Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
Isa 21:1 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
Isa 21:2 A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
Isa 21:3 At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
Isa 21:4 My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
Isa 21:5 They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!
Isa 21:6 This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
Isa 21:7 When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”
Isa 21:8 And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.
Isa 21:9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'”
Isa 21:10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.
Isa 21:11 A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
Isa 21:12 The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”
Isa 21:13 A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
Isa 21:14 bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives.
Isa 21:15 They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.
Isa 21:16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.
Isa 21:17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
1 The prophet, bewailing the captivity of his people, sees in a vision the fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. 11 Edom, scorning the prophet, is moved to repentance. 13 The set time of Arabia’s calamity.
Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
Isa 21:1 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
The nation against which this solemn message is directed, though not expressly named in the title, is obviously Babylon (see vs. 2, 9; PK 531; cf. v. 4). Isaiah seems to compare the endless wastes of the wilderness to the sea. Some have translated this expression as “sandy wastes.”
This invasion is compared to a whirlwind coming out of the south (Heb. negeb; see on Gen. 12:9), and the land of Elam-Media would be the “terrible land” to which Isaiah refers.
Isa 21:2 A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will end all the groaning she caused.
Before the prophet’s gaze appeared a stern, sobering vision of a plundering power engaged in treachery, violence, and destruction. This was Babylon (see ch. 14:4, 6), “the treacherous dealer.” Elam and Media were called to go up against it and end the sighing and misery it had caused.
Isa 21:3 At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
The scene of destruction presented to the prophet is so horrible that he finds himself completely overwhelmed.
Isa 21:4 My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
The prophet’s fright reflects that of Belshazzar and the Babylonians on the night of their riotous feasting (see v. 5), which Isaiah saw in this “grievous vision” (v. 2; see PK 531).
Isa 21:5 They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!
Riotous festivity marked the night of Babylon’s fall to the armies of Media and Persia.
Isa 21:6 This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
Isaiah was first shown the approaching Elamite-Median host (v. 2), then the feasting Babylonians (vs. 4, 5), and now the entrance of the invading hordes into the city (vs. 6–9). The prophet identifies himself with a watchman on the walls of Babylon prior to its fall, and as a watchman he reports what he sees.
Isa 21:7 When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”
Isaiah sees the enemy advancing to the attack.
Isa 21:8 Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.
“The one seeing [that is, the “watchman” of v. 6] cried.”
Isa 21:9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'”
Babylon is fallen. This is the climax of the scene the prophet has related (see on v. 6). Its idols have been humbled in the dust; they have failed to protect the proud capital (Jer. 50:2; 51:17, 18, 47, 52; cf. Isa. 47:13–15). Compare Jer. 51:8; Rev. 14:8; 18:2.
Isa 21:10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.
In Scripture a time of judgment is often likened to reaping (see Isa. 41:15; Jer. 51:33; Amos 1:3; Micah 4:13; Hab. 3:12; Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:14–20).
Isa 21:11 A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
“What time of night is it?” (see 6T 407). Some in Edom inquire urgently and insistently of the prophet what the tidings are. The hour is one of darkness and danger, and they are anxious to know when the morning will come, bringing relief from anxiety and fear.
Isa 21:12 The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”
Morning is coming. The answer of the watchman is mysterious and bodes ill. He gives no definite reply, but simply says that though morning may come, night will again follow. There is little of light or hope to look forward to.
The hours ahead are dark, gloomy, and uncertain. Such was to be the future history of the unhappy land of Edom, to be trodden under foot by a succession of conquerors and ultimately reduced to an altogether desolate state. God’s watchmen upon the walls of Zion today should be ready to give an answer to those who inquire what hour of earth’s long night it is, and when the dawn of eternal day may be expected (see GC 632).
If you would ask, then ask.
These words presuppose an anxious desire to know the meaning of the cryptic answer of the watchman. He has declined to give them a definite reply, and they remain in darkness. If they desire to ask again, that is their privilege. But there is no assurance that a second inquiry will be more fruitful than the first.
Isa 21:13 A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
This is another cryptic prophecy. Caravans of Dedanites were to pass the night in the thickets of the Arabian Desert. From Jer. 49:7, 8 the Dedanites dwelt in the neighborhood of Tema, south of Dumah and southeast of Edom. Dedan was famous as a trading center (Eze. 27:15, 20).
In Jer. 25:23, 24, both Dedan and Tema are mentioned in connection with “the kings of Arabia” and the “people that dwell in the desert.” Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had messages of doom for Dedan (Jer. 49:8; Eze. 25:13). Dedan has been identified with the oasis of el–‘Ula in northern Hejaz.
Isa 21:14 bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives.
Tema and Dumah are listed as descendants of Ishmael. Tema is situated in the Arabian Desert, about 165 mi. (264.5 km.) south-southwest of Dumah, about 300 mi. (480 km.) east of the point of the Sinai Peninsula.
“Bring ye water.” The words indicate the plight of the Dedanites (v. 13), who had been forced to flee from the enemy without provisions. Their neighbors, the Temanites, were called upon to take pity on them in their famished condition.
Isa 21:15 They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.
Isa 21:16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendour of Kedar will come to an end.
The meaning is that the fall of Kedar would not be delayed. Within a year the specified judgment was certain to fall.
In Genesis, Kedar is listed as an Ishmaelite tribe, as are also Dumah and Tema (Gen. 25:13–15). But elsewhere Kedar seems to be a general term for nomadic peoples of the Arabian Desert (Ps. 120:5; S. of Sol. 1:5; cf. Isa. 42:11; 60:7; Jer. 2:10).
Isaiah proclaims an extensive judgment to fall within a year upon all the desert region of northern Arabia. Tiglath-pileser III declares that he inflicted a sore judgment upon Samsi, an Arabian queen, that he slew 1,100 of her people and took 30,000 of her camels and 20,000 head of cattle.
Sargon likewise claims to have received tribute from the Arabian queen in the form of gold dust, ivory, horses, and camels, and he also claims to have subdued other Arabian tribes who had never paid tribute. The exact year, however, of the judgment specified is not known.
Isa 21:17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Survivers. Heb. she’ar, “remnant” (see chs. 10:20, 21, 22; 11:11, 16; 14:22; 16:14; 17:3). When Sargon struck down the distant Arab tribes of Tamud, Ibadidi, Marsimanu, and Haiapa, he declares he deported the remnant and settled them in Samaria.