The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 21
Chapter XXI · Vol. III, pp. 1171–1172
1 The prophet, bewailing the captivity of his people, seeth 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.
1 The 1burden2 of athe desert of the sea. bAs whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, cfrom a terrible land.
A.M. cir. 3284. B.C. cir. 720.
1 Heavy judgment denounced against Babylon, ch.13.1; 14.28; 17.1. 2 Ki.9.25.
2 It will be seen from ver. 1, 11, 13, that there are three distinct prophecies in this chapter. The first relates in language of great beauty and high prophetic imagery the conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians.—P.
a ch.13.1,19,22; 14.23. Je.50.42; 51.13,42.
2 A grievous3 vision is declared unto me; thed treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth.4 Goe up, O Elam: besiege, O Media: all gthe sighing5 thereof have I made to cease.
3 Heb. hard, ch.xiii.xiv. Je.l.li.
d ch.33.1; 24.16. Re.13.10. Je.51.49,56; 50.29. Mat.7.2. Ju.1.7.
4 'The destroyer is destroyed, the spoiler spoiled.'—Boothroyd.
e Je.49.34; 50.9; 51.27,28. ch.13.2-4,17,18.
g ch.14.3. Ps.137.1-3. Je.50.33,34.
5 'All the sighing of Elam, Media, and other lands formerly spoiled and destroyed by Babylon, have I now made to cease, saith the Lord.'—C.
3 Therefore hare 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,6 fearfulness affrighted me: ithe night of my pleasure hath he turned7 into fear unto me.
5 Preparej the table, watch in the watch-tower, eat, drink: karise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
j Da.5.1-4. Je.51.39,57. Job 21.13. ch.5.12; 22.13.
k ch.13.2,17,18. Je.51.11,12,56,27,28. 2 Sa.1.21.
6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a lwatchman, let him declare what he seeth.
l ch.52.8; 62.6. Eze.3.17; 33.7. Hab.2.1, or 2 Sa.13.34; 18.24-27. 2 Ki.9.17,20.
7 And he saw na chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
n ver.2; ch.13.4,17. Je.51.11,27,28.
8 And he cried,8 A lion:9 my lord, oI stand continually upon the watch-tower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights;1
8 Or, cried as a lion, ch.15.5. Ps.11.1. Je.50.44,46. Re.10.3. Ho.11.10.
9 'He cried as a lion;' that is, roaring loudly.—Aben Ezra.
o Hab.2.1. ch.62.1,6.
A.M. cir. 3284. B.C. cir. 720.
1 Or, every night.
9 And, behold, phere cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, qBabylon is fallen, is fallen; and rall the graven images of her gods he2 hath broken unto the ground.
10 Os my thrashing, and the corn3 of my floor: tthat which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
11 Theu burden4 of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman,5 what of the night?6 watchman, what of the night?
12 The watchman said, vThe morning cometh, and also the night: xif ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.7
v ch.17.14. Je.50.27; 15.9. Eze.7.2-12, or Lu.19.42-44. ch.45.7; 47.5. Zep.1.15. Joel 2.2. Am.5.18.
x Je.22.8. De.29.24. Lu.13.3,5. ch.55.7. Da.4.27.
7 'The morning,' a deliverance 'cometh;' but also 'the night'—a judgment follows. But, if sincere in inquiring, 'inquire,' 'return' to him whom ye have forsaken; 'come' unto Jesus and he will give you rest.—C.
13 They burden upon Arabia. In the forest8 in Arabia shall ye lodge, O zye travelling companies of Dedanim.
y Je.49.28-33, with Ge.25.1-18. Je.25.23,24.
8 Ye shall lodge in the forest, being driven by marauders from your tents and caravansaries.—C.
z Eze.27.15,20. Job 6.19. Je.49.30.
14 The inhabitants of the land of aTema brought9 water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.1
15 For bthey fled 2from the swords,3 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 cyears of an hireling, and all the glory of dKedar shall fail:
Notes
Ver. 1, 2. Dreadful calamities shall come upon Babylon on the river Euphrates, which shall reduce it to a desert and fen. Irresistibly they come from Media and Persia, between which and Babylon the wilderness is inhabited by fierce savages. The revolted Medes and Persians shall furiously revenge upon the Chaldeans all their treachery and cruelty to other nations, and shall relieve the enslaved Jews and others from their bondage. 3-5. To their infinite consternation and anguish, their nights of revelling and mirth, and their luxurious feasting, shall be quickly turned into ruinous wars, and into horrid scenes of murder. 6-9. For lo! within view of their watchmen, Darius and Cyrus march forward, with their armies of Medes and Persians, well furnished with everything necessary to destroy Babylon and her multitude of idols. 10. This either represents the afflicted Jews as having this prophecy delivered to them for their comfort, or the Chaldeans as threatened with terrible destruction after they had miserably destroyed the Jews and others. 11, 12. To the affrighted Edomites no other information can be given than that a night of dreadful calamities, by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, &c., shall follow their present respite and prosperity. Nor is there any method to escape it, but by a penitent turning to God and his people.
Ver. 1. The desert of the sea. The waters around Babylon are called sea, and the fertile plain is threatened with being turned into a desert—a threatening now literally realized during centuries. C.
Ver. 2. Elam. Elam was a son of Shem, and founder of a great nation. The country of Elam lay on the east bank of the Tigris, and bordered on the Persian Gulf. It embraced the more modern countries of Persia and Susiana; and in this passage it may be regarded as equivalent to Persia. Its capital was Susa: and one of its early monarchs was Chedorlaomer, who is mentioned in Ge. xiv. P.
Ver. 3. I was bowed down, &c. Isaiah, and not a Babylonian, is the speaker; for to Isaiah was the vision declared, ver. 2, 6. C.
Ver. 4. This cannot be the speech of a Babylonian, but of the prophet speaking of the pleasure which a body weary with toil, and a spirit weary with heavy and vexing thoughts, finds in the sleep of the night. C.
Ver. 5. Anoint the shield. This anointing has been interpreted of oiling the shields, that darts might more readily fly off. But this is an unsupported interpretation. Neither seems it proper to derive the interpretation from some obscure or imaginary custom of anointing shields, never adverted to in Scripture. Is not the shield rather the emblem of a chief chosen and appointed by the princes for the defence of his country in its imminent dangers? C.
Ver. 7. This ought rather to be translated: 'And he saw cavalry, horsemen two abreast, riders on asses, and riders on camels.' The Hebrew word rendered 'chariots' sometimes signifies 'riders,' as in 1 Sa. 8. 4: 10. 18. The Persians used both asses and camels in their armies for riding; and they were accustomed to advance in pairs, two abreast. P.
Ver. 10. O! my brethren, the sowing and harvest of the Lord, whom I have laboured to thrash out of your chaff, and winnow into cleanness: lo! I have declared unto you the whole revelation of God! C.
Ver. 11. Dumah. In the midst of the Arabian desert, about 250 miles east of Edom, is an ancient town called by Arab geographers Dumah, but by the modern Bedawin el-Jauf, 'the belly,' probably on account of its features and position. A tradition exists that it was founded by Dumah, the son of Ishmael. It stands in a circular valley, and is encompassed by a ridge of sandstone hills. It still contains about 3000 inhabitants. P.
Ver. 13. Dedanim. Two Dedans are mentioned in Scripture; one descended from Cush, Ge. 10. 7, the other from Abraham by Keturah, Ge. 25. 3. It is the descendants of the latter who are referred to here. Their chief settlements were in Arabia, near the eastern border of Idumea. They seem to have been largely engaged in transport trade, carrying wares from central and eastern Arabia and Persia to the marts of Phoenicia and Egypt, Eze. 26. 20; 38. 13. P.
Ver. 14. Temah. Tema, now called Teyma, is a small town and district east of Idumea, and not far distant from Dumah. P.
Reflections.—Alas! what desolations in populous nations, what alteration in fruitful soils, does sin produce! Quickly they, who treacherously spoiled and murdered others, meet with the same fate. And often the most dreadful ruin comes upon sinners when they are most secure and self-confident. How useful and informing are God's faithful ministers! and what insight they ought to have into the mind and work of God! It is very necessary to discern the signs of the times; and to consider earthly prosperity as but a common inlet to fearful calamities; that we may improve the present hour for returning to God. Kindness to distressed neighbours is ordinarily, by Providence, rewarded with similar reliefs. But how empty is that glory which can be diminished or ruined! Let therefore the Lord alone be my everlasting light, wealth, and honour.