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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Isaiah 21: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 21
21
1The message concerning the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep on, so it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.
2A distressing vision is revealed to me: the treacherous betrays, and the ravager ravages. Go up, O Ěylam! Besiege, O Media! All the groaning I bring to an end.
3Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labour. I was distressed when I heard it; I was troubled when I saw it.
4My heart reeled, horror overwhelmed me; the night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5Prepare the table, spread the mat, eat and drink. Arise, you princes, anoint the shield!
6For יהוה has said this 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 attentively, very attentively.
8Then he cried, “A lion, O יהוה! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and I have sat at my post every night.
9“And see this, a chariot of men coming with a pair of horsemen!” And he spoke up and said, “Baḇel is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her mighty ones He has broken to the ground.”
10Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, I have declared to you.
11The message concerning Dumah. He calls to me out of Sĕ‛ir, “Watchman, how much of the night is passed? Watchman, how much of the night has passed?”
12The watchman said, “Morning came, and also the night. If you inquire, inquire. Come again!”
13The message concerning Araḇia. In the forest in Araḇia you stay, O you travelling companies of Deḏanites.
14You who dwell in the land of Tĕma, bring water to him who is thirsty, meet the fugitive with bread.
15For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the stress of battle.
16For thus יהוה has said to me, “Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the esteem of Qĕḏar shall come to an end,
17and the rest of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Qĕḏar, shall be few. For יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl has spoken.”
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