A Judgment on Babylon
1 A pronouncement k concerning the desert by the sea: l
Like storms that pass over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.
2 A troubling vision is declared to me:
“The treacherous one acts treacherously, m
and the destroyer destroys.
Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”
3 Therefore I am filled with anguish.
Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. n
I am too perplexed to hear,
too dismayed to see.
4 My heart staggers;
horror terrifies me.
He has turned my last glimmer of hope
into sheer terror. o
5 Prepare a table, p and spread out a carpet!
Eat and drink!
Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!
6 For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.
7 When he sees riders—
pairs of horsemen,
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels—
he must pay close attention.”
8 Then the lookout reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, q
and I stay at my post all night.
9 Look, riders come—
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen, r has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.” s
10 My people who have been crushed
on the threshing floor, t
I have declared to you
what I have heard from the LORD of Armies,
the God of Israel.
A Pronouncement against Dumah
11 A pronouncement u concerning Dumah: ,v
One calls to me from Seir, w
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night? ”
12 The watchman said,
“Morning has come, and also night.
If you want to ask, ask!
Come back again.”
A Pronouncement against Arabia
13 A pronouncement concerning Arabia: x
In the desert brush
you will camp for the night,
you caravans of Dedanites. y
14 Bring water for the thirsty.
The inhabitants of the land of Tema z
meet the refugees with food.
15 For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.
16 For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, a as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar b will be gone. 17 The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
21:1–10. In the oracle concerning Babylon, the meaning of “desert by the sea” (21:1a) is not exactly clear. It may possibly be the territory of Babylon north of the Persian Gulf. Isaiah compares the attack of Elam and Media on Babylon to storms coming from the desert (21:1b–2). The prophet experiences great anguish when he understands the dire vision. He feels like a woman in labor and like a man who staggers (21:3–4a). Anguish and fear fill his heart and incapacitate him. He sees the prepared tables, the banquets, and the drinking of the Babylonians, but he cannot reach the officers to warn them. They are unprepared; their shields have not even been oiled for battle (21:5). The prophet dramatizes his empathy to portray the sudden fall of Babylon. The picture fits in well with the feast of Belshazzar in Dn 5. Though Isaiah expresses a longing for a “glimmer of hope” of deliverance from Babylon (21:4b), his empathy keeps him from rejoicing. It is a day full of horror.
21:11–12. The meaning of “Dumah” (21:11a) is uncertain. It may be a corruption of the word “Edom” (see the CSB footnote). This fits well with the reference to Seir (21:11b), where the Edomites settled. Twice an Edomite calls on the watchman (Isaiah) to predict the end of “the night” of distress. Isaiah responds that the morning of hope will come but can say no more (21:12).
21:13–15. The Dedanites (21:13) were an Arabian tribe of caravanners and traders located close to Edom. The caravanners are coming to Tema not for commercial purposes but to hide away in the forest of Arabia as refugees from slaughter (21:14). They come south to Tema for food and water. They have encountered a strong enemy (Assyrians?), who has put them to flight with sword and bow (21:15).
21:16–17. The people of Kedar were also known as caravanners and were respected for their prowess with bows and arrows. These warlike archers were able to protect the caravans as they migrated across the Arabian desert, but they are not able to defend themselves. In a prosaic statement, the prophet concludes the oracles by saying that disaster will also come on Kedar.