Isaiah 21:1-10
New American Standard Bible
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken
21 The (A)pronouncement concerning the [a](B)wilderness of the sea:
As (C)windstorms in the [b]Negev come in turns,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
2 A (D)harsh vision has been shown to me;
The (E)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, (F)Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have put an end to all [c]the groaning she has caused.
3 For this reason my (G)loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a (H)woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
4 My [d]mind reels, [e]horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been (I)turned into trembling for me.
5 They (J)set the table, they [f]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”
6 For this is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, station the lookout, have him (K)report what he sees.
7 When he sees [g]a (L)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”
8 Then [h]the lookout called,
“(M)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
9 Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “(N)Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the (O)images of her gods [i]are shattered on the ground.”
10 My (P)downtrodden people, and my [j]afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Or sandy wastes, sea country
- Isaiah 21:1 I.e., South country
- Isaiah 21:2 Lit her groaning
- Isaiah 21:4 Lit heart has wandered
- Isaiah 21:4 Lit shuddering
- Isaiah 21:5 Or spread out the rugs or possibly they arranged the seating
- Isaiah 21:7 Or riders
- Isaiah 21:8 As in DSS; MT he called like a lion
- Isaiah 21:9 Lit he has shattered to the earth
- Isaiah 21:10 Lit son
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
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