Isaiah 21
Lexham English Bible
The Fall of Babylon
21 The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:
As storm winds passing over in the Negev,
it comes[a] from the desert,
from a frightful land.
2 A hard revelation is told to me;
the treacherous deals treacherously,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam;
lay siege, Media!
I put an end to all of her sighing.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth.
I am too bent to hear,[b]
I am too dismayed to see.[c]
4 My mind[d] staggers; fear terrifies me;
the twilight I desired[e] brought[f] me fear.
5 Set out the table in order!
Spread out the rugs![g]
Eat! drink!
Rise up, commanders;
smear[h] the shield!
6 For the Lord said this to me:
“Go, set a watchman in position.
He must announce what he sees.
7 When[i] he sees riders,[j]
a pair of horsemen,
riders[k] of donkeys,[l]
riders[m] of camels,[n]
then[o] he must listen attentively,
paying attention, paying special[p] attention.”
8 Then[q] the watchman[r] called,
“Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day,
and I am standing at my post throughout[s] the night.
9 And look at this! A man’s a chariot is coming,
a pair of horsemen!”
Then[t] he responded and said,
“It has fallen! Babylon has fallen!
And all the images of her gods are[u] smashed on the ground!”
10 My downtrodden people
and the son of my threshing floor,
I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.
Oracle regarding Dumah
11 The oracle of Dumah:
One is calling to me from Seir,
12 The watchman says,
“Morning comes,
and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”[x]
Oracle against Arabia
13 An oracle concerning[y] Arabia:
You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau,[z]
caravans of Dedanites.
14 When you happen to meet[aa] the thirsty, bring water.
Inhabitants of the land of Tema came to meet the fugitive with his bread.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword and the bent bow,
and from the heaviness of the battle.
16 For the Lord said this to me:
“In one more year,[ab] like the years of a hired worker,
all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 And the remainder of the number of the bows[ac] of the warriors of the sons of Kedar will be few.”
For Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Literally “to come”
- Isaiah 21:3 Literally “bent from hearing,” which could also mean “bent because of what I heard”
- Isaiah 21:3 Literally “dismayed from seeing,” which could also mean “dismayed because of what I saw”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “heart”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “of my desire”
- Isaiah 21:4 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 21:5 Hebrew “rug”
- Isaiah 21:5 That is, prepare with oil
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “And”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “donkey”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “rider”
- Isaiah 21:7 Hebrew “camel”
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “and”
- Isaiah 21:7 Literally “much”
- Isaiah 21:8 Or “And”
- Isaiah 21:8 Literally “lion”
- Isaiah 21:8 Literally “all of”
- Isaiah 21:9 Or “and”
- Isaiah 21:9 Hebrew “is”
- Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 21:11 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 21:12 Literally “return come”
- Isaiah 21:13 Literally “in”
- Isaiah 21:13 The Hebrew for “in a desert-plateau” is the same as for “concerning Arabia” in the preceding line
- Isaiah 21:14 Literally “Toward encountering”
- Isaiah 21:16 Literally “In yet a year”
- Isaiah 21:17 Hebrew “bow”
Isaiah 21
GOD’S WORD Translation
Babylon Has Fallen
21 This 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.
2 I 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.
3 That 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.
4 I’m confused.
I’m shaking with terror.
The twilight hours I longed for make me tremble.
5 Set the table.
Spread the rugs ⌞by the table⌟.
Eat. Drink.
Get up, you leaders!
Prepare your shields for battle!
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
Post a watchman.
Have him report whatever he sees.
7 He will see chariots, pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys, and riders on camels.
Let him watch carefully, very carefully.
8 The watchman [a] called,
“Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day.
Every night, I stand guard at my post.
9 Look! 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.”
10 You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed.[b]
I make known to you what I heard from the Lord of Armies,
the God of Israel.
Someone Calling from Seir
11 This is the divine revelation about Dumah.[c]
Someone is calling to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much of the night is left?”
12 The watchman answers,
“Morning is coming, and night will come again.
If you need to ask, come back and ask.”
Arabia Will Be Punished
13 This is the divine revelation about Arabia.
You caravan of travelers from the people of Dedan
will spend the night in the forest of Arabia.
14 Bring water for the thirsty,
you inhabitants of the land of Tema.
Bring food to the fugitives.
15 They flee from swords,
from swords ready to kill,
from bows ready to shoot,
and from the thick of battle.
16 This 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. 17 The remaining number of archers, Kedar’s mighty archers, will be few. The Lord God of Israel has spoken.
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