Isaiah 21
21
God’s Message to Babylon
1This is a message about the Desert by the Sea:
Disaster is coming from the desert
like wind blowing in the south.
It is coming from a terrible country.
2I have seen a terrible vision.
I see traitors turning against you
and people taking your wealth.
Elam, attack the people!
Media, surround the city and attack it!
I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain;
my pains are like the pains of giving birth.
What I hear makes me very afraid;
what I see causes me to shake with fear.
4I am worried,
and I am shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening
has become a night of fear.
5They set the table;
they spread the rugs;
they eat and drink.
Leaders, stand up.
Prepare the shields for battle!
6The Lord said to me,
“Go, place a lookout for the city
and have him report what he sees.
7If he sees chariots and teams of horses,
donkeys, or camels,
he should pay very close attention.”
8Then the lookout called out,
“My master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching;
every night I have been on guard.
9Look, I see a man coming in a chariot
with a team of horses.”
The man gives back the answer,
“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!
All the statues of her gods
lie broken on the ground.”
10My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.
My people, I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord All-Powerful,
from the God of Israel.
God’s Message to Edom
11This is a message about Dumah:
Someone calls to me from Edom,
“Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much longer will it be night?”
12The watchman answers,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something to ask,
then come back and ask.”
God’s Message to Arabia
13This is a message about Arabia:
A group of traders from Dedan
spent the night near some trees in Arabia.
14They gave water to thirsty travelers;
the people of Tema gave food
to those who were escaping.
15They were running from swords,
from swords ready to kill,
from bows ready to shoot,
from a hard battle.
16This is what the Lord said to me: “In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.) 17At that time only a few of the archers, the soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
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Isaiah 21: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 21
21
A Judgment on Babylon
1A pronouncement#Is 13:1 concerning the desert by the sea:#Is 13:20–22; 14:23; 21:9; Jr 51:41–44
Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
2A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously,#Is 24:16; 33:1
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”
3Therefore I am#21:3 Lit my waist is, or my insides are filled with anguish.
Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.#Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 16:11; 26:17–18; Jr 4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9–10; 1Th 5:3
I am too perplexed to hear,
too dismayed to see.
4My heart staggers;
horror terrifies me.
He has turned my last glimmer of hope#21:4 Lit my twilight
into sheer terror.#Dt 28:67
5Prepare a table,#Jr 51:39,57; Dn 5:1–4 and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!
6For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
7When he sees riders —
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels —
he must pay close attention.”
8Then the lookout#21:8 DSS, Syr; MT reads Then a lion reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,#Hab 2:1
and I stay at my post all night.
9Look, riders come —
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen,#2Sm 1:19; Is 3:8; 14:12; Jr 51:8; Ezk 32:22; Rv 14:8; 18:2 has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.”#Is 46:1; Jr 50:2; 51:44
10My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor,#Jr 51:33; Mc 4:13
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the Lord of Armies,
the God of Israel.
A Pronouncement against Dumah
11A pronouncement#Is 21:1 concerning Dumah:#21:11 Some Hb mss, LXX read Edom#Gn 25:14
One calls to me from Seir,#Dt 2:8; Ezk 35:2
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12The watchman said,
“Morning has come, and also night.
If you want to ask, ask!
Come back again.”
A Pronouncement against Arabia
13A pronouncement concerning Arabia:#Jr 25:23–24; 49:28
In the desert#21:13 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read desert at evening brush
you will camp for the night,
you caravans of Dedanites.#Gn 10:7; Jr 25:23; 49:8; Ezk 27:15
14Bring water for the thirsty.
The inhabitants of the land of Tema#Gn 25:15; Jb 6:19
meet#21:14 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read meet as a command the refugees with food.
15For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.
16For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year,#Is 16:14 as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar#Ps 120:5; Sg 1:5; Is 42:11; 60:7; Jr 2:10; Ezk 27:21 will be gone. 17The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
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