Isaiah 21:8-17

21:8 Then the guard ¹  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ² 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.” ³ 

When questioned, he replies, ⁴ 

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, ⁵ 

what I have heard

from the Lord who commands armies,

the God of Israel,

I have reported to you.

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: ⁶ 

Someone calls to me from Seir, ⁷ 

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?” ⁸ 

21:12 The watchman replies,

“Morning is coming, but then night. ⁹ 

If you want to ask, ask;

come back again.” ¹⁰ 

The Lord Will Judge Arabia

21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:

In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,

you Dedanite caravans.

21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.

You who live in the land of Tema,

bring some food for the fugitives.

21:15 For they flee from the swords –

from the drawn sword

and from the battle-ready bow

and from the severity of the battle.

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master ¹¹  has told me: “Within exactly one year ¹²  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” ¹³  Indeed, ¹⁴  the Lord God of Israel has spoken.

[21:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

[21:8]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

[21:9]  ³ tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”

[21:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).

[21:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”

[21:11]  ⁶ tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

[21:11]  ⁷ sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

[21:11]  ⁸ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.

[21:12]  ⁹ sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.

[21:12]  ¹⁰ sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”

[21:16]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:16]  ¹² tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.

[21:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”

[21:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).