Isaiah 21 — AAB

Babylon Is Fallen

21Verse 1This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev,an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.^{Verse 2}A dire vision is declared to me:“The traitor still betrays,
and the destroyer still destroys.Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media!I will put an end to all her groaning.”^{Verse 3}Therefore my body is filled with anguish.Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor.I am bewildered to hear,I am dismayed to see.^{Verse 4}My heart falters;fear makes me tremble.The twilight I desiredhas turned to horror.^{Verse 5}They prepare a table, they lay out a carpet,they eat, they drink!
Rise up, O princes, oil the shields!^{Verse 6}For this is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookoutand have him report what he sees.^{Verse 7}When he sees chariots with teams of horsemen,riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
he must be alert, fully alert.”^{Verse 8}Then the lookout⁺shouted:
“Day after day, my lord,I stand on the watchtower;night after nightI stay at my post.^{Verse 9}Look, here come the riders,horsemen in pairs.”
And one answered, saying:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon!⁺All the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground!”^{Verse 10}O my people, crushed on the threshing floor,I tell you what I have heardfrom the LORD of Hosts,the God of Israel.

The Burden against Edom

^{Verse 11}This is the burden against Dumah:⁺
One calls to me from Seir,⁺“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”^{Verse 12}The watchman replies,“Morning has come, but also the night.If you would inquire, then inquire.Come back yet again.”

The Burden against Arabia

^{Verse 13}This is the burden against Arabia:
In the thickets of Arabia you must lodge,O caravans of Dedanites.^{Verse 14}Bring water for the thirsty,O dwellers of Tema;
meet the refugees with food.^{Verse 15}For they flee from the sword—the sword that is drawn—from the bow that is bent,and from the stress of battle.^{Verse 16}For this is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker would count it, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.^{Verse 17}The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.”
For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.