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Isaiah 21

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The Burden Against Babylon 1–5

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. ​

The Watchman's Report 6–10

6
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
7
And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: ​
8
And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9
And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. ​
10
O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. ​

The Burden Against Dumah (Edom) 11–12

11
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? ​
12
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come. ​

The Burden Against Arabia 13–17

13
The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. ​
14
The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15
For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
16
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: ​
17
And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 21

Verse 1

As whirlwinds in the south pass through — The oracle is headed 'the desert of the sea' and ends with the fall of Babylon (v.9); of her Jeremiah says 'I will dry up her sea' and 'The sea is come up upon Babylon' (Jer 51:36, 42). 'Whirlwinds of the south' are the storms the LORD himself rides in Zech 9:14. The attacker comes 'from a terrible land'.

Verse 2

the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously — The same pair, the treacherous dealer and the spoiler, opens Isa 33:1, 'Woe to thee that spoilest… and dealest treacherously'. The 'vision' (chazut) is 'grievous', hard to bear. The LORD calls up 'Elam' and 'Media' (cf. Jer 51:11). 'Sighing' (anachah) is the groan he makes 'to cease' (cf. Isa 14:4–7).

Verse 3

my loins filled with pain — Isaiah is overcome by what he sees, as Habakkuk was: 'When I heard, my belly trembled' (Hab 3:16). 'Pangs… of a woman that travaileth' is the figure of Babylon's own terror in Isa 13:8, and of Moab's in Jer 48:41. He felt the same for Moab (Isa 16:11).

Verse 5

anoint the shield — To 'anoint' (mashach) the shield is to rub it with oil; Saul's was cast away 'as though he had not been anointed with oil' (2 Sam 1:21). The verse puts a feast, 'Prepare the table… eat, drink', beside the call to arms. Of Babylon's last night it is written, 'Belshazzar the king made a great feast' (Dan 5:1), and 'In that night was Belshazzar… slain' (Dan 5:30).

Verse 7

a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels — The watchman set in v.6 'declare what he seeth': a 'couple of horsemen' riding, two kinds of chariot, and he 'hearkened diligently with much heed'. The word for his attention (qesheb) is repeated for emphasis. What he sees is explained in v.9, where a 'chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen' brings the news.

Verse 9

Babylon is fallen, is fallen — The cry is doubled, and Revelation takes it up twice in these words (Rev 14:8; 18:2). 'All the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground' is what Jeremiah announces: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded' (Jer 50:2).

Verse 10

O my threshing, and the corn of my floor — 'The corn of my floor' is literally the son of my threshing floor: grain beaten out on the floor, a name for the people who have been beaten. Babylon herself is 'like a threshingfloor' in Jer 51:33. Isaiah reports only what he was given, 'that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you'.

Verse 11

The burden of Dumah — Dumah is a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:14), a name close to the Hebrew word for 'silence' (dumah, Ps 94:17). The cry comes 'out of Seir', where 'Esau is Edom' (Gen 36:8). The question is put twice to the watchman, the figure of vv.6–8, who is 'set in my ward whole nights'.

Verse 12

The morning cometh, and also the night — The answer gives both: a morning, and the night after it. It ends with an invitation, 'if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come'. 'Return' (shub) is the verb of repentance, as in Isa 55:7, 'let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him'.

Verse 13

travelling companies of Dedanim — Orchah is a caravan, as 'a company of Ishmeelites' in Gen 37:25. Dedan was a son of Jokshan (Gen 25:3), and his people were traders (Ezek 27:20). The caravans are driven off the road to lodge in the thickets: 'they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow' (v.15).

Verse 16

all the glory of Kedar shall fail — Kedar was a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13), and his people's wealth was flocks: 'All the flocks of Kedar' (Isa 60:7) and 'the princes of Kedar… lambs, and rams, and goats' (Ezek 27:21). The time is measured as for Moab in Isa 16:14, 'according to the years of an hireling', but here it is a single year.