Isaiah 20-21

English Standard Version

A Sign Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that ^(A)the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to ^(B)Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— ²at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking ^(C)naked and barefoot.

³Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years ^(D)as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,^[a] ⁴so shall the ^(E)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. ⁵^(F)Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. ⁶And the inhabitants of ^(G)this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and ^(H)to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

21 The ^(I)oracle concerning the wilderness of ^(J)the sea.

^(K)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
²A stern vision is told to me;
    ^(L)the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O ^(M)Elam;
    lay siege, O ^(N)Media;
all the ^(O)sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
³Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    ^(P)pangs have seized me,
    like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
⁴My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    ^(Q)the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵^(R)They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs,^[b]
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    ^(S)oil the shield!
⁶For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
⁷When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
⁸Then he who saw cried out:^[c]
^(T)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
⁹And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
^(U)And he answered,
    ^(V)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
^(W)and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
¹⁰O ^(X)my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

¹¹The ^(Y)oracle concerning ^(Z)Dumah.

One is calling to me from ^(AA)Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
¹²The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also ^(AB)the night.
    If you will inquire, ^(AC)inquire;
    come back again.”

¹³The ^(AD)oracle concerning ^(AE)Arabia.

In the thickets in ^(AF)Arabia you will lodge,
    O ^(AG)caravans of ^(AH)Dedanites.
¹⁴To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of ^(AI)Tema.
¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

¹⁶For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, ^(AJ)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of ^(AK)Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of ^(AL)Kedar will be few, ^(AM)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 20:3 Probably Nubia
Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion