Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 16:14

"But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and of no account." — Isaiah 16:14 (ASV)

But now the Lord has spoken ... —The point of contrast seems to lie in the vaguer character of what had gone before, and the specific defined prediction that follows. Within three years, measured with the exactness of the hired labourer, who will not give more than he has contracted for, and of the employer, who will not take less. The same phrase appears in Isaiah 21:16.

The glory of Moab will be despised. —We may infer from the fact that the prophecy was recorded when the writings of Isaiah were collected, whether by himself or another, that people looked on it as an instance of his foresight. History is, indeed, silent as to the manner of its fulfillment. It was probable, however, that the armies of Salmaneser or Sargon swept, as those of Pul and Tiglath-pileser had done (1 Chronicles 5:26), over the region east of the Jordan, and so invaded Moab. (See Note on Isaiah 17:1.) We note that here also there was to be a remnant, but not like that of Israel, the germ of a renewed strength.