Isaiah — Chapter 21

The “Desert of the Sea” Pronouncement.aThe “Desert of the Sea” Pronouncement Emendation yields “The ‘From the Desert’ Pronouncement,” agreeing with the phrase farther on in the verse. Like the galesThat race through the Negeb,It comes from the desert,The terrible land.

A harsh prophecyHas been announced to me:“The betrayer is betraying,The ravager ravaging.bbetraying, / The ravager ravaging Emendation yields “betrayed … ravaged”; cf. 33.1. Advance, Elam!Lay siege, Media!I have put an endTo all her sighing.”cI have put an end / To all her sighing Emendation yields “Put an end to all her merrymaking!”

Therefore my loinsAre seized with trembling;I am gripped by pangsLike a woman in travail,Too anguished to hear,Too frightened to see.

My mind is confused,I shudder in panic.My night of pleasureHe has turned to terror:

“Set the table!”To “Let the watchman watch!”“Eat and drink!”To “Up, officers! GreasedGrease Emendation yields “Grasp.” the shields!”

For thus my Sovereign said to me:“Go, set up a sentry;Let him announce what he sees.

He will see mounted men,Horsemen in pairs—Riders on donkeys,Riders on camels—And he will listen closely,Most attentively.”

And [like] a lion hee[like] a lion he 1QIsᵃ reads “The watcher.” called out:“On my Sovereign’s lookoutfOn my Sovereign’s lookout Or “On a lookout, my Sovereign,…” I standEver by day,And at my post I watchEvery night.

And there they come, mounted men—Horsemen in pairs!”Then he spoke up and said,“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,And all the images of her godsHave crashed to the ground!”

My threshing, the product of my threshing floor:gMy threshing, the product of my threshing floor Connection of Heb. uncertain. What I have heard from GOD of Hosts,The God of Israel—That I have told to you.

The “Dumah”hDumah Name of a people; cf. Gen. 25.14. Pronouncement.A call comes to me from Seir:“Watchman, what of the night?Watchman, what of the night?”

The watchman replied,“Morning came, and so did night.If you would inquire, inquire.Come back again.”

The “In the Steppe” Pronouncement.In the scrub, in the steppe, you will lodge,O caravans of the Dedanites!

Meet the thirsty with water,You who dwell in the land of Tema;Greet the fugitive with bread.

For they have fled before swords:Before the whetted sword,Before the bow that was drawn,Before the stress of war.

For thus my Sovereign has said to me: “In another year, fixed like the years of a hired laborer, all the multitude of Kedar shall vanish;

the remaining bows of Kedar’s warriors shall be few in number; for the ETERNAL, the God of Israel, has spoken.”