Isaiah 21
Authorized (King James) Version
21 The burden of the desert of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the south pass through;
so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me;
the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously,
and the spoiler spoileth.
Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media;
all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain:
pangs have taken hold upon me,
as the pangs of a woman that travaileth:
I was bowed down at the hearing of it;
I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me:
the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink:
arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me,
Go, set a watchman,
let him declare what he seeth.
7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen,
a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels;
and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8 and he cried, A lion:
my lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime,
and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9 and, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen.
And he answered and said,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen;
and all the graven images of her gods
he hath broken unto the ground.
10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor:
that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
have I declared unto you.
11 The burden of Dumah.
He calleth to me out of Seir,
Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?
12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night:
if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
13 The burden upon Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge,
O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty,
they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15 For they fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,
and from the grievousness of war.
16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me,
Within a year, according to the years of an hireling,
and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17 and the residue of the number of archers,
the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished:
for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.
Isaiah 21
American Standard Version
21 The [a]burden of the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 2 A [b]grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof [c]have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am [d]pained so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 4 My heart [e]fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me. 5 They prepare the table, they [f]set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: 7 [g]and when he seeth [h]a troop, [i]horsemen in pairs, [j]a troop of asses, [k]a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. 8 And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and am set in my ward [l]whole nights; 9 and, behold, here [m]cometh a troop of men, [n]horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.
10 O thou my threshing, and the [o]grain of my floor! that which I have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
11 The [p]burden of Dumah.
One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, [q]what of the night? Watchman, [r]what of the night? 12 The watchman said, The morning [s]cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: [t]turn ye, come.
13 The [u]burden upon Arabia.
In the [v]forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedanites. 14 Unto him that [w]was thirsty they brought water; [x]the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread. 15 For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail; 17 and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Or, oracle concerning
- Isaiah 21:2 Or, hard
- Isaiah 21:2 Or, will I make
- Isaiah 21:3 Hebrew bent.
- Isaiah 21:4 Hebrew wandereth.
- Isaiah 21:5 Or, spread the carpets
- Isaiah 21:7 Or, and he saw . . . and he hearkened
- Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
- Isaiah 21:7 Or, a pair of horsemen
- Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
- Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
- Isaiah 21:8 Or, every night
- Isaiah 21:9 Or, come chariots of men
- Isaiah 21:9 Or, a pair of horsemen
- Isaiah 21:10 Hebrew son.
- Isaiah 21:11 Or, oracle concerning
- Isaiah 21:11 Or, what hour
- Isaiah 21:11 Or, what hour
- Isaiah 21:12 Or, is come
- Isaiah 21:12 Or, come ye again
- Isaiah 21:13 Or, oracle
- Isaiah 21:13 Or, thickets
- Isaiah 21:14 Or, is thirsty bring ye
- Isaiah 21:14 Or, as otherwise read, ye inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
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