New English Translation
Isaiah 21:11
11Here is a message about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
Isaiah 21:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
- New International Version (NIV)A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”
Context of Isaiah 21:11
9Look what’s coming! A charioteer, a team of horses.” When questioned, he replies, “Babylon has fallen, fallen! All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!” 10O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you. Here is a message about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” 12The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but then night. If you want to ask, ask; come back again.” 13Here is a message about Arabia: In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night, you Dedanite caravans.
Read all of Isaiah 21Isaiah 21:11 word by word
מַשָּׂ֖א דּוּמָ֑ה אֵלַי֙ קֹרֵ֣א מִשֵּׂעִ֔יר שֹׁמֵר֙ מַה־מִלַּ֔יְלָה שֹׁמֵ֖ר מַה־מִלֵּֽיל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 21:11
- Genesis 25:14Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
- 1 Chronicles 1:30Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,
- Isaiah 34:1Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it.
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength? “It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!”
- Numbers 24:18Edom will be a possession, Seir, his enemies, will also be a possession; but Israel will act valiantly.
- Deuteronomy 2:5Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir as an inheritance for Esau.
- Psalms 137:7Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!”
- Jeremiah 49:7The Lord who rules over all spoke about Edom. “Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? Has all of their wisdom turned bad?
- Ezekiel 35:1The word of the Lord came to me:
- Joel 3:19Egypt will be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
- Amos 1:6This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom.
- Obadiah 1:1The vision that Obadiah saw. The Lord God says this concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord. An envoy was sent among the nations, saying, “Arise! Let us make war against Edom!”
- Malachi 1:2“I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?” “Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob
- Isaiah 21:6For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Go, post a guard! He must report what he sees.
- Jeremiah 37:17Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 21:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11The burden of Dumah "The oracle concerning Dumah" - Pro דומה Dumah, Codex R. Meiri habet אדום Edom ; and so the Septuagint, Vid. Kimchi ad h. 50. Biblia Michaelis, Halae, 1720, not. ad 50. See also De Rossi. Bishop Lowth translates the prophecy thus: - 11. The Oracle Concerning Dumah. A voice crieth to me from Seir: Watchman, what from the night? Watchman, what from the night? 12. The watchman replieth: - The morning cometh, and also the night. If ye will…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Analysis of Isaiah 21:11, Isaiah 21:12. - VISION 17. Dumah, or Idumea. This prophecy is very obscure. It comprises but two verses. When it was delivered, or on what occasion, or what was its design, it is not easy to determine. Its brevity has contributed much to its obscurity; nor, amidst the variety of interpretations which have been proposed, is it possible to ascertain with entire certainty the true explanation. Perhaps no portion of the Scriptures…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11Verse 11 ,12 God's prophets and ministers are as watchmen in the city in a time of peace, to see that all is safe. As watchmen in the camp in time of war, to warn of the motions of the enemy. After a long sleep in sin and security, it is time to rise, to awake out of sleep. We have a great deal of work to do, a long journey to go; it is time to be stirring. After a long dark night is there any hope of the day dawning? What tidings of the night? What…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12Seir: This refers to the mountainous region of Edom. Watchman, what is left of the night: Edom's suffering would last a long time. The Assyrians controlled the ancient Near East during the 700s and 600s BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Dumah--a tribe and region of Ishmael in Arabia (Ge 25:14; 1Ch 1:30); now called Dumah the Stony, situated on the confines of Arabia and the Syrian desert; a part put for the whole of Edom. Vitringa thinks "Dumah," Hebrew, "silence," is here used for Idumea, to imply that it was soon to be reduced to silence or destruction. Seir--the principal mountain in Idumea, south of the Dead Sea, in Arabia-Petræa. "He calleth" ought to be rather, "There is a call…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 21:11
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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