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Isaiah 21-24
New Living Translation
Isaiah 21-24
New Living Translation
A Message about Babylon
21 This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea[a]:
Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
2 I 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.
3 My 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.
4 My mind reels and my heart races.
I longed for evening to come,
but now I am terrified of the dark.
5 Look! 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!
6 Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
Let him shout out what he sees.
7 He should look for chariots
drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
Let the watchman be fully alert.”
8 Then the watchman[b] called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
Night after night I have remained at my post.
9 Now 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!”
10 O 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 Edom
11 This message came to me concerning Edom[c]:
Someone from Edom[d] keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until morning?
When will the night be over?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon return.
If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13 This message came to me concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan,
hide in the deserts of Arabia.
14 O people of Tema,
bring water to these thirsty people,
food to these weary refugees.
15 They have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and the terrors of battle.
16 The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day,[e] all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the Lord, the God of Israel, have spoken!”
A Message about Jerusalem
22 This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision[f]:
What is happening?
Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
2 The whole city is in a terrible uproar.
What do I see in this reveling city?
Bodies are lying everywhere,
killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
3 All your leaders have fled.
They surrendered without resistance.
The people tried to slip away,
but they were captured, too.
4 That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;
do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
as I watch them being destroyed.”
5 Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!
What a day of confusion and terror
brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
upon the Valley of Vision!
The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,
and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
6 Elamites are the archers,
with their chariots and charioteers.
The men of Kir hold up the shields.
7 Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,
and charioteers storm your gates.
8 Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.
You run to the armory[g] for your weapons.
9 You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.[h]
You store up water in the lower pool.
10 You survey the houses and tear some down
for stone to strengthen the walls.
11 Between the city walls, you build a reservoir
for water from the old pool.
But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.
You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
12 At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins
and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
13 But instead, you dance and play;
you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.
You feast on meat and drink wine.
You say, “Let’s feast and drink,
for tomorrow we die!”
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Message for Shebna
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:
16 “Who do you think you are,
and what are you doing here,
building a beautiful tomb for yourself—
a monument high up in the rock?
17 For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man.
He is going to grab you,
18 crumple you into a ball,
and toss you away into a distant, barren land.
There you will die,
and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless.
You are a disgrace to your master!
19 “Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. 20 And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. 21 I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. 23 He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. 24 They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.[i]”
25 But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
A Message about Tyre
23 This message came to me concerning Tyre:
Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish,
for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone!
The rumors you heard in Cyprus[j]
are all true.
2 Mourn in silence, you people of the coast
and you merchants of Sidon.
Your traders crossed the sea,[k]
3 sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt[l]
and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.
4 But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon,
for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says,[m]
“Now I am childless;
I have no sons or daughters.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
there will be great sorrow.
6 Send word now to Tarshish!
Wail, you people who live in distant lands!
7 Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city?
What a long history was yours!
Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.
8 Who has brought this disaster on Tyre,
that great creator of kingdoms?
Her traders were all princes,
her merchants were nobles.
9 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it
to destroy your pride
and bring low all earth’s nobility.
10 Come, people of Tarshish,
sweep over the land like the flooding Nile,
for Tyre is defenseless.[n]
11 The Lord held out his hand over the sea
and shook the kingdoms of the earth.
He has spoken out against Phoenicia,[o]
ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.
12 He says, “Never again will you rejoice,
O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed.
Even if you flee to Cyprus,
you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of Babylonia[p]—
the people of that land are gone!
The Assyrians have handed Babylon over
to the wild animals of the desert.
They have built siege ramps against its walls,
torn down its palaces,
and turned it to a heap of rubble.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
for your harbor is destroyed!
15 For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute:
16 Take a harp and walk the streets,
you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
so you will be remembered again.
17 Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world. 18 But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.
Destruction of the Earth
24 Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth
and make it a vast wasteland.
He devastates the surface of the earth
and scatters the people.
2 Priests and laypeople,
servants and masters,
maids and mistresses,
buyers and sellers,
lenders and borrowers,
bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted.
The Lord has spoken!
4 The earth mourns and dries up,
and the land wastes away and withers.
Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
and broken his everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
and only a few are left alive.
7 The grapevines waste away,
and there is no new wine.
All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
9 Gone are the joys of wine and song;
alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
10 The city writhes in chaos;
every home is locked to keep out intruders.
11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
Joy has turned to gloom.
Gladness has been banished from the land.
12 The city is left in ruins,
its gates battered down.
13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
14 But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief.
Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
and treachery is everywhere.
17 Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
you people of the earth.
18 Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.
Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth has broken up.
It has utterly collapsed;
it is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunk.
It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.
21 In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
22 They will be rounded up and put in prison.
They will be shut up in prison
and will finally be punished.
23 Then the glory of the moon will wane,
and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
in the sight of all the leaders of his people.
Footnotes
- 21:1 Hebrew concerning the desert by the sea.
- 21:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads a lion.
- 21:11a Hebrew Dumah, which means “silence” or “stillness.” It is a wordplay on the word Edom.
- 21:11b Hebrew Seir, another name for Edom.
- 21:16 Hebrew Within a year, as a servant bound by contract would count it. Some ancient manuscripts read Within three years, as in 16:14.
- 22:1 Hebrew concerning the Valley of Vision.
- 22:8 Hebrew to the House of the Forest; see 1 Kgs 7:2-5.
- 22:9 Hebrew the city of David.
- 22:24 Hebrew They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: its offspring and offshoots, all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
- 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also in 23:12.
- 23:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads Those who have gone over the sea have filled you.
- 23:3 Hebrew from Shihor, a branch of the Nile River.
- 23:4 Or for the god of the sea says; Hebrew reads for the sea, the fortress of the sea, says.
- 23:10 The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain.
- 23:11 Hebrew Canaan.
- 23:13 Or Chaldea.
Isaiah 21-24
New International Version
Isaiah 21-24
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
4 My heart(L) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(N) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(P)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(Q)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(R)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[a](T) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)
You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
22 A prophecy(AN) against the Valley(AO) of Vision:(AP)
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,(AQ)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult(AR) and revelry?(AS)
Your slain(AT) were not killed by the sword,(AU)
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled(AV) together;
they have been captured(AW) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weep(AX) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”(AY)
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(AZ)
of tumult and trampling(BA) and terror(BB)
in the Valley of Vision,(BC)
a day of battering down walls(BD)
and of crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam(BE) takes up the quiver,(BF)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir(BG) uncovers the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys(BH) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(BI)
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day(BJ)
to the weapons(BK) in the Palace of the Forest.(BL)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through(BM) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.(BN)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses(BO) to strengthen the wall.(BP)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(BQ)
for the water of the Old Pool,(BR)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard(BS) for the One who planned(BT) it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day(BU)
to weep(BV) and to wail,
to tear out your hair(BW) and put on sackcloth.(BX)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(BY)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!(BZ)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”(CA)
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(CB) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(CC) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna(CD) the palace(CE) administrator:(CF)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave(CG) for yourself(CH) here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl(CI) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw(CJ) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots(CK) you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
and you will be ousted(CL) from your position.(CM)
20 “In that day(CN) I will summon my servant,(CO) Eliakim(CP) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(CQ) around him and hand your authority(CR) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(CS) the key(CT) to the house of David;(CU) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(CV) 23 I will drive him like a peg(CW) into a firm place;(CX) he will become a seat[c] of honor(CY) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25 “In that day,(CZ)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(DA) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(DB)
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(DC)
Wail,(DD) you ships(DE) of Tarshish!(DF)
For Tyre is destroyed(DG)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(DH) you people of the island
and you merchants(DI) of Sidon,(DJ)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(DK)
the harvest of the Nile[d](DL) was the revenue of Tyre,(DM)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(DN) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(DO)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(DP) at the report from Tyre.(DQ)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(DR)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(DS)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(DT) are princes,
whose traders(DU) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(DV) it,
to bring down(DW) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(DX) all who are renowned(DY) on the earth.
10 Till[e] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(DZ) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(EA)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(EB)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(EC)
Virgin Daughter(ED) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(EE)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[f](EF)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(EG) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(EH)
they raised up their siege towers,(EI)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(EJ)
15 At that time Tyre(EN) will be forgotten for seventy years,(EO) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(EP)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(EQ) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(ER) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(ES) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(ET) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(EU) for abundant food and fine clothes.(EV)
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(EW)
and devastate(EX) it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter(EY) its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,(EZ)
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,(FA)
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.(FB)
3 The earth will be completely laid waste(FC)
and totally plundered.(FD)
The Lord has spoken(FE) this word.
4 The earth dries up(FF) and withers,(FG)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens(FH) languish with the earth.(FI)
5 The earth is defiled(FJ) by its people;
they have disobeyed(FK) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.(FL)
6 Therefore a curse(FM) consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(FN)
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up(FO) and the vine withers;(FP)
all the merrymakers groan.(FQ)
8 The joyful timbrels(FR) are stilled,
the noise(FS) of the revelers(FT) has stopped,
the joyful harp(FU) is silent.(FV)
9 No longer do they drink wine(FW) with a song;
the beer is bitter(FX) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(FY) lies desolate;(FZ)
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(GA) for wine;(GB)
all joy turns to gloom,(GC)
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(GD)
its gate(GE) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(GF)
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(GG)
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(GH)
from the west(GI) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(GJ) give glory(GK) to the Lord;
exalt(GL) the name(GM) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands(GN) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(GO) we hear singing:(GP)
“Glory(GQ) to the Righteous One.”(GR)
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(GS)
Woe(GT) to me!
The treacherous(GU) betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!(GV)”
17 Terror(GW) and pit and snare(GX) await you,
people of the earth.(GY)
18 Whoever flees(GZ) at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;(HA)
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.(HB)
The floodgates of the heavens(HC) are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.(HD)
19 The earth is broken up,(HE)
the earth is split asunder,(HF)
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(HG)
it sways like a hut(HH) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(HI)
that it falls(HJ)—never to rise again.(HK)
21 In that day(HL) the Lord will punish(HM)
the powers(HN) in the heavens above
and the kings(HO) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners(HP) bound in a dungeon;(HQ)
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished[g] after many days.(HR)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun(HS) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(HT)
on Mount Zion(HU) and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.(HV)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
- Isaiah 22:23 Or throne
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 24:22 Or released
New Living Translation (NLT)
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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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.