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Isaiah 16:2
ESV Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
NIV Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
NASB Then, like fluttering birds or scattered nestlings, The daughters of Moab will be at the crossing places of the Arnon.
CSB Like a bird fleeing, forced from the nest, the daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
NLT The women of Moab are left like homeless birds at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.
KJV For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
NKJV For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest; So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

What does Isaiah 16:2 mean?

Isaiah is describing a request from the fleeing refugees of Moab. They hope to take refuge in the territory of Judah for a time. They are looking for shelter until it is safe to return to their own land (Isaiah 16:1).

This statement doesn't seem to flow naturally from the previous verse. Some commentators suggest that this verse is the first part of Moab's message to the king of Judah asking for asylum. If that interpretation is the case, the Moabites may be using poetic language to describe their plight. It is possible the Moabites are giving a snapshot of what they have recently gone through. They picture their women racing away from Dibon, in central Moab, to get across the Arnon River in a dead panicked run. This evokes the image of birds shooting out of a disturbed nest.
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