Isaiah 21
21
The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed
1The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.
As #Zech. 9:14whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2A distressing vision is declared to me;
#Is. 33:1The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
#Is. 13:17; 22:6; Jer. 49:34Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.
3Therefore #Is. 15:5; 16:11my loins are filled with pain;
#Is. 13:8Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
#Deut. 28:67The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5#Jer. 51:39; Dan. 5:5Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!
6For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the #Hab. 2:1watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
#Is. 13:19; 47:5, 9; 48:14; Jer. 51:8; Dan. 5:28, 31; Rev. 14:8; 18:2“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And #Is. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”
10#Jer. 51:33; Mic. 4:13Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
Proclamation Against Edom
11#Gen. 25:14; 1 Chr. 1:30; Josh. 15:52The burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of #Gen. 32:3; Jer. 49:7; Ezek. 35:2; Obad. 1Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
12The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”
Proclamation Against Arabia
13#Jer. 25:24; 49:28The burden against Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies #Gen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1:9, 32; Jer. 25:23; Ezek. 27:15of Dedanites.
14O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
16For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, #Is. 16:14according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of #Ps. 120:5; Song 1:5; Is. 42:11; 60:7; Ezek. 27:21Kedar will fail; 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
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Isaiah 21: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 21
21
A Message about Babylon
1This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea#21:1 Hebrew concerning the desert by the sea.:
Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
2I see a terrifying vision:
I see the betrayer betraying,
the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
to all the groaning Babylon caused.
3My stomach aches and burns with pain.
Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;
I am too afraid to look.
4My mind reels and my heart races.
I longed for evening to come,
but now I am terrified of the dark.
5Look! They are preparing a great feast.
They are spreading rugs for people to sit on.
Everyone is eating and drinking.
But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle.
You are being attacked!
6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
Let him shout out what he sees.
7He should look for chariots
drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
Let the watchman be fully alert.”
8Then the watchman#21:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads a lion. called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
Night after night I have remained at my post.
9Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
“Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
lie broken on the ground!”
10O my people, threshed and winnowed,
I have told you everything the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said,
everything the God of Israel has told me.
A Message about Edom
11This message came to me concerning Edom#21:11a Hebrew Dumah, which means “silence” or “stillness.” It is a wordplay on the word Edom.:
Someone from Edom#21:11b Hebrew Seir, another name for Edom. keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until morning?
When will the night be over?”
12The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon return.
If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13This message came to me concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan,
hide in the deserts of Arabia.
14O people of Tema,
bring water to these thirsty people,
food to these weary refugees.
15They have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and the terrors of battle.
16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day,#21:16 Hebrew Within a year, as a servant bound by contract would count it. Some ancient manuscripts read Within three years, as in 16:14. all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the Lord, the God of Israel, have spoken!”
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