Isaiah 21
21
Babylon Has Fallen
1This is the divine revelation about the desert by the sea.
Like a storm sweeping through the Negev,
an invader will come from the desert,
from a terrifying land.
2I was shown a harsh vision.
The traitor betrays.
The destroyer destroys.
Go to war, Elam!
Surround them, Media!
I will put an end to all the groaning.
3That is why my body is full of trembling.
Pain grips me like the pain of childbirth.
I’m disturbed by what I hear.
I’m terrified by what I see.
4I’m confused.
I’m shaking with terror.
The twilight hours I longed for make me tremble.
5Set the table.
Spread the rugs ⌞by the table⌟.
Eat. Drink.
Get up, you leaders!
Prepare your shields for battle!
6This is what the Lord says to me:
Post a watchman.
Have him report whatever he sees.
7He will see chariots, pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys, and riders on camels.
Let him watch carefully, very carefully.
8The watchman #21:8 Syriac, Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text, Targum “lion”; Greek “Uriah.” called,
“Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day.
Every night, I stand guard at my post.
9Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs.”
Then he said,
“Babylon has fallen! It has fallen!
All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.”
10You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed.#21:10 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain. Winnowing is the process of separating husks from grain.
I make known to you what I heard from the Lord of Armies,
the God of Israel.
Someone Calling from Seir
11This is the divine revelation about Dumah.#21:11 The exact location of Dumah is unknown.
Someone is calling to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much of the night is left?”
12The watchman answers,
“Morning is coming, and night will come again.
If you need to ask, come back and ask.”
Arabia Will Be Punished
13This is the divine revelation about Arabia.
You caravan of travelers from the people of Dedan
will spend the night in the forest of Arabia.
14Bring water for the thirsty,
you inhabitants of the land of Tema.
Bring food to the fugitives.
15They flee from swords,
from swords ready to kill,
from bows ready to shoot,
and from the thick of battle.
16This is what the Lord says to me: All of Kedar’s honor will be gone in another year. I will count it like workers count the years left on their contracts. 17The remaining number of archers, Kedar’s mighty archers, will be few. The Lord God of Israel has spoken.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 21
21
XXI
1THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE DESERT OF THE SEA.
Like the southern tempests violently rushing along,
From the desert he cometh, from a terrible land.
2A dreadful vision hath been revealed unto me:
The plunderer plundereth, and the spoiler spoileth!
Go up, O Elam; form the siege, O Media!
All her sighing have I made to cease.
3Therefore are my loins filled with dreadful pain;
Pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail:
I am convulsed, so that I cannot hear; I am astonished, so that I cannot see.
4My heart is bewildered; terror hath come upon me:
The night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5The table is prepared, the watch is set; they eat, they drink;
Arise, ye princes; anoint the shield.
6For thus hath the Lord said unto me:
Go, set a watchman on his station;
What he shall see, he shall report.
7And he beheld riders, a couple of horsemen,
Riders on asses, riders on camels:
And he hearkened diligently with much heed.
8Then he cried out like a lion:
O my lord, I keep my station on the watch all the day long;
And on my ward have I continued every night.
9And, behold, there come men riding, a couple of horsemen.
Then he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen;
And all the sculptured images of her gods have they broken in pieces against the ground.
10O my threshing, and the corn of my floor!
What I have heard of Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,
That I have declared unto you.
11THE ORACLE CONCERNING DOMAH.
A voice crieth unto me from Seir:
Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?
12The watchman said;
The morning cometh, and also the night.
If ye will inquire, inquire ye: come again and again.
13THE ORACLE AGAINST ARABIA.
In the thickets of Arabia shall ye lodge,
O ye travelling companies of Dedan!
14To meet the thirsty they brought water,
They the inhabitants of the land of Tema;
With his bread they approached the wanderer.
15For from the face of the sword have they fled,
From the face of the drawn sword;
And from the face of the bended bow;
And from the face of the grievousness of war.
16For thus hath the Lord said unto me:
Within yet a year, as the years of a hireling,
All the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17And the residue of the number of the mighty bow men of the sons of Kedar, shall be diminished:
For Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.