Isaiah 21
World English Bible
21 The burden of the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land. 2 A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing. 3 Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have seized me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t hear. I am so dismayed that I can’t see. 4 My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me. 5 They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield! 6 For the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees. 7 When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” 8 He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. 9 Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.
10 You are my threshing, and the grain of my floor!” That which I have heard from Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.
11 The burden of Dumah.
One calls to me out of 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. Come back again.”
13 The burden on Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, you caravans of Dedanites. 14 They brought water to him who was thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema met the fugitives with their bread. 15 For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the heat of battle. 16 For the Lord said to me, “Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will fail, 17 and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”
Isaiah 21
Lexham English Bible
The Fall of Babylon
21 The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:
As storm winds passing over in the Negev,
it comes[a] from the desert,
from a frightful land.
2 A hard revelation is told to me;
the treacherous deals treacherously,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam;
lay siege, Media!
I put an end to all of her sighing.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth.
I am too bent to hear,[b]
I am too dismayed to see.[c]
4 My mind[d] staggers; fear terrifies me;
the twilight I desired[e] brought[f] me fear.
5 Set out the table in order!
Spread out the rugs![g]
Eat! drink!
Rise up, commanders;
smear[h] the shield!
6 For the Lord said this to me:
“Go, set a watchman in position.
He must announce what he sees.
7 When[i] he sees riders,[j]
a pair of horsemen,
riders[k] of donkeys,[l]
riders[m] of camels,[n]
then[o] he must listen attentively,
paying attention, paying special[p] attention.”
8 Then[q] the watchman[r] called,
“Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day,
and I am standing at my post throughout[s] the night.
9 And look at this! A man’s a chariot is coming,
a pair of horsemen!”
Then[t] he responded and said,
“It has fallen! Babylon has fallen!
And all the images of her gods are[u] smashed on the ground!”
10 My downtrodden people
and the son of my threshing floor,
I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.
Oracle regarding Dumah
11 The oracle of Dumah:
One is calling to me from Seir,
12 The watchman says,
“Morning comes,
and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”[x]
Oracle against Arabia
13 An oracle concerning[y] Arabia:
You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau,[z]
caravans of Dedanites.
14 When you happen to meet[aa] the thirsty, bring water.
Inhabitants of the land of Tema came to meet the fugitive with his bread.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword and the bent bow,
and from the heaviness of the battle.
16 For the Lord said this to me:
“In one more year,[ab] like the years of a hired worker,
all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 And the remainder of the number of the bows[ac] of the warriors of the sons of Kedar will be few.”
For Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Literally “to come”
- Isaiah 21:3 Literally “bent from hearing,” which could also mean “bent because of what I heard”
- Isaiah 21:3 Literally “dismayed from seeing,” which could also mean “dismayed because of what I saw”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “heart”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “of my desire”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 21:5 Hebrew “rug”
- Isaiah 21:5 That is, prepare with oil
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “And”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “donkey”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “camel”
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “and”
- Isaiah 21:7 Literally “much”
- Isaiah 21:8 Or “And”
- Isaiah 21:8 Literally “lion”
- Isaiah 21:8 Literally “all of”
- Isaiah 21:9 Or “and”
- Isaiah 21:9 Hebrew “is”
- Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 21:12 Literally “return come”
- Isaiah 21:13 Literally “in”
- Isaiah 21:13 The Hebrew for “in a desert-plateau” is the same as for “concerning Arabia” in the preceding line
- Isaiah 21:14 Literally “Toward encountering”
- Isaiah 21:16 Literally “In yet a year”
- Isaiah 21:17 Hebrew “bow”
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