Isaiah 21
21
A Prophecy concerning Babylon
1Here is a prophecy concerning Babylon, the Desert by the Sea: # 21:1 That is, by the Persian Gulf.
As whirlwinds rushing in from the southland,
an invader # 21:1 Or “disaster.” comes in from the desert, from a land to be feared.
2A terrifying revelation has been given to me:
The betrayer betrays; the destroyer destroys.
Arise, you Elamites! # 21:2 Elam (Elam means “hidden” or “concealed”) is the modern-day coastal area of Iran. Media (Media means “middle-land”) is the north-central region of Iran. Both regions made up a major portion of the Persian Empire, which destroyed Babylon in 539 BC. Lay siege, you Medes! # 21:2 It is as though God is commanding Babylon’s enemies to betray and destroy her. This prophecy was given to Isaiah two hundred years before it took place.
I will put an end
to all the grief she brought to the nations.
3There’s a churning deep inside me,
like labor pains of a woman about to give birth.
I’m too anguished by what I hear
and too frightened by what I see. # 21:3 Or “too anguished to hear, too frightened to see.”
4My mind is reeling; I’m filled with panic.
I longed for twilight, but now I tremble through the night. # 21:4 The wording of vv. 3–4 seems to indicate that Isaiah is brought into a state of prophetic ecstasy as he shook under the intensity of the weight of the prophetic utterance. See Scott, Vestus Testamentum 2, 1952, 278–282.
5I see them prepare the table and spread their rugs,
then they eat and they drink. # 21:5 It’s as though Isaiah saw prophetically into the room where Belshazzar was feasting, and Belshazzar had no clue his fall was imminent (see Dan. 5).
Get up, you military officers! Anoint your shields # 21:5 Or “Oil your shields.” for battle!
6For this is what the Lord said to me:
“Go post a sentry and have him report what he sees.
7When he sees them come with chariots
and advancing warriors riding on horses, donkeys, and camels,
let him be alert—extremely alert!”
8Then the sentry cries out, # 21:8 Or “He cried out, ‘A lion!’ ” See Rev. 5:5.
“I continually stand on this watchtower day after day
for you, O Lord.
I’m stationed at my post throughout the night. # 21:8 The New Testament ministry of a “watchman” is that of an intercessor. It is important that every church and every city has intercessors to “stand on this watchtower day after day.”
9Look! Someone’s coming!
It’s a man in a chariot with a team of horses.
He shouts out, ‘Fallen, fallen, Babylon has fallen!
All the idols of their gods lie shattered on the ground!’ ”
10My people, lying crushed on the threshing floor,
I declare to you what I have heard from the God of Israel,
Yahweh, the Commander of Angel Armies.
A Prophecy concerning Dumah (Edom)
11Here is a prophecy about Dumah: # 21:11 Dumah is a location in northern Arabia and is a poetic term for Edom, an ancient kingdom situated south of the Dead Sea. Dumah means “stillness [of death].” It was the land of Esau’s descendants. See Gen. 32:3; Num. 24:18. The Hebrew root word for “Edom” is “Adam.”
Someone keeps calling me from the land of Edom, # 21:11 Or “Seir,” a mountain in Edom. This is another name for the land inhabited by the Edomites. Seir means “hairy goat,” “faun,” or “satyr.” It is found thirty-nine times in the Old Testament. saying,
“Watchman, how much longer is the night?
Watchman, how much longer is the night?”
12The watchman answers,
“Morning comes, but a dark night endures. # 21:12 Or “Morning [a new day] is coming, but so is night [judgment].”
If you want to ask again, then come back and ask.” # 21:12 Or “Turn [repent], then come back and ask again.”
A Prophecy Concerning Arabia
13A prophecy concerning Arabia:
You caravans from Dedan,
you will camp among the thickets in the desert land of Arabia. # 21:13 That is, they will be forced off the beaten path to hide from the invading Assyrians. The Dedanites were merchants who shipped their goods to Tyre (Phoenicia). Arabia, or “the land of Arabs,” means “sterility,” “darkened,” “intermixed,” “stranger,” “barren,” or “wild.” Arabia is mentioned six times in the Old Testament. See Gal. 1:17.
14People of Tema, # 21:14 Tema was a descendant of Abraham (see 1 Chron. 1:28–30). Tema (modern-day Tayma) is also a city in northern Saudi Arabia. Tema means “sunny,” “good fortune,” or “prosperity.” come and bring water to the thirsty
and bread for the fugitives.
15For they have fled from the battle, from the drawn swords,
from the bent bows, and from the weight of warfare.
16This is what the Sovereign God said to me:
“Within exactly one year, # 21:16 Or “Within one year according to the years of a hired worker.”
all the splendor of Kedar # 21:16 Kedar means “dark skinned.” Kedar was a son of Ishmael, and his descendants settled in the Arabian desert. Kedar is likely a metonymy for northern Arabia. will end.
17And all the weapons left of Kedar’s warriors will be few,
for the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
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Isaiah 21: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationIsaiah 21
21
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the #Probably a reference to the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and their tributaries which overflowed their banks like a sea. Great dams were constructed to control their floodwaters.Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):
As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,
So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.
2A harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!
All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end.
3Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;
I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.
4My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been #The vision reveals the events to occur at the feast of Belshazzar—the defilement of the golden articles taken from God’s temple, the handwriting on the wall, the murder of Babylon’s great king.turned into fear and trembling for me.
5They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar’s court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!”
6This is what the Lord says to me,
“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees.
7When he sees a chariot, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys and a train of camels,
Let him pay attention and listen closely, very closely.”
8And the lookout called like a lion,
“O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower by day,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
9Now look! Here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the carved images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”
10O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor.
What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].
Oracles about Edom and Arabia
11The [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning Dumah (Edom):
Someone keeps calling to me from Seir (Edom),
“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?
Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]”
12The watchman says,
“The morning comes [only briefly], but also [comes] the night [of Babylonian oppression].
If you would ask [of me then], ask [again, if Edom really wishes to know];
Come back again.”
13The [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning Arabia:
In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night,
Caravans of Dedanites.
14Bring water for the thirsty [Dedanites],
O inhabitants of the land of Tema [in Arabia];
Meet the fugitive with bread.
15For they have fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, from the bent bow
And from the press of battle and grief of war.
16For the Lord has said this to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired man [who will work no longer than was agreed], all the splendor of [the tribe of] Kedar will end; 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
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