New King James Version
Isaiah 21:11
11The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what 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 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
9And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” 10Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” 13The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites.
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, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it.
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
- Numbers 24:18“And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.
- Deuteronomy 2:5Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
- Psalms 137:7Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!”
- Jeremiah 49:7Against Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
- Ezekiel 35:1Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
- Joel 3:19“Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
- Amos 1:6Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom.
- Obadiah 1:1The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
- Malachi 1:2“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;
- Isaiah 21:6For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.”
- Jeremiah 37:17then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand 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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries