Isaiah 21

1 The burden of the wilderness of the sea. Like windstorms in the south for passing through, It has come from the wilderness, From a fearful land.

THE VISION OF THE DESERT. As though a whirlwind should pass through the desert, coming from a desert, [even] from such a land,

2 A hard vision has been declared to me, The treacherous dealer is dealing treacherously, And the destroyer is destroying. Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media, I have caused all its sighing to cease.

[so] a fearful and a grievous vision was declared to me: he that is treacherous deals treacherously, the transgressor transgresses. The Elamites are upon me, and the ambassadors of the Persians come against me: now will I groan and comfort myself.

3 Therefore my loins have been filled [with] great pain, Pangs have seized me as pangs of a travailing woman, I have been bent down by hearing, I have been troubled by seeing.

Therefore are my loins filled with feebleness, and pangs have seized me as a travailing woman: I dealt wrongfully that I might not hear; I hasted that I might not see.

4 My heart has wandered, trembling has terrified me, He has made the twilight of my desire a fear to me,

My heart wanders, and transgression overwhelms me; my soul is occupied with fear.

5 Arrange the table, watch in the watchtower, Eat, drink, rise, you heads, anoint the shield,

Prepare the table, eat, drink: arise, you princes, and prepare [your] shields.

6 For thus said the Lord to me: “Go, station the watchman, Let him declare that which he sees.”

For thus said the Lord to me, Go and station a watchman for yourself, and declare whatever you shall see.

7 And he has seen a chariot—a couple of horsemen, The rider of a donkey, the rider of a camel, And he has given attention—He has increased attention!

And I saw two mounted horsemen, and a rider on an ass, and a rider on a camel.

8 And he cries, “A lion, my lord! I am continually standing on a watchtower by day, And I am stationed on my ward whole nights.

Listen with great attention, and call you Urias to the watch-tower: the Lord has spoken. I stood continually during the day, and I stood in the camp all night:

9 And behold, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.” And he answers and says: “Fallen, fallen has Babylon, And He has broken all the carved images of her gods to the earth.

and, behold, he comes riding in a chariot and pair: and he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all her images and her idols have been crushed to the ground.

10 O my threshing, and the son of my floor, That which I heard from YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel, I have declared to you!”

Hear, you that are left, and you that are in pain, hear what things I have heard of the Lord of hosts [which] the God of Israel has declared to us. THE VISION OF IDUMEA.

11 The burden of Dumah. [One] is calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”

Call to me out of Seir; guard you the bulwarks.

12 The watchman has said, “Morning has come, and also night, If you inquire, inquire, return, come.”

I watch in the morning and the night: if you would enquire, enquire, and dwell by me.

13 The burden on Arabia. You lodge in a forest in Arabia, O caravans of Dedanim.

You may lodge in the forest in the evening, or in the way of Daedan.

14 Inhabitants of the land of Tema Have brought water to meet the thirsty, With his bread they came before a fugitive.

You that dwell in the country of Thaeman, bring water to meet him that is thirsty;

15 For they fled from the face of destructions, From the face of an outstretched sword, And from the face of a trodden bow, And from the face of the grievousness of battle.

meet the fugitives with bread, because of the multitude of the slain, and because of the multitude of them that lose their way, and because of the multitude of swords, and because of the multitude of bent bows, and because of the multitude of them that have fallen in war.

16 For thus said the Lord to me: “Within a year, as years of a hired worker, All the glory of Kedar has been consumed.

For thus said the Lord to me, Yet a year, as the year of an hireling, [and] the glory of the sons of Kedar shall fail:

17 And the remnant of the number of bow-men, The mighty of the sons of Kedar, are few, For YHWH, God of Israel, has spoken!”

and the remnant of the strong bows of the sons of Kedar shall be small: for the Lord God of Israel has spoken [it].