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1Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea:[#sn 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.]
Like strong winds blowing in the south,
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
2I have received a distressing message:[#tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”]
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!”
3For this reason my stomach churns;[#tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”]
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
4My heart palpitates,[#tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”]
I shake in fear;
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
5Arrange the table,
lay out the carpet,
eat and drink!
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields!
6For this is what the sovereign master has told me:[#tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).]
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
7When he sees chariots,
teams of horses,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
8Then the guard cries out:[#tn 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.]
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master,
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
9Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.”
When questioned, he replies,
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
10O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,[#tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”]
what I have heard
from the Lord who commands armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
11Here is a message about Dumah:[#tn 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 BDB 189 s.v. 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 (NICOT), 1:398.]
Someone calls to me from Seir,
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night.
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.”
13Here is a message about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
14Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitives.
15For they flee from the swords –
from the drawn sword
and from the battle-ready bow
and from the severity of the battle.
16For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.[#tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).; #tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.]
17Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” Indeed, the Lord God of Israel has spoken.[#tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”; #tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).]