Isaiah 21
New English Translation
The Lord Will Judge Babylon
21 This is an oracle[a] about the wilderness by the Sea:[b]
Like strong winds blowing in the south,[c]
one invades from the wilderness,
from a land that is feared.
2 I have received a distressing message:[d]
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”[e]
3 For this reason my stomach churns;[f]
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed[g] by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
4 My heart palpitates,[h]
I shake in fear;[i]
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
5 Arrange the table,
lay out[j] the carpet,
eat and drink![k]
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields![l]
6 For this is what the Lord[m] has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses,[n]
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
8 Then the guard[o] cries out:
“On the watchtower, O Lord,[p]
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.”[q]
When questioned, he replies,[r]
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,[s]
what I have heard
from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
Bad News for Seir
11 This is an oracle about Dumah:[t]
Someone calls to me from Seir,[u]
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”[v]
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night.[w]
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.”[x]
The Lord Will Judge Arabia
13 This is an oracle about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitives.
15 For they flee from the swords—
from the drawn sword,
and from the battle-ready bow,
and from the severity of the battle.
16 For this is what the Lord[y] has told me: “Within exactly one year[z] all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.”[aa] Indeed,[ab] the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 tn See note at Isa 13:1.
- Isaiah 21:1 sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “wilderness” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like an uninhabited wilderness.
- Isaiah 21:1 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
- Isaiah 21:2 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
- Isaiah 21:2 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
- Isaiah 21:3 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
- Isaiah 21:3 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
- Isaiah 21:4 tn Heb “wanders”; perhaps here, “is confused.”
- Isaiah 21:4 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
- Isaiah 21:5 tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).
- Isaiah 21:5 tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.
- Isaiah 21:5 sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.
- Isaiah 21:6 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Isaiah 21:7 tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”
- Isaiah 21:8 tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (ʾaryeh, “lion”) probably needs to be emended to an original הָרֹאֶה (haroʾeh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6. The Dead Sea Scrolls (1Q Isaa) and the Syriac support an original הָרֹאֶה (haroʾeh, “the one who sees”).
- Isaiah 21:8 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).
- Isaiah 21:9 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
- Isaiah 21:9 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
- Isaiah 21:10 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
- Isaiah 21:11 tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.
- Isaiah 21:11 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
- Isaiah 21:11 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
- Isaiah 21:12 sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
- Isaiah 21:12 sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”
- Isaiah 21:16 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Isaiah 21:16 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
- Isaiah 21:17 tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
- Isaiah 21:17 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
Isaiah 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Oracles concerning Babylon, Edom, and Arabia
21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.(A)
2 A stern vision is told to me;
the betrayer betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.(B)
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
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.(C)
4 My mind reels; horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.(D)
5 They prepare the table;
they spread the rugs;
they eat; they drink.
Rise up, commanders;
oil the shield!(E)
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, post a lookout;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him watch closely,
very closely.”(F)
8 Then the watcher[a] called out:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
throughout the night.(G)
9 Look, there they come, riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
Then he responded,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”(H)
10 O my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.(I)
11 The oracle concerning Dumah.
One is calling to me from Seir,
“Sentinel, what of the night?
Sentinel, what of the night?”(J)
12 The sentinel says:
“Morning comes and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”
13 The oracle concerning the desert plain.
In the scrub of the desert plain you will lodge,
O caravans of Dedanites.(K)
14 Bring water to the thirsty,
O inhabitants of the land of Tema;
meet the fugitive with bread.(L)
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the stress of battle.(M)
16 For thus the Lord said to me: “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end,(N) 17 and the remaining bows of Kedar’s warriors will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”(O)
Footnotes
- 21.8 Q ms Syr Vg: MT a lion
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.