Amplified Bible
Isaiah 21:2
2A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media! All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end.
Isaiah 21:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease.
Context of Isaiah 21:2
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon): As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through, So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land. A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media! All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end. 3Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth; I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see. 4My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned into fear and trembling for me.
Read all of Isaiah 21Isaiah 21:2 word by word
חָז֥וּת קָשָׁ֖ה הֻגַּד־לִ֑י הַבּוֹגֵ֤ד׀ בּוֹגֵד֙ וְהַשּׁוֹדֵ֣ד׀ שׁוֹדֵ֔ד עֲלִ֤י עֵילָם֙ צוּרִ֣י מָדַ֔י כָּל־אַנְחָתָ֖ה הִשְׁבַּֽתִּי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- A grievousקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- visionחָזוּתchâzûth · visionH2380
- is declaredנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
- unto me; the treacherous dealerבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
- and the spoilerשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
- Go upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- O Elamעֵילָם‛êylâm ‛ôlâm · ElamH5867
- besiegeצוּרtsûr · to confineH6696
- O Mediaמָדַיmâday · MediaH4074
- all the sighingאֲנָחָה'ănâchâh · sighingH585
- thereof have I made to ceaseשָׁבַתshâbath · to ceaseH7673
Cross-references for Isaiah 21:2
- Psalms 60:3You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger and fall.
- Proverbs 13:15Good understanding wins favor [from others], But the way of the unfaithful is hard [like barren, dry soil].
- Isaiah 24:16From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory and honor to the Righteous One,” But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe to me! The treacherous deal treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
- Isaiah 33:1Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O destroyer, You who were not destroyed, And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; As soon as you stop dealing treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.
- 1 Samuel 24:13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.
- Jeremiah 51:44I will punish and judge Bel [the handmade god] in Babylon And take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the stolen sacred articles and the captives of Judah and elsewhere]. The nations will no longer flow to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen down!
- Revelation 13:10If anyone is destined for captivity, he will go into captivity; if anyone kills with a sword, he must be killed with a sword. Here is [the call for] the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints [which is seen in the response of God’s people to difficult times].
- Isaiah 13:2Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain, Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice, Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.
- Jeremiah 50:14Set yourselves in battle formation against Babylon on every side, All you archers. Shoot at her! Do not spare the arrows, For she has sinned against the Lord.
- Jeremiah 49:34The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
- Jeremiah 51:11Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields [and cover yourselves]! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it; For that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance [on Babylon] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.
- Daniel 5:28‘peres’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
- Daniel 8:20The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
- Isaiah 14:1For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob (the captives in Babylon) and will again choose Israel, and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners (Gentiles) will join them [as proselytes] and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob (Israel).
- Isaiah 35:10And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with shouts of jubilation, And everlasting joy will be upon their heads; They will find joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
- Isaiah 47:6I was angry with My people, I profaned [Judah] My inheritance And gave them into your hand [Babylon]. You showed them no mercy; You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.
Commentaries on Isaiah 21:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth "The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed" - שודד והשודד בוגד הבוגד habboged boged vehashshoded shoded . The MSS. vary in expressing or omitting the ו vau, in these four words. Ten MSS. of Kennicott are without the ו vau in the second word, and eight MSS. are without the ו vau in the fourth word; which justifies Symmachus, who has rendered them passively: ̔ ̔ . He…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A grievous vision - Margin, as in Hebrew Hard.‘ On the word vision,‘ see the note at Isaiah 1:1. The sense here is, that the vision which the prophet saw was one that indicated great calamity Isaiah 21:3-4. Is declared unto me - That is, is caused to pass before me, and its meaning is made known to me. The treacherous dealer - (חבוגד chabôgēd ). The perfidious, unfaithful people. This is the usual signification of the word; but the connection here does…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2A dire vision is declared to me: The prophet makes Babylon's experience personal, which strengthens his poetry. The concise language and repeated sounds, like The traitor still betrays (Hebrew habboged boged) and the destroyer still destroys (Hebrew hashoded shoded; also in Isaiah 33:1), add to this effect. The Elamites lived northeast of Babylon. They, along with the Medes, were major rivals of the Babylonians. I will put an end to all her groaning…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. dealeth treacherously--referring to the military stratagem employed by Cyrus in taking Babylon. It may be translated, "is repaid with treachery"; then the subject of the verb is Babylon. She is repaid in her own coin; Is 33:1; Ha 2:8, favor this. Go up--Isaiah abruptly recites the order which he hears God giving to the Persians, the instruments of His vengeance (Is 13:3, 17). Elam--a province of Persia, the original place of their settlement (Ge…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 21:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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