Isaiah 21

The Fall of Babylon

¹The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:

As storm winds passing over in the Negev,

it comes from the desert,

²A hard revelation is told to me;

the treacherous deals treacherously,

Go up, Elam;

I put an end to all of her sighing.

³Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;

I am too bent to hear,

⁴My mind staggers; fear terrifies me;[#Literally “heart”]

⁵Set out the table in order!

Rise up, commanders;

⁶For the Lord said this to me:

“Go, set a watchman in position.

⁷When he sees riders,[#Or “And”; #Hebrew “rider”]

riders of donkeys,

then he must listen attentively,

⁸Then the watchman called,[#Or “And”; #Literally “lion”]

“Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day,

⁹And look at this! A man’s a chariot is coming,

Then he responded and said,

“It has fallen! Babylon has fallen!

¹⁰My downtrodden people

I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.

Oracle regarding Dumah

¹¹The oracle of Dumah:

One is calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what of the night?

¹²The watchman says,

“Morning comes,

If you will inquire, inquire;

Oracle against Arabia

¹³An oracle concerning Arabia:[#Literally “in”]

You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau,

¹⁴When you happen to meet the thirsty, bring water.[#Literally “Toward encountering”]

¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,

¹⁶For the Lord said this to me:

“In one more year, like the years of a hired worker,

all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

For Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.