Isaiah 21:1
This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
3 Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
- KJV
- The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
- WEB
- The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.
- ASV
- The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
- DARBY
- The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through, so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
- BLB
- The burden of the wilderness the Sea: Like whirlwinds in the Negev passing through, it comes from the wilderness, from a fearsome land.
- ÅB
- Utsagn om Havørkenen[^1]. Som stormvinder i ørkenen farer fram, kommer det fra ørkenen, fra det forferdelige land.
- OTB
- En kunngjøring om Ørkenen ved Havet: Som virvelvinder i Negev feier gjennom, kommer det fra ødemarken, fra et land av redsel.
- B1930
- Utsagn om Havørkenen. Som stormvinder i ørkenen farer frem, kommer det fra ørkenen, fra det forferdelige land. / < Babel, som skal bli til en stor øde myr; JES 21, 9. 14, 23.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 14:23
“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Read in contextIsaiah 13:1
This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
Read in contextJeremiah 51:42
The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.
Read in contextZechariah 9:14
Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
Read in contextIsaiah 17:1
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
Read in contextIsaiah 13:20–22
She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
Read in contextEzekiel 31:12
Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
Read in contextIsaiah 13:4–5
Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.
Read in context