ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Isaiah 21

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"1. The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 2. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3. Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am pained so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 4. My heart fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me. 5. They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield. 6. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman: let him declare what he seeth: 7. and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. 8. And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and am set in my ward whole nights; 9. and, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground. 10. O thou my threshing, and the grain of my floor! that which I have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. 11. The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 12. The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come. 13. The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedanites. 14. Unto him that was thirsty they brought water; the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread. 15. For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail; 17. and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it." (Isaiah 21:1-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land. 2. A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing. 3. Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have taken hold on me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t hear. I so am dismayed that I can’t see. 4. My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me. 5. They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield! 6. For the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees. 7. When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” 8. He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. 9. Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground. 10. You are my threshing, and the grain of my floor!” That which I have heard from Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, I have declared to you. 11. The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12. The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again.” 13. The burden on Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, you caravans of Dedanites. 14. They brought water to him who was thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema met the fugitives with their bread. 15. For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the heat of battle. 16. For the Lord said to me, “Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will fail, 17. and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it.”" (Isaiah 21:1-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. 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. 2. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. grievous: Heb. hard 3. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. heart: or, mind wandered turned: Heb. put 5. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: 8. And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: he: or, cried as a lion whole: or, every night 9. And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. corn: Heb. son 11. The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 12. The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come. 13. The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. 14. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. brought: or, bring ye 15. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. from the swords: or, for fear, etc: Heb. from the face, etc 16. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: 17. And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it. archers: Heb. bows" (Isaiah 21:1-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The burden of the wilderness of the sea. 'Like hurricanes in the south for passing through, From the wilderness it hath come, From a fearful land. 2. A hard vision hath been declared to me, The treacherous dealer is dealing treacherously, And the destroyer is destroying. Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media, All its sighing I have caused to cease. 3. Therefore filled have been my loins [with] great pain, Pangs have seized me as pangs of a travailing woman, I have been bent down by hearing, I have been troubled by seeing. 4. Wandered hath my heart, trembling hath terrified me, The twilight of my desire He hath made a fear to me, 5. Arrange the table, watch in the watch-tower, Eat, drink, rise, ye heads, anoint the shield, 6. For thus said the Lord unto me: 'Go, station the watchman, That which he seeth let him declare.' 7. And he hath seen a chariot, a couple of horsemen, The rider of an ass, the rider of a camel, And he hath given attention, He hath increased attention! 8. And he crieth, a lion, 'On a watch-tower my lord, I am standing continually by day, And on my ward I am stationed whole nights. 9. And lo, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.' And he answereth and saith: 'Fallen, fallen hath Babylon, And all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the earth. 10. O my threshing, and the son of my floor, That which I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, I have declared to you!' 11. The burden of Dumah. Unto me is [one] calling from Seir 'Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?' 12. The watchman hath said, 'Come hath morning, and also night, If ye inquire, inquire ye, turn back, come.' 13. The burden on Arabia. In a forest in Arabia ye lodge, O travellers of Dedanim. 14. To meet the thirsty brought water have Inhabitants of the land of Tema, With his bread they came before a fugitive. 15. For from the face of destructions they fled, From the face of a stretched-out sword, And from the face of a trodden bow, And from the face of the grievousness of battle. 16. For thus said the Lord unto me: 'Within a year, as years of a hireling, Consumed hath been all the honour of Kedar. 17. And the remnant of the number of bow-men, The mighty of the sons of Kedar are few, For Jehovah, God of Israel, hath spoken!'" (Isaiah 21:1-17, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Isaiah son of Amoz (traditional unity) + LORD direct discourse
  • Audience: Judah under Uzziah/Jotham/Ahaz/Hezekiah + exilic remnant
  • Location: Jerusalem and Judah
  • Time period: ministry c. 740-680 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.