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Isaiah 21:1-10
New International Version
Isaiah 21:1-10
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
Isaiah 21:1-10
International Standard Version
Isaiah 21:1-10
International Standard Version
Elam and Media are Rebuked
21 A message[a] concerning the pasture[b] by the Sea.
“Like whirlwinds in the Negev[c] sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a distant[d] land.
2 A dire vision has been announced to me:
the traitor betrays,
and the plunderer takes loot.
Get up, Elam!
Attack, Media!
I am putting a stop
to all the groaning she has caused.
3 Therefore my body is[e] racked with pain;
pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am so upset that I cannot hear;
I am so frightened that I cannot see
while I’m reeling around.[f]
4 And as for my heart,[g] horror has terrified me;
the twilight I longed for
has started to make me tremble.
5 They set the tables;
they spread the carpets;[h]
they eat, they drink!
Get up, you officers!
Oil the shields!”
The Fall of Babylon
6 For this is what the Lord told me:
“Go post a lookout.
Have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots, each man[i] with a pair of horses,
riders on donkeys or riders on[j] camels,
let him pay attention,
full attention.”
8 Then the lookout[k] shouted:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and I am stationed at my post
throughout the night.
9 Look! Here come riders,[l]
each man with a pair of horses!”
They’re shouting out the answer:
“Babylon has fallen, has fallen,
and they have shattered
all the images of her gods[m] on the ground!
10 O my downtrodden people,[n] my wall![o]
I’ll tell you what I have heard
from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Lit. An oracle
- Isaiah 21:1 Or plague; cf. Isa 5:17; 1King 8:37; Jer 14:12; MT LXX read wilderness
- Isaiah 21:1 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Isaiah 21:1 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT LXX read terrible
- Isaiah 21:3 Or waist; lit. my hips and lower back are
- Isaiah 21:3 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa; MT LXX begin v. 4 with this line
- Isaiah 21:4 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa; MT LXX read 4 My mind reels
- Isaiah 21:5 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 21:7 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa; cf. v. 9; MT LXX lack each man
- Isaiah 21:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads train of donkeys or train of
- Isaiah 21:8 So 1QIsaa Syr; MT reads Then a lion
- Isaiah 21:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads chariot; cf. v. 7
- Isaiah 21:9 So 1QIsaa; LXX reads all the images of her gods are shattered; MT reads He has shattered all the images of her gods
- Isaiah 21:10 1QIsaa lacks people
- Isaiah 21:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads my threshing floor
New International Version (NIV) 
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International Standard Version (ISV) 
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