21:1ffSome scholars say this prophecy was fulfilled at Babylon’s fall in 539 B.C. (see Daniel 5). But others say this was a prophecy of Babylon’s revolt against Assyria around 700 B.C.
Life Application Study BibleIsaiahChapter 21
Isaiah 21
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1121, 1122, 1123
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
21Isaiah 21
A Message about Babylon
12 This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert IDisaster is roaring down on you from the desert,like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
2Iseea terrifying vision:I see the betrayer betraying,the destroyer destroying.Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,attack and lay siege.I will make an endto all the groaning Babylon caused.
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.
4My mind reels and my heart races.I longed for evening to come,but now I am terrified of the dark.
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!
6Meanwhile, the LORD said to me,“Put a watchman on the city wall.Let him shout out what he sees.
7He should look for chariotsdrawn by pairs of horses,and for riders on donkeys and camels.Let the watchman be fully alert.”
8Then the watchman* called out,“Day after day J have stood on the watchtower, my lord.Night after night I have remained at my post.
9Nowat last—look!Here comes a man in a chariotwith a pair of horses!”Then the watchman said,“Babylon is fallen, fallen!All the idols of Babylonlie broken on the ground:
10O my people, threshed and winnowed,Thave told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said,everything the God of Israel has told me.ve
A Message about Edom
1111 This message came to me concerning Edom*:Someone from Edom* keeps calling to me,“Watchman, how much longer until morning?When will the night be over?”
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
1313This message came to me concerning Arabia:O caravans from Dedan,hide in the deserts of Arabia.
14O people of Tema,bring water to these thirsty people,food to these weary refugees.
15They have fled from the sword,from the drawn sword,from the bent bowand the terrors of battle.
16The LORD said to me, “Within a year, counting each day,* all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!”
Textual footnotes
- “silence” or “stillness.” It is a wordplay on the word Edom.
- 21:1 Hebrew concerning the desert by the sea.
- 21:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads a lion.
- 21:11a Hebrew Dumah, which means
- 21:11b 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
Life Application Notes 7 notes
21:5If the prophecy refers to the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C., this may picture the feast in Daniel 5.
21:6,7Watchmen on the city walls often appear in prophetic visions of destruction. They are the first to see trouble coming. The prophet Habakkuk was a watchman (Habakkuk 2:1). The vision of the riders on horses could represent the Medes and Persians attacking Babylon in 539 B.C.
21:8,9Babylon was not only a great and powerful city, it was also filled with horrible sin (idolatry, witchcraft, and temple prostitution). Babylon was, and remains, a symbol of all that stands against God. Despite all its glory and power, Babylon would be destroyed, along with all its idols. They would give no help in time of trouble.
21:10Threshing and winnowing were two steps in ancient Israel’s farming process. The heads of wheat (often used to symbolize Israel) were first trampled to break open the seeds and expose the valued grain inside (threshing). The seeds were then thrown into the air, and the worthless chaff blew away while the grain fell back to the ground (winnowing). Israel would experience this same kind of process: The-sinful, rebellious people (worthless chaff} would be taken away, but God would keep the good “grain” to replenish Israel.
21:11Edom had been a constant enemy of God’s people. It rejoiced when Israel fell to the Assyrians, and this sealed Edom’s doom (34:8ff; 63:4). Seir was another name for Edom because the hill country of Seir was given to Esau and his descendants (see Joshua 24:4). Obadiah foretells, in great detail, the destruction of Edom.
21:13ffThe places listed here are all in Arabia. They are border cities that controlled the trade routes throughout the land. This is Isaiah's prediction of disaster.