Isaiah 21
21
A Judgment on Babylon
1An oracle # Is 13:1 against the desert by the sea: # Is 13:20-22; 14:23; 21:9; Jr 51:41-44
Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
2A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously, # Is 24:16; 33:1
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all her groaning.”
3Therefore I am # Lit Therefore my loins are filled with anguish.
Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. # Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 16:11; 26:17-18; Jr 4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9-10; 1Th 5:3
I am too perplexed to hear,
too dismayed to see.
4My heart staggers;
horror terrifies me.
He has turned my last glimmer of hope # Lit my twilight
into sheer terror. # Dt 28:67
5Prepare a table, # Jr 51:39,57; Dn 5:1-4 and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!
6For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
7When he sees riders —
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels —
he must pay close attention.”
8Then the lookout # DSS, Syr; MT reads Then a lion reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, # Hab 2:1
and I stay at my post all night.
9Look, riders come —
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen, # 2Sm 1:19; Is 3:8; 14:12; Jr 51:8; Ezk 32:22; Rv 14:8; 18:2 has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.” # Is 46:1; Jr 50:2; 51:44
10My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor, # Jr 51:33; Mc 4:13
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the Lord of Hosts,
the God of Israel.
An Oracle against Dumah
11An oracle # Is 21:1 against Dumah: # Some Hb mss, LXX read Edom # Gn 25:14
One calls to me from Seir, # Dt 2:8; Ezk 35:2
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night? ”
12The watchman said,
“Morning has come, and also night.
If you want to ask, ask!
Come back again.”
An Oracle against Arabia
13An oracle against Arabia: # Jr 25:23-24; 49:28
In the desert # LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read desert at evening brush
you will camp for the night,
you caravans of Dedanites. # Gn 10:7; Jr 25:23; 49:8; Ezk 27:15
14Bring water for the thirsty.
The inhabitants of the land of Tema # Gn 25:15; Jb 6:19
meet # LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read meet as a command the refugees with food.
15For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.
16For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, # Is 16:14 as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar # Ps 120:5; Sg 1:5; Is 42:11; 60:7; Jr 2:10; Ezk 27:21 will be gone. 17The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
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Isaiah 21: HCSB
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 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.