Isaiah 21

Oracles concerning Babylon, Edom, and Arabia

²¹The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,

it comes from the desert,

from a terrible land.^*

²A 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.^*

³Therefore 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.^*

⁴My mind reels; horror has appalled me;

the twilight I longed for

has been turned for me into trembling.^*

⁵They prepare the table;

they spread the rugs;

they eat; they drink.

Rise up, commanders;

oil the shield!^*

⁶For thus the Lord said to me:

“Go, post a lookout;

let him announce what he sees.

⁷When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,

riders on donkeys, riders on camels,

let him watch closely,

very closely.”^*

⁸Then the watcher^t called out:

“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,

continually by day,

and at my post I am stationed

throughout the night.^*

⁹Look, there they come, riders,

horsemen in pairs!”

Then he responded,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,

and all the images of her gods

lie shattered on the ground.”^*

¹⁰O my threshed and winnowed one,

what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel, I announce to you.^*

¹¹The oracle concerning Dumah.

One is calling to me from Seir,

“Sentinel, what of the night?

Sentinel, what of the night?”^*

¹²The sentinel says:

“Morning comes and also the night.

If you will inquire, inquire;

come back again.”

¹³The oracle concerning the desert plain.

In the scrub of the desert plain you will lodge,

O caravans of Dedanites.^*

¹⁴Bring water to the thirsty,

O inhabitants of the land of Tema;

meet the fugitive with bread.^*

¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bent bow,

and from the stress of battle.^*

¹⁶For thus the Lord said to me: “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end,^{* 17}and the remaining bows of Kedar’s warriors will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”^*