BABYLON HAS FALLEN!

Passage: Isaiah 21:1-17

Key verse: 9

NIV

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.

2 A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

3 At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
4 My heart(L) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror(N) to me.

5 They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!(P)

6 This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout(Q)
    and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(R)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

8 And the lookout[a](T) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
    lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”

10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
    I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
    from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)

Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)

You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14     bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
    bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)

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Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
  2. Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

21 The (A)oracle concerning the wilderness of (B)the sea.

(C)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
    (D)the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O (E)Elam;
    lay siege, O (F)Media;
all the (G)sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    (H)pangs have seized me,
    like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    (I)the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
5 (J)They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs,[a]
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    (K)oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out:[b]
(L)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
(M)And he answered,
    (N)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
(O)and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
10 O (P)my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

11 The (Q)oracle concerning (R)Dumah.

One is calling to me from (S)Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
12 The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also (T)the night.
    If you will inquire, (U)inquire;
    come back again.”

13 The (V)oracle concerning (W)Arabia.

In the thickets in (X)Arabia you will lodge,
    O (Y)caravans of (Z)Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of (AA)Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, (AB)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of (AC)Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of (AD)Kedar will be few, (AE)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

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Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
  2. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. I tell you what I have heard from God (1-1 ) The Desert by the Sea likely refers to Babylon, whose king (39:1) was in rebellion against Assyria, stirring up Elam and Media in revolt. Many hoped this would liberate them from Sennacherib's power. But the vision wasn't good news! Through the warning of a lookout, Isaiah was shown that Babylon would fall. This likely refers to the destruction of Babylon in 689 BC (Judah's captivity by Babylon was much later, in 586 BC), where their idols' temples were razed and tossed into the sea by Assyria. We cannot trust in nations and their idols, but only in the word of the LORD Almighty. 2. Dumah and Arabia to fall (11-17) God's hand of judgment through Assyria would reach Israel's ancient relatives: Seir (from Esau), Dumah, Tema and Kedar (from Ishmael, Ge 25) and the Dedanites (of Keturah wife of Abraham Ge 25).

Prayer: Father, let me not put my trust or hope in nations, but in your word, and share it faithfully.

One Word: trust in what the Lord has spoken