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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
• 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

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. 2A 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. 3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I 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 13:1A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
• Isaiah 17:1A prophecy against Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.
• Isaiah 13:20She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
• Isaiah 14:23“I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty.
• Jeremiah 51:42The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her.
• Job 37:9The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.
• Daniel 11:40“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.
• Zechariah 9:14Then the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south,
• Isaiah 13:4Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.
• Ezekiel 30:11He and his army—the most ruthless of nations— will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
• Ezekiel 31:12and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade 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