Isaiah 21
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1This 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.1A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
2I see a terrifying vision: I see the betrayer betraying, the destroyer destroying. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, attack and lay siege. I will make an end to all the groaning Babylon caused.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.
3My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me, like those of a woman in labor. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am too afraid to look.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.
4My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark.4My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
5Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle. You are being attacked!5They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!
6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees.6This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
7He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.”7When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert."
8Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post.8And the lookout shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.
9Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”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!'"
10O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said, everything the God of Israel has told me. A Message about Edom10My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.
11This 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?”11A 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 night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.” A Message about Arabia12The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."
13This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia.13A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees.14bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives.
15They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle.15They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.
16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.16This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.
17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!”17The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few." The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.New International Version (NIV)

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Isaiah 20
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