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Isaiah 21
New King James Version
Isaiah 21
New King James Version
The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed
21 The [a]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.
As (A)whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision is declared to me;
(B)The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
(C)Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.
3 Therefore (D)my loins are filled with pain;
(E)Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was [b]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
(F)The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5 (G)Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!
6 For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 [c]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the (H)watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
(I)“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And (J)all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”
10 (K)Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
Proclamation Against Edom
11 (L)The [d]burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of (M)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;
Return! Come back!”
Proclamation Against Arabia
13 (N)The [e]burden against Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies (O)of Dedanites.
14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, (P)according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of (Q)Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
- Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
- Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy
Yeshayah 21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Yeshayah 21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
21 The massa (burden) concerning the Midbar Yam (desert by the sea). As sufot (whirlwinds) in the Negev sweep through; so it cometh from the midbar, from eretz nora’ah.
2 A chazut kashah (harsh vision) is declared unto me; the boged (traitor) dealeth treacherously, and the shoded (destroyer) destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the groaning she [Babylon] caused have I made to cease.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain; tzirim (pangs) have taken hold upon me, as the tzirim (pangs) of a woman in labor; I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4 My lev panted, fearfulness seized upon me; the neshef (twilight) of my longing hath become unto me as kharadah (shuddering horror).
5 [They are] setting the shulchan, spreading the tzafit (dining carpet), to eat, to drink; arise, ye sarim (princes), and anoint the mogen.
6 For thus hath Adonoi said unto me, Go, post the metzapeh (watchman), let him report what he seeth.
7 When he sees riders with a pair of parashim, donkey riders and camel riders, then he pays heed diligently with great care;
8 And the one seeing cried out, Adoni, I stand continually on the mitzpeh (watchtower) in the daytime, and I am set in my mishmeret (guard duty) kol halailot (every night),
9 And, hinei, here cometh a merkavah with a man, a pair of parashim. And he answered and said, Bavel (Babylon) is fallen, is fallen; and all the pesilim (images) of her elohim (g-ds) hath been shattered on the ground.
10 O my threshed [people], and the grain of my goren (threshing floor); that which I have heard of Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel, have I declared unto you.
11 The massa (burden) of Dumah [Edom]. One calleth to me out of Seir [Edom], Shomer (watchman), what of the lailah? Shomer, what of the lailah?
12 The shomer said, The boker cometh, and also the lailah; if ye will inquire, inquire ye; shuvu (return), come.
13 The massa (burden) concerning Arabia. In the ya’ar (forest) of Arabia shall ye encamp O ye caravans of Dedanim.
14 The inhabitants of Eretz Tema brought mayim to him that was tzameh (thirsty), they met with their lechem him that fled.
15 For they fled from the charavot (swords), from the drawn cherev, and from the bent keshet (bow), and from the grievousness of milchamah (war).
16 For thus hath Hashem said unto me, Within a shanah (year), according to the way a year is counted by a sakhir (hireling, hired servant), all the kavod of Kedar shall end;
17 And the remainder of the mispar (number) of archers, the gibborim (mighty men) of the Bnei Kedar, shall be few; for Hashem Elohei Yisroel hath spoken.
Isaiah 21
Living Bible
Isaiah 21
Living Bible
21 This is God’s message concerning Babylon:[a]
Disaster is roaring down upon you from the terrible desert, like a whirlwind sweeping from the Negeb. 2 I see an awesome vision: oh, the horror of it all! God is telling me what he is going to do. I see you plundered and destroyed. Elamites and Medes will take part in the siege. Babylon will fall, and the groaning of all the nations she enslaved will end. 3 My stomach constricts and burns with pain; sharp pangs of horror are upon me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth to a child. I faint when I hear what God is planning; I am terrified, blinded with dismay. 4 My mind reels; my heart races; I am gripped by awful fear. All rest at night—so pleasant once—is gone; I lie awake, trembling.
5 Look! They are preparing a great banquet! They load the tables with food; they pull up their chairs[b] to eat. . . . Quick, quick, grab your shields and prepare for battle! You are being attacked!
6-7 Meanwhile (in my vision)[c] the Lord had told me, “Put a watchman on the city wall to shout out what he sees. When he sees riders in pairs on donkeys and camels, tell him, ‘This is it!’”
8-9 So I put the watchman on the wall, and at last he shouted, “Sir, day after day and night after night I have been here at my post. Now at last—look! Here come riders in pairs!”
Then I heard a voice shout out, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground.”
10 O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you all that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said.
11 This is God’s message to Edom:[d]
Someone from among you keeps calling, calling to me: “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? How much time is left?” 12 The watchman replies, “Your judgment day is dawning now. Turn again to God, so that I can give you better news. Seek for him, then come and ask again!”
13 This is God’s message concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan, you will hide in the deserts of Arabia. 14 O people of Tema, bring food and water to these weary fugitives! 15 They have fled from drawn swords and sharp arrows and the terrors of war! 16 “But a long year from now,”[e] says the Lord, “the great power of their enemy, the mighty tribe of Kedar, will end. 17 Only a few of its stalwart archers will survive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Babylon, implied in v. 9.
- Isaiah 21:5 pull up their chairs, literally, “spread out the rugs.” You are being attacked. More details of the feast are seen in Daniel 5, as this prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus captured the city.
- Isaiah 21:6 in my vision, implied. riders in pairs on donkeys and camels, literally, “a troop, horsemen in pairs, riders on asses, riders on camels.” Possibly the meaning is that the asses and camels were paired for the attack. The city fell to the Medes and Persians, perhaps represented by these paired riders.
- Isaiah 21:11 Edom, literally, “Dumah.”
- Isaiah 21:16 But a long year from now. The Dead Sea manuscript reads, “within three years, according to the year of a hireling,” like 16:14. the great power of their enemy, implied.
Isaiah 21
New International Version
Isaiah 21
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
4 My heart(L) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(N) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(P)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(Q)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(R)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[a](T) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)
You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.