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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.

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.

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]
My mind[d] staggers; fear terrifies me;
    the twilight I desired[e] brought[f] me fear.
Set out the table in order!
    Spread out the rugs![g]
    Eat! drink!
Rise up, commanders;
    smear[h] the shield!

For the Lord said this to me:

“Go, set a watchman in position.
    He must announce what he sees.
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.”

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.
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,

“Watchman, what of[v] the night?
    Watchman, what of[w] the night?”

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

  1. Isaiah 21:1 Literally “to come”
  2. Isaiah 21:3 Literally “bent from hearing,” which could also mean “bent because of what I heard”
  3. Isaiah 21:3 Literally “dismayed from seeing,” which could also mean “dismayed because of what I saw”
  4. Isaiah 21:4 Literally “heart”
  5. Isaiah 21:4 Literally “of my desire”
  6. Isaiah 21:4 Literally “put”
  7. Isaiah 21:5 Hebrew “rug”
  8. Isaiah 21:5 That is, prepare with oil
  9. Isaiah 21:7 Or “And”
  10. Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
  11. Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
  12. Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “donkey”
  13. Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
  14. Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “camel”
  15. Isaiah 21:7 Or “and”
  16. Isaiah 21:7 Literally “much”
  17. Isaiah 21:8 Or “And”
  18. Isaiah 21:8 Literally “lion”
  19. Isaiah 21:8 Literally “all of”
  20. Isaiah 21:9 Or “and”
  21. Isaiah 21:9 Hebrew “is”
  22. Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
  23. Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
  24. Isaiah 21:12 Literally “return come”
  25. Isaiah 21:13 Literally “in”
  26. Isaiah 21:13 The Hebrew for “in a desert-plateau” is the same as for “concerning Arabia” in the preceding line
  27. Isaiah 21:14 Literally “Toward encountering”
  28. Isaiah 21:16 Literally “In yet a year”
  29. Isaiah 21:17 Hebrew “bow”

Caída de Babilonia

21 Oráculo desde la estepa marítima:

Igual que torbellinos
que barren el Négueb,
vienen de la estepa,
de un país temible.
Una visión terrible
me ha sido revelada:
un traidor que traiciona,
un devastador que devasta.
¡Atacad, elamitas;
medos, al asedio!
¡Pondré fin a su orgullo!
Por eso mis entrañas
se llenan de espasmos;
angustias me atenazan
como de parturienta.
Me inquieto al oírlo,
al verlo me espanto;
me siento turbado,
me espanta el terror;
la tarde anhelada
sólo trae temblor.
¡Preparad la mesa,
poned el mantel,
comed y bebed!
¡En pie, oficiales;
bruñid los escudos!
Así me ha dicho el Señor:
Ve e instala un vigía,
que anuncie lo que vea.
Si ve gente montada,
un par de jinetes,
a lomos de burros,
a lomos de camellos,
que escuche atento,
con mucha atención.
Gritó el centinela:
“En la atalaya estoy,
Señor, vigilante
siempre de día;
en mi puesto de guardia
estoy sin moverme
toda la noche.
Mirad, ahí vienen
hombres cabalgando,
un par de jinetes”.
Alguien dijo entonces:
“Cayó, cayó Babilonia,
todas las estatuas de sus dioses
yacen por tierra hechas añicos”.
10 Pueblo mío machacado,
trillado en la era,
te comunico lo que he oído
al Señor del universo,
al Dios de Israel.

Desde Seir-Edom

11 Oráculo sobre Dumá:
Me gritan desde Seír:
“Centinela, ¿cuánto queda,
cuánto queda de la noche?”.
12 Responde el centinela:
“Ya llega la mañana,
pero aún es de noche.
Si queréis preguntar,
volved otra vez”.

Dedanitas y quedaritas

13 Oráculo en la estepa:
Pernoctad en el oasis de la estepa,
caravanas de Dedán.
14 Recibid con agua a los sedientos,
habitantes de Temá,
llevad pan a los que huyen.
15 Van huyendo de la espada,
de la espada afilada,
de los arcos tensados,
de la dura batalla.

16 Así me ha dicho el Señor: Dentro de un año, de un año de jornalero, acabará el esplendor de Quedar. 17 Se verá reducido el número de los arqueros de Quedar. Quedarán unos pocos. Ha hablado el Señor, Dios de Israel.

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.

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.

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.
My heart(L) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror(N) to me.

They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!(P)

This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout(Q)
    and have him report what he sees.
When he sees chariots(R)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

And the lookout[a](T) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
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

  1. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
  2. Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.