以赛亚书 21
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
关于巴比伦的预言
21 以下是关于海边沙漠[a]的预言：
敌人从可怕的沙漠之地上来，
好像狂风扫过南部的旷野。
2 我看见一个令人胆战心惊的异象：
“诡诈的在行诡诈，
毁灭的在行毁灭。
以拦人啊，攻打吧！
玛代人啊，围城吧！
耶和华必终止巴比伦带来的痛苦。”
3 这使我充满痛苦，
我陷入剧痛中，
如同分娩的妇人，
我因听见的话而惊慌，
因看见的景象而害怕。
4 我心慌意乱，惊惧不堪，
我期盼的黄昏却令我恐惧。
5 他们摆设宴席，
坐在地毯上又吃又喝。
突然有人大喊：
“官长啊，起来擦亮盾牌，备战吧！”
6 耶和华对我说：
“你去派人守望，
让他报告所看见的情况。
7 他看到战车、一对对的骑兵、
驴队和骆驼队的时候，
要提高警惕，密切察看。”
8 守望的人大喊：
“我主啊，我在瞭望塔上日夜观看。
9 看啊，战车和一对对的骑兵来了。”
他又接着说：“巴比伦倾倒了！
倾倒了！
她所有的神像都被打碎在地上。”
10 于是，我说：“我的百姓啊！
你们像场上被碾、被筛的谷物，
现在我把从以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华那里听见的都告诉你们了。”
关于以东的预言
11 以下是关于以东的预言。
有人从西珥大声问我：
“守夜的啊，黑夜还有多长？
守夜的啊，黑夜还有多长？”
12 我回答：
“黎明将到，但黑夜会再来。
如果你们还想问，再来问吧。”
关于阿拉伯的预言
13 以下是关于阿拉伯的预言：
成群结队的底但客旅必躲在阿拉伯的荒野过夜。
14 提玛的居民啊，要送水给这些口渴的人，
拿食物给这些逃难的人。
15 他们从敌人的刀光箭影中逃生。
16 耶和华对我说：“如同雇工合约规定的做工年限，一年之内，基达所有的荣耀必消失， 17 勇敢的弓箭手必所剩无几。这是以色列的上帝耶和华说的。”
Footnotes
- 21:1 “海边沙漠”指巴比伦。
Isaiah 21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 21
Fall of Babylon[a]
1 Oracle on the wastelands by the sea:[b]
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negeb,
it comes from the desert,
from the fearful land.(A)
2 A harsh vision has been announced to me:
“The traitor betrays,
the despoiler spoils.(B)
Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media;[c]
put an end to all its groaning!”(C)
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish,
pangs have seized me like those of a woman in labor;
I am too bewildered to hear,
too dismayed to look.(D)
4 My mind reels,
shuddering assails me;
The twilight I yearned for
he has turned into dread.(E)
5 They set the table,
spread out the rugs;
they eat, they drink.[d](F)
Rise up, O princes,
oil the shield!
6 For thus my Lord said to me:
Go, station a watchman,
let him tell what he sees.
7 If he sees a chariot,
a pair of horses,
Someone riding a donkey,
someone riding a camel,
Then let him pay heed,
very close heed.
8 Then the watchman cried,
“On the watchtower, my Lord,
I stand constantly by day;
And I stay at my post
through all the watches of the night.(G)
9 Here he comes—
a single chariot,
a pair of horses—
He calls out and says,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon!
All the images of her gods
are smashed to the ground!’”(H)
10 To you, who have been threshed,
beaten on my threshing floor,
What I have heard
from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have announced to you.(I)
Dumah
11 Oracle on Dumah:[e]
They call to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much longer the night?
Watchman, how much longer the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning has come, and again night.
If you will ask, ask; come back again.”
In the Steppe
13 Oracle: in the steppe:[f]
In the thicket in the steppe you will spend the night,
caravans of Dedanites.
14 Meet the thirsty, bring them water,
inhabitants of the land of Tema,
greet the fugitives with bread.(J)
15 For they have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword;
From the taut bow,
from the thick of battle.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: In another year, like the years of a hired laborer,[g] all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end. 17 Few of Kedar’s stalwart archers shall remain, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Footnotes
- 21:1–10 This oracle against Babylon is probably to be dated to the period just before the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 B.C. (v. 9).
- 21:1 Wastelands by the sea: Babylonia. Negeb: the wilderness south of Judah.
- 21:2 Elam…Media: nations which, under the leadership of Cyrus, captured Babylon in 539 B.C. End to all its groaning: those who were captive of Babylon will be freed.
- 21:5 Babylon is destroyed while its leaders are feasting; cf. Dn 5. Oil the shield: shields were oiled and greased so as to divert blows more easily; cf. 2 Sm 1:21.
- 21:11–12 Dumah: an oasis in north Arabia (cf. Gn 25:14 and 1 Chr 1:30), may be identified with the north Arabian Adummatu mentioned in Assyrian records of Sennacherib’s campaign against north Arabia. Seir: a site in Edom. The Edomites ask the prophet how much longer they must suffer (“the night” of suffering); he answers ambiguously: “Liberation (“morning”) and further suffering (“night”),” but perhaps they will later receive a more encouraging answer (“ask; come back again”).
- 21:13–14 In the steppe: the north Arabian steppe where the oases referred to were located. Dedanites: a north Arabian tribe associated with the oasis of Tema; cf. Gn 10:7; 25:3; Jer 25:23.
- 21:16 Year…of a hired laborer: see note on 16:13–14. Kedar: a nomadic tribe in Arabia; cf. 42:11; 60:7; Ps 120:5.
Isaiah 21
New King James Version
The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed
21 The [a]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.
As (A)whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision is declared to me;
(B)The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
(C)Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.
3 Therefore (D)my loins are filled with pain;
(E)Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was [b]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
(F)The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5 (G)Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!
6 For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 [c]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the (H)watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
(I)“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And (J)all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”
10 (K)Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
Proclamation Against Edom
11 (L)The [d]burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of (M)Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
12 The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”
Proclamation Against Arabia
13 (N)The [e]burden against Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies (O)of Dedanites.
14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, (P)according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of (Q)Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
- Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
- Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
