty anyway, but despairs of any good result. Moab would not be healed because they refused to listen.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the word "treaders" refers to the ancient practice of crushing grapes by walking on them with bare feet. His point clarifies that this physical, communal activity is the specific image the verse uses, not a general reference to winemaking.