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21. Prophecy Against Babylon

¹ A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea:

   Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland,
   an invader comes from the desert,
   from a land of terror.

    ² A 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.

    ³ At 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.
⁴ My heart falters,
   fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for
   has become a horror to me.

    ⁵ They set the tables,
   they spread the rugs,
   they eat, they drink!
Get up, you officers,
   oil the shields!

⁶ This is what the Lord says to me:

   “Go, post a lookout
   and have him report what he sees.
⁷ When he sees chariots
   with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
   or riders on camels,
let him be alert,
   fully alert.”

⁸ And the lookout Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion 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
   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!’”

    ¹⁰ My 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 Edom

¹¹ A prophecy against Dumah Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.:

   Someone calls to me from Seir,
   “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 against Arabia:

   You caravans of Dedanites,
   who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
    ¹⁴ bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,
   bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵ They flee from the sword,
   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 would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷ The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.

3. Therefore are my loins, filled with pain. Here the Prophet represents the people as actually present, for it was not enough to have simply foretold the destruction of Babylon, if he had not confirmed the belief of the godly in such a manner that they felt as if the actual event were placed before their eyes. Such a representation was necessary, and the Prophet does not here describe the feelings of his own heart, as if he had compassion on the Babylonians, but, on the contrary, as we have formerly said, ⁶⁷⁶⁷ {Bogus footnote} he assumes, for the time, the character of a Babylonian. ⁶⁸⁶⁸ {Bogus footnote} It ought undoubtedly to satisfy our minds that the hidden judgments of God are held out to us, as in a mirror, that they may arouse the sluggishness of our faith; and therefore the Prophets describe with greater beauty and copiousness, and paint in lively colors, those things which exceed the capacity of our reason. The Prophet, thus expressing his grief, informs believers how awful is the vengeance of God which awaits the Chaldeans, and how dreadfully they will be punished, as we are struck with surprise and horror when any sad intelligence is brought to us.

As the pangs of a woman that travaileth. He adds a stronger expression of grief, when he compares it to that of a woman in labor, as when a person under fearful anguish turns every way, and writhes in every part of his body. Such modes of expression are employed by the Prophets on account of our sluggishness, for we do not perceive the judgments of God till they be pointed at, as it were, with the finger, and affect our senses. We are warned to be on our guard before they arrive.