Isaiah 21:1-10
Christian Standard Bible
A Judgment on Babylon
21 A pronouncement(A) concerning the desert by the sea:(B)
Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
2 A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously,(C)
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”
3 Therefore I am[a] filled with anguish.
Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.(D)
I am too perplexed to hear,
too dismayed to see.
4 My heart staggers;
horror terrifies me.
He has turned my last glimmer of hope[b]
into sheer terror.(E)
5 Prepare a table,(F) and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!
6 For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
7 When he sees riders—
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels—
he must pay close attention.”
8 Then the lookout[c] reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,(G)
and I stay at my post all night.
9 Look, riders come—
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen,(H) has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.”(I)
10 My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor,(J)
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the Lord of Armies,
the God of Israel.
Isaiah 21:1-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Oracles concerning Babylon, Edom, and Arabia
21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.(A)
2 A stern vision is told to me;
the betrayer betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.(B)
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.(C)
4 My mind reels; horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.(D)
5 They prepare the table;
they spread the rugs;
they eat; they drink.
Rise up, commanders;
oil the shield!(E)
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, post a lookout;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him watch closely,
very closely.”(F)
8 Then the watcher[a] called out:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
throughout the night.(G)
9 Look, there they come, riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
Then he responded,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”(H)
10 O my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.(I)
Footnotes
- 21.8 Q ms Syr Vg: MT a lion
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.