Isaiah 21
21
Fallen, fallen is Babylon
1An oracle about the wilderness near the sea.
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the arid southern plain,
it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.
2A harsh vision was proclaimed to me:
The betrayer betrays, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!
Put an end to all her groaning.
3Therefore, I’m shaken to my core in anguish.
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.
I’m too bent over to hear,
too dismayed to see.
4My heart pounds; convulsions overpower me.
He has turned my evening of pleasure into dread—
5setting the table, spreading the cloth, eating, drinking.
“Arise, captains!
Polish the shields.”
6The Lord said this to me:
“Go, post a lookout to report what he sees.
7When he sees chariots, pairs of horsemen,
donkey riders, camel riders,
he should listen carefully,
carefully, very carefully.”
8Then the seer#21.8 DSS (1QIsaa), Syr; MT a lion called out:
“Upon a watchtower, Lord,
I’m standing all day;
and upon my observation post
I’m stationed throughout the night.
9Here they come:
charioteers, pairs of horsemen!”
One spoke up and said,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
are shattered on the ground!”
10Oh, my downtrodden people, threshed on my threshing floor,
what I heard from the LORD of heavenly forces,
the God of Israel, I reported to you.
A mysterious dialogue
11An oracle about Dumah.#21.11 LXX Edom
Someone is calling to me from Seir:
“Guard, how long is the night?
Guard, how long is the night?”
12The guard said,
“Morning has come, but it is still night.
If you must inquire, inquire;
come back again.”
13An oracle about the desert.
In the woods, in the desert where you camp,
caravans of the Dedanites 14meet the thirsty with water;
inhabitants of the land of Tema greet the refugees with bread.
15They have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the intensity of battle.
16So the Lord said to me: Within a year, according to the number of years for which a laborer is hired, all the glory of Kedar will end; 17there will be few Kedarite archers remaining. The LORD God of Israel has spoken.
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Isaiah 21: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 21
21
The Fall of Babylonia#21 Title Babylonia: King Cyrus and his army of Medes and Persians captured the city of Babylon in 539 b.c.
1This is a message about a desert beside the sea:#21.1 This … sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. The prophet may be speaking of Babylonia as a desert, because of the terrible punishment God will bring on it. The southern part of Babylonia on the Persian Gulf was sometimes called “the land beside the sea.”
Enemies from a hostile nation
attack like a whirlwind
from the Southern Desert.
2What a horrible vision
was shown to me—
a vision of betrayal
and destruction.
Tell Elam and Media#21.2 Elam and Media: People from the Iranian highlands; the capital of Elam was Susa, in the hill country east of Babylon.
to surround and attack
the Babylonians.
The Lord has sworn to end
the suffering they caused.
3I'm in terrible pain
like a woman giving birth.
I'm shocked and hurt so much
that I can't hear or see.
4My head spins; I'm horrified!
Early evening, my favorite time,
has become a nightmare.
5In Babylon the high officials
were having a feast.
They were eating and drinking,
when someone shouted,
“Officers, take your places!
Grab your shields.”
6The Lord said to me,
“Send guards
to find out
what's going on.
7When they see cavalry troops
and columns of soldiers
on donkeys and camels,
tell them to be ready!”
8Then a guard#21.8 guard: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text has “lion.” said,
“I have stood day and night
on this watchtower, Lord.
9 #
Rev 14.8; 18.2. Now I see column after column
of cavalry troops.”
At once someone shouted,
“Babylon has fallen!
Every idol in the city
lies broken on the ground.”
10Then I said, “My people,
you have suffered terribly,
but I have a message for you
from the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel.”
How Much Longer?
11This is a message about Dumah:
From the country of Seir,#21.11 Dumah … Seir: Dumah was an oasis in the Arabian desert. One ancient translation has “Edom,” which may be what is meant. Seir is a mountainous region of Edom southwest of the Dead Sea.
someone shouts to me,
“Guard, how much longer
before daylight?”
12From my guard post, I answered,
“Morning will soon be here,
but night will return.
If you want to know more,
come back later.”
13This is a message for Arabs who live in the barren desert in the region of Dedan:#21.13 Dedan: A region in northwest Arabia.
You must order your caravans
14to bring water for those
who are thirsty.
You people of Tema#21.14 Tema: A region in north Arabia.
must bring food
for the hungry refugees.
15They are worn out and weary
from being chased by enemies
with swords and arrows.
16The Lord said to me:
A year from now the glory of the people of Kedar#21.16 Kedar: A region in the Arabian desert. will all come to an end, just as a worker's contract ends after a year. 17Only a few of their warriors will be left with bows and arrows. This is a promise that I, the Lord God of Israel, have made.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.