Isaiah 21
21
Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
1The #See ch. 13:1 oracle concerning the wilderness of #Jer. 51:36, 42 the sea.
#
Jer. 51:1
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2A stern vision is told to me;
# ch. 24:16; 33:1 the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O #See ch. 11:11 Elam;
lay siege, O #See ch. 13:17 Media;
all the #Ezek. 9:4sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
# See ch. 13:8 pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
# [Deut. 28:67] the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5 #
Jer. 51:39, 57 They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,#21:5 Or they set the watchman
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
#
2 Sam. 1:21
oil the shield!
6For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8Then he who saw cried out:#21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion
#
Hab. 2:1
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
# [Hab. 2:2] And he answered,
#
Jer. 51:8; Cited Rev. 14:8; 18:2 “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
# ch. 46:1 and all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10O #Jer. 51:33; Amos 1:3; [Mic. 4:13]my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11The #See ch. 13:1 oracle concerning #Gen. 25:14; 1 Chr. 1:30 Dumah.
One is calling to me from #Deut. 2:8; Ezek. 35:2Seir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also #[Job 36:20; Amos 5:8] the night.
If you will inquire, #[Ps. 37:36]inquire;
come back again.”
13The #See ch. 13:1 oracle concerning #Gen. 25:3; Jer. 25:23, 24 Arabia.
In the thickets in #Gen. 25:3; Jer. 25:23, 24 Arabia you will lodge,
O #[Gen. 37:25]caravans of #Gen. 25:3; Jer. 25:23, 24 Dedanites.
14To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of #Job 6:19Tema.
15For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, #See ch. 16:14 according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of #ch. 60:7; Gen. 25:13; Ps. 120:5, 6; Song 1:5; Jer. 2:10; 49:28; Ezek. 27:21Kedar will come to an end. 17And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of #[See ver. 16 above] Kedar will be few, #ch. 1:20for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 21: ESV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV:
Isaiah 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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Amplified® Bible
Copyright © 2015 by
The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
All rights reserved. http://www.lockman.org