Isaiah 21:1

Isaiah 21:1 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
• New Living Translation (NLT)This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea: Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.

Context of Isaiah 21:1

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 2A 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. 3Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Isaiah 21:1 word by word

מַשָּׂ֖א מִדְבַּר־יָ֑ם כְּסוּפ֤וֹת בַּנֶּ֙גֶב֙ לַֽחֲלֹ֔ף מִמִּדְבָּ֣ר בָּ֔א מֵאֶ֖רֶץ נוֹרָאָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · oracleH4853
• of the desertמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• of the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• As whirlwindsסוּפָהsûphâh · whirlwindH5492
• in the southנֶ֫גֶבnegeb · NegebH5045
• passחָלַףchâlaph · to passH2498
• it comethבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• from a terribleיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Isaiah 21:1

• Isaiah 13:1The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
• Isaiah 17:1An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.
• Isaiah 13:20It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
• Isaiah 14:23"And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.
• Jeremiah 51:42The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
• Job 37:9From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.
• Daniel 11:40"At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.
• Zechariah 9:14Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
• Isaiah 13:4The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering a host for battle.
• Ezekiel 30:11He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
• Ezekiel 31:12Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it.

Commentaries on Isaiah 21:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The desert of the sea - This plainly means Babylon, which is the subject of the prophecy. The country about Babylon, and especially below it towards the sea, was a great flat morass, overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris. It became habitable by being drained by the many canals that were made in it. Herodotus, lib. 1:184, says that "Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by raising great dams against it; for before it overflowed the whole…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The burden - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). Of the desert - There have been almost as many interpretations of this expression, as there have been interpreters. That it means Babylon, or the country about Babylon, there can be no doubt; but the question why this phrase was applied, has given rise to a great diversity of opinions. The term desert‘ (מדבר midbâr ) is usually applied to a wilderness, or to a comparatively barren and uncultivated country - a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The taking of Babylon. (Is. 21:1-10) Of the Edomites. (Is. 21:11,12) Of the Arabs. (Is. 21:13-17) Verses 1-10 Babylon was a flat country, abundantly watered. The destruction of Babylon, so often prophesied of by Isaiah, was typical of the destruction of the great foe of the New Testament church, foretold in the Revelation. To the poor oppressed captives it would be welcome news; to the proud oppressors it would be grievous. Let this check vain mirth and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: This description of Babylon might ironically suggest that the land was physically lush but spiritually empty. from the desert, from a land of terror: (compare Deuteronomy 8:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-10He does not narrate the event, but graphically supposes himself a watchman in Babylon, beholding the events as they pass. 1. desert--the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again. of the sea--The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sea" (Jr 51:13, 36; so Is 11:15, the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed these dykes, and so converted the whole country again…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 21:1

• Babylon
• Isaiah
• Persia
• Whirlwind

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Anoint
• Cornfloor
• Sea, The
• Wilderness
• Winds
• Desert
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Hezekiah (2)

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