Isaiah 21
21
1The burden of the wilderness of the sea. ‘Like hurricanes in the south for passing through, From the wilderness it hath come, From a fearful land.
2A hard vision hath been declared to me, The treacherous dealer is dealing treacherously, And the destroyer is destroying. Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media, All its sighing I have caused to cease.
3Therefore filled have been my loins [with] great pain, Pangs have seized me as pangs of a travailing woman, I have been bent down by hearing, I have been troubled by seeing.
4Wandered hath my heart, trembling hath terrified me, The twilight of my desire He hath made a fear to me,
5Arrange the table, watch in the watch-tower, Eat, drink, rise, ye heads, anoint the shield,
6For thus said the Lord unto me: ‘Go, station the watchman, That which he seeth let him declare.’
7And he hath seen a chariot — a couple of horsemen, The rider of an ass, the rider of a camel, And he hath given attention — He hath increased attention!
8And he crieth — a lion, ‘On a watch-tower my lord, I am standing continually by day, And on my ward I am stationed whole nights.
9And lo, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.’ And he answereth and saith: ‘Fallen, fallen hath Babylon, And all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the earth.
10O my threshing, and the son of my floor, That which I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, I have declared to you!’
11The burden of Dumah. Unto me is [one] calling from Seir ‘Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?’
12The watchman hath said, ‘Come hath morning, and also night, If ye inquire, inquire ye, turn back, come.’
13The burden on Arabia. In a forest in Arabia ye lodge, O travellers of Dedanim.
14To meet the thirsty brought water have Inhabitants of the land of Tema, With his bread they came before a fugitive.
15For from the face of destructions they fled, From the face of a stretched-out sword, And from the face of a trodden bow, And from the face of the grievousness of battle.
16For thus said the Lord unto me: ‘Within a year, as years of a hireling, Consumed hath been all the honour of Kedar.
17And the remnant of the number of bow-men, The mighty of the sons of Kedar are few, For Jehovah, God of Israel, hath spoken!’
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Isaiah 21: YLT98
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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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