Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

ISAIAH 16:3KJV
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Isaiah 16:3 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 16:3 mean?

Isaiah 16:3 calls for a just response to people fleeing danger: give them shelter, conceal them from their pursuers, and do not betray their whereabouts. In the surrounding passage, Moab’s fugitives need refuge, and the appeal is directed toward Zion, the seat of Judah’s king.

The key is the KJV’s “bewray not.” “Bewray” means disclose or expose. The Hebrew גָּלָה (galah) means uncover or reveal; here, the command means not to reveal a fugitive’s location. The protection being requested includes keeping the displaced person hidden.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 16:3

  • “Take counsel, execute judgment” — עֵצָה (etsah), פְּלִילָה (pelilah): “Counsel” means advice or a plan. “Judgment” means a decision or judicial determination. Together, the commands call for considered action and a just decision about the people seeking shelter.

  • “Make thy shadow as the night” — צֵל (tsel), לַיִל (layil): “Shadow” means shade and can picture protection, especially in a land where the sun’s heat is dangerous. “Night” deepens the image: the refuge should be as complete as nighttime darkness, even “in the midst of the noonday.” The following commands show what that protective shadow involves—hiding people from those who threaten them.

  • “Hide the outcasts” — סָתַר (sathar), נָדַח (nadach): “Hide” means conceal or keep out of sight. “Outcasts” describes people who have been driven away or scattered. These are displaced people, and the command asks that they be concealed from danger.

  • “Him that wandereth” — נָדַד (nadad): This word means flee or move away. Here, the person “wandering” is a fugitive. The KJV wording can sound like aimless travel, but the surrounding passage describes people escaping destruction.

Why Isaiah 16:3 matters

  • The commands form one concrete request for asylum. “Take counsel” and “execute judgment” lead directly into instructions to shelter, hide, and protect fugitives.

  • The shadow is explained by the actions that follow. Making shelter “as the night” means providing cover so effective that threatened people remain concealed even at midday.

  • The verse belongs to the account of Moab’s disaster. Isaiah 15 describes Moab’s devastation and flight; Isaiah 16:1–4 brings those fugitives into relation with Zion and asks for shelter from the destroyer.

Where else these words appear

“noonday” Hebrew H6672 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
  • 1 Kings 18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
  • Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

“wandereth” Hebrew H5074 · used in 26 verses

  • Genesis 31:40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
  • Psalms 64:8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
  • Isaiah 22:3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.

“shadow” Hebrew H6738 · used in 47 verses

  • Genesis 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
  • Psalms 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
  • Isaiah 30:3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

“outcasts” Hebrew H5080 · used in 51 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
  • Nehemiah 1:9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
  • Jeremiah 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.