Thematic Bible
Isaiah 21:1 (show verse)
The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):
As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,
So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.
So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.
Isaiah 21:2 (show verse)
A harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!
All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end.
Isaiah 21:3 (show verse)
Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;
I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.
Isaiah 21:4 (show verse)
My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been
Isaiah 21:5 (show verse)
They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar’s court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!”
Isaiah 21:6 (show verse)
This is what the Lord says to me,
“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees.
Isaiah 21:7 (show verse)
“When he sees a chariot, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys and a train of camels,
Let him pay attention and listen closely, very closely.”
Isaiah 21:8 (show verse)
And the lookout called like a lion,
“O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower by day,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
Isaiah 21:9 (show verse)
“Now look! Here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the carved images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”
Isaiah 21:10 (show verse)
O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor.
What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].
Isaiah 21:11 (show verse)
The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Dumah (Edom):
Someone keeps calling to me from Seir (Edom),
“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?
Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]”
“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?
Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]”
Isaiah 21:12 (show verse)
The watchman says,
“The morning comes [only briefly], but also [comes] the night [of Babylonian oppression].
If you would ask [of me then], ask [again, if Edom really wishes to know];
Come back again.”
Isaiah 21:13 (show verse)
The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Arabia:
In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night,
Caravans of Dedanites.
Caravans of Dedanites.
Isaiah 21:14 (show verse)
Bring water for the thirsty [Dedanites],
O inhabitants of the land of Tema [in Arabia];
Meet the fugitive with bread.
Isaiah 21:15 (show verse)
For they have fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, from the bent bow
And from the press of battle and grief of war.
Isaiah 21:16 (show verse)
For the Lord has said this to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired man [who will work no longer than was agreed], all the splendor of [the tribe of] Kedar will end;
Isaiah 21:17 (show verse)
and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”