Isaiah 21:1-10 - The Fall Of Babylon
1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: Like strong winds blowing in the south, one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared. 2 I have received a distressing message: "The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys. Attack, you Elamites! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning!"
3 For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see. 4 My heart palpitates, I shake in fear; the twilight I desired has brought me terror. 5 Arrange the table, lay out the carpet, eat and drink! Get up, you officers, smear oil on the shields!
6 For this is what the sovereign master has told me: "Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees. 7 When he sees chariots, teams of horses, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, very alert." 8 Then the guard cries out: "On the watchtower, O sovereign master, I stand all day long; at my post I am stationed every night. 9 Look what's coming! A charioteer, a team of horses." When questioned, he replies, "Babylon has fallen, fallen! All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!"
10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.