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
Isaiah 21
Good News Translation
A Vision of the Fall of Babylon
21 This is a message about Babylonia.
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. 2 I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction.
Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering which Babylon has caused.
3 What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain, pain like that of a woman in labor. 4 My head is spinning, and I am trembling with fear. I had been longing for evening to come, but it has brought me nothing but terror.
5 In the vision a banquet is ready; rugs are spread for the guests to sit on. They are eating and drinking. Suddenly the command rings out: “Officers! Prepare your shields!”
6 Then the Lord said to me, “Go and post a sentry, and tell him to report what he sees. 7 If he sees riders coming on horseback, two by two, and riders on donkeys and camels, he is to observe them carefully.”
8 The sentry calls out, “Sir, I have been standing guard at my post day and night.”
9 (A)Suddenly, here they come! Riders on horseback, two by two. The sentry gives the news, “Babylon has fallen! All the idols they worshiped lie shattered on the ground.”
10 My people Israel, you have been threshed like wheat, but now I have announced to you the good news that I have heard from the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel.
A Message about Edom
11 This is a message about Edom.
Someone calls to me from Edom, “Sentry, how soon will the night be over? Tell me how soon it will end.”
12 I answer, “Morning is coming, but night will come again. If you want to ask again, come back and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia.
People of Dedan, you whose caravans camp in the barren country of Arabia, 14 give water to the thirsty people who come to you. You people of the land of Tema, give food to the refugees. 15 People are fleeing to escape from swords that are ready to kill them, from bows that are ready to shoot, from all the dangers of war.
16 Then the Lord said to me, “In exactly one year the greatness of the tribes of Kedar will be at an end. 17 The archers are the bravest warriors of Kedar, but few of them will be left. I, the Lord God of Israel, have spoken.”
Isaiah 21
Authorized (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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.