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Isaiah 21
New Catholic Bible
Isaiah 21
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 21
The Defeat of Babylon[a]
1 An oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping over the Negeb,[b]
there comes from the desert,
from a land that inspires terror,
2 a harsh vision that is shown to me:
the traitor betrays
and the despoiler despoils.
Go forth, O Elam;[c]
lay siege, O Media.
I will bring to an end
all the pain she has inflicted.
3 Therefore, my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me
like those of a woman in labor.
I am so distraught that I cannot hear;
I am too frightened even to look.
4 My mind reels,
and I am overcome with dread;
the twilight I yearned for
has become horrifying to me.
5 They set the table;
they spread out the rugs;
they eat and they drink.
Rise up, O princes;
oil your shields.
6 For this is what the Lord has said to me:
Go forth and post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
7 If he should see cavalry,
horsemen riding in pairs,
men mounted on donkeys,
men mounted on camels,
instruct him to watch closely
and to listen diligently.
8 Then the lookout shouted,
“I stand on the watchtower, O Lord,
all day long,
and I remain stationed at my post
throughout the night.
9 Behold, here come the cavalry now,
horsemen riding in pairs.”
Then the Lord responded:
Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
have been smashed to the ground.
10 O my people,
you who have been trodden
upon the threshing floor,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
from the God of Israel,
I have proclaimed to you.
Edom
11 An oracle concerning Edom:
Someone is calling to me from Seir,
“Watchman, when will the night end?
Watchman, when will it end?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning will come, and so will the night.
If you wish to ask, do so;
come back again.”
Arabia
13 An oracle concerning Arabia:
In the thickets of the desert you will encamp,
you caravans of Dedanites.
14 Bring water to the thirsty
and greet the fugitives with bread,
you inhabitants of the land of Tema.[d]
15 For they have fled from the sword,
from the sharp edge of the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the stress of battles.
16 For these are the words spoken to me by the Lord: Within a year, as a hired worker reckons time, all the glory of Kedar[e] will come to an end. 17 Hardly any of Kedar’s valiant warriors will be left, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:1 Proud Babylon has fallen. The reference is either to 710 B.C., when Babylon was attacked by the Assyrian, Sargon, who put down the rebellion of Merodach-baladan (see 2 Ki 20:10; Jer 39:1-8), or to its fall in 539 B.C. under the attack of Cyrus. Tradition has it that the city was taken by the allied Medes and Persians during the night, while the ruler and his men were feasting in the assurance that the walls were impregnable (v. 5; see Dan 5).
- Isaiah 21:1 The desert: the plain of Babylonia. The Negeb: the vast southern wilderness of Palestine.
- Isaiah 21:2 Elam: an ancient people dwelling in the area from which the Persians would come. For the Medes, see 13:17.
- Isaiah 21:14 Tema: an oasis in the northeastern Arabian peninsula.
- Isaiah 21:16 Kedar: a powerful tribe in southern Arabia.
Isaiah 21
New International Version
Isaiah 21
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
4 My heart(L) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(N) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(P)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(Q)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(R)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[a](T) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)
You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.