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Isaiah 21 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

A Judgment on Babylon
Isa 21:1

A pronouncement concerning the desert by the sea:

Like storms that pass over the Negev,

it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.

Isa 21:2

A troubling vision is declared to me:

“The treacherous one acts treacherously,

and the destroyer destroys.

Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning.”

Isa 21:3

Therefore I am[fn] filled with anguish.

Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.

I am too perplexed to hear,

too dismayed to see.

Isa 21:4

My heart staggers;

horror terrifies me.

He has turned my last glimmer of hope[fn]

into sheer terror.

Isa 21:5

Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet!

Eat and drink!

Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

Isa 21:6

For the Lord has said to me,

“Go, post a lookout;

let him report what he sees.

Isa 21:7

“When he sees riders —

pairs of horsemen,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels —

he must pay close attention.”

Isa 21:8

Then the lookout[fn] reported,

“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,

and I stay at my post all night.

Isa 21:9

“Look, riders come —

horsemen in pairs.”

And he answered, saying,

“Babylon has fallen, has fallen.

All the images of her gods

have been shattered on the ground.”

Isa 21:10

My people who have been crushed

on the threshing floor,

I have declared to you

what I have heard from the LORD of Armies,

the God of Israel.

A Pronouncement against Dumah
Isa 21:11

A pronouncement concerning Dumah:[fn]

One calls to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night? ”

Isa 21:12

The watchman said,

“Morning has come, and also night.

If you want to ask, ask!

Come back again.”

A Pronouncement against Arabia
Isa 21:13

A pronouncement concerning Arabia:

In the desert[fn] brush

you will camp for the night,

you caravans of Dedanites.

Isa 21:14

Bring water for the thirsty.

The inhabitants of the land of Tema

meet[fn] the refugees with food.

Isa 21:15

For they have fled from swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bow that is strung,

and from the stress of battle.

Isa 21:16

For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.

Isa 21:17

“The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.

CSB Footnotes
Lit my waist is, or my insides are
Lit my twilight
DSS, Syr; MT reads Then a lion
Some Hb mss, LXX read Edom
LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read desert at evening
LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read meet as a command
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Isaiah Chapter 21 — Additional Translations: