Isaiah 21 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

A Message about Babylon

Isa 21:1This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea[fn]:
Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.

Isa 21:2

Isa 21:2I see a terrifying vision:
I see the betrayer betraying,
the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
to all the groaning Babylon caused.

Isa 21:3

Isa 21:3My stomach aches and burns with pain.
Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;
I am too afraid to look.

Isa 21:4

Isa 21:4My mind reels and my heart races.
I longed for evening to come,
but now I am terrified of the dark.

Isa 21:5

Isa 21:5Look! They are preparing a great feast.
They are spreading rugs for people to sit on.
Everyone is eating and drinking.
But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle.
You are being attacked!

Isa 21:6

Isa 21:6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
Let him shout out what he sees.

Isa 21:7

Isa 21:7He should look for chariots
drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
Let the watchman be fully alert.”

Isa 21:8

Isa 21:8Then the watchman[fn] called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
Night after night I have remained at my post.

Isa 21:9

Isa 21:9Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
“Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
lie broken on the ground!”

Isa 21:10

Isa 21:10O my people, threshed and winnowed,
I have told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said,
everything the God of Israel has told me.

A Message about Edom

Isa 21:11

Isa 21:11This message came to me concerning Edom[fn]:
Someone from Edom[fn] keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until morning?
When will the night be over?”

Isa 21:12

Isa 21:12The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon return.
If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”

A Message about Arabia

Isa 21:13

Isa 21:13This message came to me concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan,
hide in the deserts of Arabia.

Isa 21:14

Isa 21:14O people of Tema,
bring water to these thirsty people,
food to these weary refugees.

Isa 21:15

Isa 21:15They have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and the terrors of battle.

Isa 21:16

Isa 21:16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day,[fn] all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

Isa 21:17

Isa 21:17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!”

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(21:1)

Hebrew concerning the desert by the sea.

(21:8)

As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads a lion.

(21:11)

Hebrew Dumah, which means “silence” or “stillness.” It is a wordplay on the word Edom.

(21:11)

Hebrew Seir, another name for Edom.

(21:16)

Hebrew Within a year, as a servant bound by contract would count it. Some ancient manuscripts read Within three years, as in 16:14.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Isaiah Chapter 21 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Isaiah 21 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Isaiah Chapter 21 — Additional Translations:

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