Isaiah 21
21
A Prophecy Against Babylon
1Here is a prophecy against Babylon that the Lord gave me. Babylon is known as the Desert by the Sea.
An attack is coming through the desert.
It is coming from a land of terror.
It’s sweeping along like a windstorm blowing across the Negev Desert.
2I have seen a vision about something terrible that will happen.
People are turning against Babylon.
Robbers are taking its goods.
Elamites, attack the city! Medes, surround it!
The Lord will put an end to all the suffering Babylon has caused.
3The vision fills my body with pain.
Pains take hold of me.
They are like the pains of a woman having a baby.
I am shaken by what I hear.
I’m terrified by what I see.
4My heart grows weak.
Fear makes me tremble.
I longed for evening to come.
But it brought me horror instead of rest.
5In my vision the Babylonians set the tables.
They spread out the rugs.
They eat and drink.
Get up, you officers!
Rub your shields with oil!
6The Lord said to me,
“Go. Put a guard on duty on Jerusalem’s walls.
Have him report what he sees.
7Tell him to watch for chariots
that are pulled by teams of horses.
Tell him to watch for men riding on donkeys or camels.
Make sure he stays awake.
Make sure he stays wide awake.”
8“My master!” the guard shouts back.
“Day after day I stand here on the lookout tower.
Every night I stay here on duty.
9Look! Here comes a man in a chariot!
It’s being pulled by a team of horses.
He’s calling out the news,
‘Babylon has fallen! It has fallen!
All the statues of its gods
lie broken in pieces on the ground!’ ”
10My people, you have been crushed
like grain on a threshing floor.
But now I’m telling you the good news I’ve heard.
It comes from the Lord who rules over all.
He is the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11Here is a prophecy against Edom that the Lord gave me.
Someone is calling out to me from the land of Seir. He says,
“Guard, when will the night be over?
Guard, how soon will it end?”
12The guard answers,
“Morning is coming, but the night will return.
If you want to ask again,
come back and ask.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13Here is a prophecy against Arabia that the Lord gave me.
He told me to give orders to traders from Dedan.
They were camping in the bushes of Arabia.
14I told them to bring water for those who are thirsty.
I also gave orders to those who live in Tema.
I told them to bring food for those who are running away.
15They are running away from where the fighting is heaviest.
That’s where the swords are ready to strike.
That’s where the bows are ready to shoot.
16The Lord spoke to me. He said, “In exactly one year, Kedar’s splendor will come to an end. 17Only a few of Kedar’s soldiers who shoot arrows will be left alive.” The Lord has spoken. He is the God of Israel.
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Isaiah 21: NIrV
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Isaiah 21
21
The Fall of Babylon
1The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:
As storm winds passing over in the Negev,
it comes#Literally “to come” from the desert,
from a frightful land.
2A hard revelation is told to me;
the treacherous deals treacherously,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam;
lay siege, Media!
I put an end to all of her sighing.
3Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth.
I am too bent to hear,#Literally “bent from hearing,” which could also mean “bent because of what I heard”
I am too dismayed to see.#Literally “dismayed from seeing,” which could also mean “dismayed because of what I saw”
4My mind#Literally “heart” staggers; fear terrifies me;
the twilight I desired#Literally “of my desire” brought#Literally “put” me fear.
5Set out the table in order!
Spread out the rugs!#Hebrew “rug”
Eat! drink!
Rise up, commanders;
smear#That is, prepare with oil the shield!
6For the Lord said this to me:
“Go, set a watchman in position.
He must announce what he sees.
7When#Or “And” he sees riders,#Hebrew “rider”
a pair of horsemen,
riders#Hebrew “rider” of donkeys,#Hebrew “donkey”
riders#Hebrew “rider” of camels,#Hebrew “camel”
then#Or “and” he must listen attentively,
paying attention, paying special#Literally “much” attention.”
8Then#Or “And” the watchman#Literally “lion” called,
“Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day,
and I am standing at my post throughout#Literally “all of” the night.
9And look at this! A man’s a chariot is coming,
a pair of horsemen!”
Then#Or “and” he responded and said,
“It has fallen! Babylon has fallen!
And all the images of her gods are#Hebrew “is” smashed on the ground!”
10My downtrodden people
and the son of my threshing floor,
I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.
Oracle regarding Dumah
11The oracle of Dumah:
One is calling to me from Seir,
“Watchman, what of#Literally “from” the night?
Watchman, what of#Literally “from” the night?”
12The watchman says,
“Morning comes,
and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”#Literally “return come”
Oracle against Arabia
13An oracle concerning#Literally “in” Arabia:
You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau,#The Hebrew for “in a desert-plateau” is the same as for “concerning Arabia” in the preceding line
caravans of Dedanites.
14When you happen to meet#Literally “Toward encountering” the thirsty, bring water.
Inhabitants of the land of Tema came to meet the fugitive with his bread.
15For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword and the bent bow,
and from the heaviness of the battle.
16For the Lord said this to me:
“In one more year,#Literally “In yet a year” like the years of a hired worker,
all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17And the remainder of the number of the bows#Hebrew “bow” of the warriors of the sons of Kedar will be few.”
For Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.
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