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
A Vision of the Fall of Babylon
1This is a message about Babylonia.
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. 2I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction.
Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering which Babylon has caused.
3What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain, pain like that of a woman in labour. 4My head is spinning, and I am trembling with fear. I had been longing for evening to come, but it has brought me nothing but terror.
5In the vision a banquet is ready; rugs are spread for the guests to sit on. They are eating and drinking. Suddenly the command rings out: “Officers! Prepare your shields!”
6Then the Lord said to me, “Go and post a sentry, and tell him to report what he sees. 7If he sees men coming on horseback, two by two, and men riding on donkeys and camels, he is to observe them carefully.”
8The sentry calls out, “Sir, I have been standing guard at my post day and night.”
9 #
Rev 14.8; 18.2 Suddenly, here they come! Men on horseback, two by two. The sentry gives the news, “Babylon has fallen! All the idols they worshipped lie shattered on the ground.”
10My people Israel, you have been threshed like wheat, but now I have announced to you the good news that I have heard from the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel.
A Message about Edom
11This is a message about Edom.
Someone calls to me from Edom, “Sentry, how soon will the night be over? Tell me how soon it will end.”
12I answer, “Morning is coming, but night will come again. If you want to ask again, come back and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13This is a message about Arabia.
You people of Dedan, whose caravans camp in the barren country of Arabia, 14give water to the thirsty people who come to you. You people of the land of Tema, give food to the refugees. 15People are fleeing to escape from swords that are ready to kill them, from bows that are ready to shoot, from all the dangers of war.
16Then the Lord said to me, “In exactly one year the greatness of the tribes of Kedar will be at an end. 17The bowmen are the bravest men of Kedar, but few of them will be left. I, the LORD God of Israel, have spoken.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.