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”
Isaiah 21
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.
以赛亚书 21
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
關於巴比倫的預言
21 關於海旁曠野的默示：
有敵人從曠野，從可怕之地而來，
好像南地的暴風猛烈掃過一般。
2 我被指示去看一個慘酷的異象：
那行詭詐的仍然行詭詐，那行破壞的仍然行破壞。
以攔哪，上去吧！瑪代啊，圍攻吧！
我要使一切歎息止住。
3 因此，我滿腰疼痛，
痛苦抓住我，好像產婦的痛苦一樣；
我絞痛彎腰至聽不見，我驚惶至看不到。
4 我的心迷糊，驚恐威嚇著我；
我所愛慕的黃昏，竟使我戰兢。
5 他們擺設筵席，鋪張地氈，又吃又喝。
領袖們，起來吧！用油抹淨盾牌。
6 因為主這樣對我說：
“你去設立守望的，叫他把所看見的報告出來。
7 他一看見騎兵一對一對而來，
又有驢隊和駱駝隊，
他就要留意，非常留意。”
8 後來，守望者（按照《馬索拉文本》，“守望者”作“獅子”；現參照《死海古卷》和敍利亞文古譯本翻譯）喊叫著說：
“主啊！我每日不斷站在守望樓上，
每夜立在我守望的崗位中。
9 看哪！有一隊騎兵來了，馬兵一對一對而來。”
又有人答話說：“傾倒了，巴比倫傾倒了！
它所有雕刻的神像都被打碎在地上了。”
10 我那被打的禾稼啊！我禾場上的穀啊！
我從萬軍之耶和華，以色列的 神那裡聽見的，
都告訴你們了。
關於以東的預言
11 關於以東（“以東”原文作“度瑪”，意即寂靜，在這裡暗示以東的困境的）默示：
有人從西珥呼叫我說：
“守望的啊！黑夜還有多長？
守望的啊！黑夜還有多長？”
12 守望的說：
“早晨到了，黑夜也會再來；
你們若要問，就儘管問；
也可以回頭再來問。”
關於阿拉伯的預言
13 關於阿拉伯的默示：
底但的商隊啊！
你們必在阿拉伯的森林中住宿。
14 提瑪地的居民哪！
要拿水來給那些口渴的，
拿餅來接待那些逃難的。
15 因為他們逃避了刀劍、
已出鞘的刀劍和上了弦的弓，
以及嚴重的戰禍。
16 主對我這樣說：“按照雇工的年數，一年之內，基達的一切光榮都必化為烏有。 17 弓箭手剩餘的人數，就是基達人的勇士，必定很少；這是耶和華以色列的 神說的。”
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