Isaiah 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ¹ 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ² 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Isaiah 30:6

30:6 This is a message ³  about the animals in the Negev:

Through a land of distress and danger,

inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, ⁴ 

by snakes and darting adders, ⁵ 

they transport ⁶  their wealth on the backs of donkeys,

their riches on the humps of camels,

to a nation that cannot help them. ⁷ 

[21:1]  ¹ sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ² tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[30:6]  ³ tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”

[30:6]  ⁴ tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.

[30:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.

[30:6]  ⁶ tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:6]  ⁷ sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.