Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 21

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The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea:1

Like strong winds blowing in the south,2

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

21:2I have received a distressing message:3

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!”4

21:3For this reason my stomach churns;5

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed6 by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4My heart palpitates,7

I shake in fear;8

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

21:5Arrange the table,

lay out9 the carpet,

eat and drink!10

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields!11

21:6For this is what the sovereign master12 has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

21:7When he sees chariots,

teams of horses,13

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels,

he must be alert,

very alert.”

21:8Then the guard14 cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master,15

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

21:9Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.”16

When questioned, he replies,17

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

21:10O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,18

what I have heard

from the Lord who commands armies,

the God of Israel,

I have reported to you.

Bad News for Seir

21:11Here is a message about Dumah:19

Someone calls to me from Seir,20

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?”21

21:12The watchman replies,

“Morning is coming, but then night.22

If you want to ask, ask;

come back again.”23

The Lord Will Judge Arabia

21:13Here is a message about Arabia:

In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,

you Dedanite caravans.

21:14Bring out some water for the thirsty.

You who live in the land of Tema,

bring some food for the fugitives.

21:15For they flee from the swords—

from the drawn sword

and from the battle-ready bow

and from the severity of the battle.

21:16For this is what the sovereign master24 has told me: “Within exactly one year25 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.”26 Indeed,27 the Lord God of Israel has spoken.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.
  2. 2 Or “in the Negev” ().
  3. 3 Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
  4. 4 This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
  5. 5 Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
  6. 6 Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. “I am bowed down.”
  7. 7 Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
  8. 8 Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
  9. 9 The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. “watch in the watchtower”; “set the watch”).
  10. 10 The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.
  11. 11 Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (), 1:.
  12. 12 The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
  13. 13 Or “a pair of horsemen.”
  14. 14 The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.
  15. 15 The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. , , ), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. , ).
  16. 16 Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
  17. 17 Heb “and he answered and said” (so , ).
  18. 18 Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
  19. 19 The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See 189 II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (), 1:.
  20. 20 Seir is another name for Edom. See 973 שֵׂעִיר.
  21. 21 The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See 539 לַיְלָה.
  22. 22 Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
  23. 23 The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”
  24. 24 The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
  25. 25 Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at .
  26. 26 Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
  27. 27 Or “for” (, , , , ).

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press