Isaiah 21:1–5

1 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland,

an invader comes from the desert,

from a land of terror.

2 A dire vision has been shown to me:

The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot.

Elam, attack! Media, lay siege!

I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

3 At this my body is racked with pain,

pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;

I am staggered by what I hear,

I am bewildered by what I see.

4 My heart falters,

fear makes me tremble;

the twilight I longed for

has become a horror to me.

5 They set the tables,

they spread the rugs,

they eat, they drink!

Get up, you officers,

oil the shields!

1 The burden of the desert of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the south pass through;

So it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.

2 A grievous vision is declared unto me;

The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth.

Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media;

All the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain:

Pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth:

I was bowed down at the hearing of it;

I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me:

The night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink:

Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

1 This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea:

Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,

like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.

2 I see a terrifying vision:

I see the betrayer betraying,

the destroyer destroying.

Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,

attack and lay siege.

I will make an end

to all the groaning Babylon caused.

3 My stomach aches and burns with pain.

Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,

like those of a woman in labor.

I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;

I am too afraid to look.

4 My mind reels and my heart races.

I longed for evening to come,

but now I am terrified of the dark.

5 Look! They are preparing a great feast.

They are spreading rugs for people to sit on.

Everyone is eating and drinking.

But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle.

You are being attacked!

1 The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As whirlwinds in the South pass through,

So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

2 A distressing vision is declared to me;

The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,

And the plunderer plunders.

Go up, O Elam!

Besiege, O Media!

All its sighing I have made to cease.

3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain;

Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.

I was distressed when I heard it;

I was dismayed when I saw it.

4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;

The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.

5 Prepare the table,

Set a watchman in the tower,

Eat and drink.

Arise, you princes,

Anoint the shield!

1 This is a message about the Desert by the Sea:

Disaster is coming from the desert

like wind blowing in the south.

It is coming from a terrible country.

2 I have seen a terrible vision.

I see traitors turning against you

and people taking your wealth.

Elam, attack the people!

Media, surround the city and attack it!

I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.

3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain;

my pains are like the pains of giving birth.

What I hear makes me very afraid;

what I see causes me to shake with fear.

4 I am worried,

and I am shaking with fear.

My pleasant evening

has become a night of fear.

5 They set the table;

they spread the rugs;

they eat and drink.

Leaders, stand up.

Prepare the shields for battle!

1 The burden of the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am pained so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 4 My heart fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me. 5 They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield.

1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through, so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A grievous vision is declared unto me: the treacherous dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, Elam! besiege, Media! All the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain; anguish hath taken hold upon me, as the anguish of a woman in travail: I am bowed down so as not to hear, I am dismayed so as not to see. 4 My heart panteth, horror affrighteth me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into trembling unto me. 5 Prepare the table, appoint the watch; eat, drink: arise, ye princes, anoint the shield.

1 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! 

1 An oracle against the desert by the sea:

Like storms that pass over the Negev,

it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.

2 A troubling vision is declared to me:

“The treacherous one acts treacherously,

and the destroyer destroys.

Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all her groaning.”

3 Therefore I am filled with anguish.

Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.

I am too perplexed to hear,

too dismayed to see.

4 My heart staggers;

horror terrifies me.

He has turned my last glimmer of hope

into sheer terror.

5 Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet!

Eat and drink!

Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,

it comes from the desert,

from a terrible land.

2 A stern vision is told to me;

the betrayer betrays,

and the destroyer destroys.

Go up, O Elam;

lay siege, O Media;

all the sighing she has caused

I bring to an end.

3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;

pangs have seized me

like the pangs of a woman in labor;

I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;

I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

4 My mind reels; horror has appalled me;

the twilight I longed for

has been turned for me into trembling.

5 They prepare the table;

they spread the rugs;

they eat; they drink.

Rise up, commanders;

oil the shield!

1 The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:

As storm winds passing over in the Negev,

it comes 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,

I am too dismayed to see.

4 My mind staggers; fear terrifies me;

the twilight I desired brought me fear.

5 Set out the table in order!

Spread out the rugs!

Eat! drink!

Rise up, commanders;

smear the shield!

1 Here is a message the Lord gave me about Babylonia. It is known as the Desert by the Two Rivers.

An attack is coming through the desert.

It is coming from a land of terror.

It’s sweeping along like a windstorm blowing across the Negev Desert.

2 I have seen a vision about something terrible that will happen.

People are turning against Babylon.

Robbers are taking its goods.

Elamites, attack the city! Medes, surround it!

The Lord will put an end to all of the suffering Babylon has caused.

3 The vision fills my body with pain.

Pains take hold of me.

They are like the pains of a woman having a baby.

I am shaken by what I hear.

I’m terrified by what I see.

4 My heart grows weak.

Fear makes me tremble.

I longed for evening to come.

But it brought me horror instead of rest.

5 In my vision the Babylonians set the tables.

They spread the rugs out.

They eat. They drink.

Get up, you officers!

Rub your shields with oil!

1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As windstorms in the Negev sweep on,

It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.

2 A harsh vision has been shown to me;

The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.

Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;

I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused.

3 For this reason my loins are full of anguish;

Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.

I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;

The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

5 They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;

“Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”