Isaiah 21 KJV
Oracle Against Babylon, Edom, Arabia
Isaiah Chapter 21: Oracle Against Babylon, Edom, Arabia
The enigmatic title 'burden of the desert of the sea' functions as a deliberate geographical paradox for Babylon, evoking both its marshy Euphrates delta location and its future transformation into desolation under divine judgment.
1he burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
6 For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
16 For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.
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Did You Know?
The enigmatic title 'burden of the desert of the sea' functions as a deliberate geographical paradox for Babylon, evoking both its marshy Euphrates delta location and its future transformation into desolation under divine judgment.
Verse 9's doubled cry 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen' establishes a precise verbal template later adopted in Revelation 14:8 and 18:2, forging an intertextual bridge that recasts Isaiah's historical oracle as eschatological archetype.
The brief Dumah (Edom) oracle exploits the Hebrew root d-m-h ('silence') as a punning name for the region, turning the watchman's terse reply about morning and night into a meditation on ambiguous survival amid encroaching judgment.
The Arabia section's reference to a single 'year according to the years of an hireling' draws on ancient Near Eastern contract language to fix a limited term of affliction, underscoring Yahweh's precise sovereignty over nomadic tribal fortunes rather than vague threats.
By sequencing oracles against imperial Babylon, borderland Edom, and Arabian tribes within one chapter, Isaiah juxtaposes cosmic-scale empire collapse with the minute disruption of desert caravans, illustrating uniform prophetic scrutiny across vastly different polities.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain desert โ the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again. of the sea โ The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah 21 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Repetition of the assurance given in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters to the jews about to be captives in Babylon, that their enemy should be destroyed and they be delivered; A prophecy to the idumeans who taunted the afflicted jews in the babylonish captivity; Prophecy that arabia would be overrun by a foreign foe within a year.
- 1
- desert โ the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again. of the sea โ The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sea" (Jer 51:13, 36; so Isa 11:15, the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed these dykes, and so converted the whole country again into a vast desert marsh. whirlwinds in the south โ (Job 37:9; Zec 9:14). The south wind comes upon Babylon from the deserts of Arabia, and its violence is the greater from its course being unbroken along the plain (Job 1:19). desert โ the plain between Babylon and Persia. terrible land โ Media; to guard against which was the object of Nitocris' great works [HERODOTUS, 1.185]. Compare as to "terrible" applied to a wilderness, as being full of unknown dangers, De 1:29.
- 2
- dealeth treacherously โ referring to the military stratagem employed by Cyrus in taking Babylon. It may be translated, "is repaid with treachery"; then the subject of the verb is Babylon. She is repaid in her own coin; Isa 33:1; Hab 2:8, favor this. Go up โ Isaiah abruptly recites the order which he hears God giving to the Persians, the instruments of His vengeance (Isa 13:3, 17). Elam โ a province of Persia, the original place of their settlement (Ge 10:22), east of the Euphrates. The name "Persia" was not in use until the captivity; it means a "horseman"; Cyrus first trained the Persians in horsemanship. It is a mark of authenticity that the name is not found before Daniel and Ezekiel [BOCHART]. thereof โ the "sighing" caused by Babylon (Isa 14:7, 8).
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