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The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

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- Chapter 21 -

(Revelation 18:1–8)
1
The burden of the desert of the sea. Just as the whirlwinds approach from Africa, it approaches from the desert, from a terrible land.(a)
2
A difficult vision has been announced to me: he who is unbelieving, he acts unfaithfully, and he who is a plunderer, he devastates. Ascend, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I have caused all its mourning to cease.(b)
3
Because of this, my lower back has been filled with pain, and anguish has possessed me, like the anguish of a woman in labor. I fell down when I heard it. I was disturbed when I saw it.
4
My heart withered. The darkness stupefied me. Babylon, my beloved, has become a wonder to me.
5
Prepare the table. Contemplate, from a place of observation, those who eat and drink. Rise up, you leaders! Take up the shield!
6
For the Lord has said this to me: “Go and station a watchman. And let him announce whatever he will see.”
7
And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, and a rider on a donkey, and a rider on a camel. And he considered them diligently, with an intense gaze.(c)
8
And a lion cried out: “I am on the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day. And I am at my station, standing throughout the night.(d)
9
Behold, a certain man approaches, a man riding on a two-horse chariot.” And he responded, and he said: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! And all its graven gods have been crushed into the earth!
10
O my threshed grain! O sons of my threshing floor! What I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have announced to you.”

The Burden against Edom

(Isaiah 34:5–17)
11
The burden of Dumah, cried out to me from Seir: “Watchman, how goes the night? Watchman, how goes the night?”(e)
12
The watchman said: “Morning approaches with the night. If you are seeking: seek, and convert, and approach.”

The Burden against Arabia

13
The burden in Arabia. In the forest you shall sleep, in the evening on the paths of Dedanim.
14
You who inhabit the land of the south: upon meeting the thirsty, bring water; meet the fugitive with bread.
15
For they are fleeing before the face of swords, before the face of a sword hanging over them, before the face of a bent bow, before the face of a grievous battle.
16
For the Lord said this to me: “After one more year, just like one year for a hired hand, all the glory of Kedar will be taken away.(f)
17
And the remainder of the multitude of strong archers from the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”

Footnotes

(a)21:1 The desert of the sea:So Babylon is here called, because from a city as full of people as the sea is with water, it was become a desert.(Challoner)
(b)21:2 O Elam:That is, O Persia.(Challoner)
(c)21:7 A rider upon an ass, etc:These two riders are the kings of the Persians and Medes.(Challoner)
(d)21:8 And a lion cried out:That is, I Isaiah seeing the approaching ruin of Babylon, have cried out as a lion roaring.(Challoner)
(e)21:11 Duma:That is, Idumea, or Edom.(Challoner)
(f)21:16 Cedar:Arabia.(Challoner)
(Revelation 18:1–8)
1
The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.
2
A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing.
3
Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have seized me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t hear. I am so dismayed that I can’t see.
4
My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me.
5
They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield!
6
For the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees.
7
When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.”
8
He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post.
9
Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.
10
You are my threshing, and the grain of my floor!” That which I have heard from the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.

The Burden against Edom

(Isaiah 34:5–17)
11
The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”
12
The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again.”

The Burden against Arabia

13
The burden on Arabia. You will lodge in the thickets in Arabia, you caravans of Dedanites.
14
They brought water to him who was thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema met the fugitives with their bread.
15
For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the heat of battle.
16
For the Lord said to me, “Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will fail,
17
and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”
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