New International Version
Isaiah 21:11
11A prophecy against 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?
- 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?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)This message came to me concerning Edom: Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, “Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?”
Context of Isaiah 21:11
9Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’ ” 10My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel. A prophecy against 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 also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.” 13A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
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 peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”
- Numbers 24:18Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.
- Deuteronomy 2:5Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.
- Psalms 137:7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
- Jeremiah 49:7Concerning Edom: This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
- Ezekiel 35:1The word of the Lord came to me:
- Joel 3:19But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
- Amos 1:6This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom,
- Obadiah 1:1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom— We have heard a message from the Lord: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Rise, let us go against her for battle”—
- Malachi 1:2“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,
- Isaiah 21:6This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
- Jeremiah 37:17Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered into the hands of 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries