Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
ISAIAH 21 [†]The t oracle concerning the wilderness of u the sea.
v As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2[†] A stern vision is told to me;
w the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O x Elam;
lay siege, O y Media;
all the z sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3[†] Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
a pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
b the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5[†] c They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs, [1]
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
d oil the shield!
6[†] For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out: [2]
e “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9[^][†] And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
f And he answered,
g “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
h and all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10[†] O i my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11[†]The j oracle concerning k Dumah.
One is calling to me from l Seir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12[†] The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also m the night.
If you will inquire, n inquire;
come back again.”
13[†]The o oracle concerning p Arabia.
In the thickets in p Arabia you will lodge,
14[†] To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of r Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16[†]For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, s according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of t Kedar will come to an end. 17And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of t Kedar will be few, u for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”