Yesaya 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ¹ 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ² 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Yesaya 25:3

25:3 So a strong nation will extol you;

the towns of ³  powerful nations will fear you.

Yesaya 29:20

29:20 For tyrants will disappear,

those who taunt will vanish,

and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated ⁴  –

[21:1]  ¹ sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ² tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[25:3]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has a singular form, but it should be emended to a plural or eliminated altogether. The noun may have been accidentally copied from the preceding verse.

[29:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”