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Isaiah 21 :: New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB20)

God Commands That Babylon Be Taken

Isa 21:1

The pronouncement concerning the [fn]wilderness of the sea:

As windstorms in the [fn]Negev come in turns,

It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.

Isa 21:2

A harsh vision has been shown to me;

The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.

Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;

I have put an end to all [fn]the groaning she has caused.

Isa 21:3

For this reason my loins are full of anguish;

Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.

I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

Isa 21:4

My [fn]mind reels, [fn]horror overwhelms me;

The twilight I longed for has been turned into trembling for me.

Isa 21:5

They set the table, they [fn]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;

“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”

Isa 21:6

For this is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, station the lookout, have him report what he sees.

Isa 21:7

“When he sees [fn]a column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,

A train of donkeys, a train of camels,

He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”

Isa 21:8

Then [fn]the lookout called,

“Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,

And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

Isa 21:9

“Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”

And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;

And all the images of her gods [fn]are shattered on the ground.”

Isa 21:10

My downtrodden people, and my [fn]afflicted of the threshing floor!

What I have heard from the LORD of armies,

The God of Israel, I make known to you.

Pronouncements about Edom and Arabia

Isa 21:11

The pronouncement concerning [fn]Edom:

One keeps calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, [fn]how far gone is the night?

Watchman, [fn]how far gone is the night?”

Isa 21:12

The watchman says,

“Morning comes but also night.

If you would inquire, inquire;

Come back again.”

Isa 21:13

The pronouncement about Arabia:

In the thickets of Arabia you [fn]must spend the night,

You caravans of Dedanites.

Isa 21:14

Bring water [fn]for the thirsty,

You inhabitants of the land of Tema;

Meet the fugitive with bread.

Isa 21:15

For they have fled from the swords,

From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,

And from the press of battle.

Isa 21:16

For this is what the Lord said to me: “In a year, as [fn]a hired worker would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end;

Isa 21:17and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the warriors of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken.”
NASB20 Footnotes
Or sandy wastes, sea country
I.e., South country
Lit her groaning
Lit heart has wandered
Lit shuddering
Or spread out the rugs or possibly they arranged the seating
Or riders
As in DSS; MT he called like a lion
Lit he has shattered to the earth
Lit son
As in LXX; MT Dumah, silence
Lit what is the time of the night?
Lit what is the time of the night?
Or will spend
Lit to meet
Lit the years of a hired
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Isaiah Chapter 21 — Additional Translations: