Isaiah 21

New American Standard Bible

God Commands That Babylon Be Taken

21 The ^(A)pronouncement concerning the ^[a]^(B)wilderness of the sea:

As ^(C)windstorms in the ^[b]Negev come in turns,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
²A ^(D)harsh vision has been shown to me;
The ^(E)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, ^(F)Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have put an end to all ^[c]the groaning she has caused.
³For this reason my ^(G)loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a ^(H)woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
⁴My ^[d]mind reels, ^[e]horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been ^(I)turned into trembling for me.
⁵They ^(J)set the table, they ^[f]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”

⁶For this is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, station the lookout, have him ^(K)report what he sees.
⁷When he sees ^[g]a ^(L)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”

⁸Then ^[h]the lookout called,

“^(M)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
⁹Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “^(N)Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the ^(O)images of her gods ^[i]are shattered on the ground.”
¹⁰My ^(P)downtrodden people, and my ^[j]afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.

Pronouncements about Edom and Arabia

¹¹The pronouncement concerning ^[k]^(Q)Edom:

One keeps calling to me from ^(R)Seir,
“Watchman, ^[l]how far gone is the night?
Watchman, ^[m]how far gone is the night?”
¹²The watchman says,
“Morning comes but also night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
Come back again.”

¹³The pronouncement about ^(S)Arabia:

In the thickets of Arabia you ^[n]must spend the night,
You caravans of ^(T)Dedanites.
¹⁴Bring water ^[o]for the thirsty,
You inhabitants of the land of ^(U)Tema;
Meet the fugitive with bread.
¹⁵For they have ^(V)fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,
And from the press of battle.

¹⁶For this is what the Lord said to me: “In a ^(W)year, as ^[p]a hired worker would count it, all the splendor of ^(X)Kedar will come to an end; ¹⁷and the ^(Y)remainder of the number of bowmen, the warriors of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord God of Israel ^(Z)has spoken.”