The document provides commentary on Isaiah 21, which prophesies the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. It discusses various interpretations of the phrases "desert of the sea" and "whirlwinds in the south." The commentators generally agree that "desert of the sea" refers to the marshy plains around Babylon, which were like a sea before being drained, and that "whirlwinds in the south" describes the invading army's rapid advance from the deserts of southern Media and Persia like powerful storms. The commentary also notes historical accounts stating the area was originally marshland and outlines the key events of Cyrus' conquest that fulfilled this prophecy.

1. ISAIAH 21 COMMENTARY
WEDITED BY GLENN PEASE
A 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.
1.BARNES, “The burden - (see the note at Isa_13:1).
Of the desert - There have been almost as many interpretations of this expression, as there
have been interpreters. That it means Babylon, or the country about Babylon, there can be no
doubt; but the question why this phrase was applied, has given rise to a great diversity of
opinions. The term ‘desert’ (‫מדבר‬ midbar) is usually applied to a wilderness, or to a
comparatively barren and uncultivated country - a place for flocks and herds (Psa_65:13;
Jer_9:9 ff); to an actual waste, sandy desert Isa_32:15; Isa_35:1; and particularly to the deserts
of Arabia Gen_14:6; Gen_16:7; Deu_11:24. It may here be applied to Babylon either historically,
as having been “once” an unreclaimed desert: or by “anticipation,” as descriptive of what it
“would be” after it should be destroyed by Cyrus, or possibly both these ideas may have been
combined. That it was “once” a desert before it was reclaimed by Semiramis is the testimony of
all history; that it is “now” a vast waste is the united testimony of all travelers. There is every
reason to think that a large part of the country about Babylon was formerly overflowed with
water “before” it was reclaimed by dykes; and as it was naturally a waste, when the artificial
dykes and dams should be removed, it would again be a desert.
Of the sea - (‫ים‬ yam). There has been also much difference of opinion in regard to this word.
But there can be no doubt that it refers to the Euphrates, and to the extensive region of marsh
that was covered by its waters. The name ‘sea’ (‫ים‬ yam) is not unfrequently given to a large river,
to the Nile, and to the Euphrates (see the note at Isa_11:15; compare Isa_19:5). Herodotus (i.
184), says, that ‘Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by raisin great dams
against it; for before, it overflowed the whole country like a sea.’ And Abydenus, in Eusebius,
(“Prepara. Evang.,” ix. 457) says, respecting the building of Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, that ‘it
is reported that all this was covered with water, and was called a sea - λέγεται δᆯ πάντα µεν ᅚξ ᅊρ
ᇿς ᆖδωρ εᅼναι, θαλασσων καλουµένην legetai de panta men ech arches hudor einai, thalasson

2. kaloumenen (Compare Strabo, “Geog.” xvi. 9, 10; and Arrianus, “De Expedit. Alexandri,” vii. 21).
Cyrus removed these dykes, reopened the canals, and the waters were suffered to remain, and
again converted the whole country into a vast marsh (see the notes at Isa. 13; 14)
As whirlwinds - That is, the army comes with the rapidity of a whirlwind. In Isa_8:8
(compare Hab_1:11), an army is compared to an overflowing and rapid river.
In the south - Whirlwinds or tempests are often in the Scriptures represented as coming
from the south, Zec_9:14; Job_37:9 :
Out of the south cometh the whirlwind,
And cold out of the north.
So Virgil:
- creberque procellis
Africus -
AEneid, i. 85.
The deserts of Arabia were situated to the south of Babylon, and the south winds are described
as the winds of the desert. Those winds are represented as being so violent as to tear away the
tents occupied by a caravan (Pietro della Valle, “Travels,” vol. iv. pp. 183, 191). In Job_1:19, the
whirlwind is represented as coming ‘from the wilderness; that is, from the “desert” of Arabia
(compare Jer_13:24; Hos_13:15).
So it cometh from the desert - (see Isa_13:4, and the note on that place). God is there
represented as collecting the army for the destruction of Babylon ‘on the mountains,’ and by
mountains are probably denoted the same as is here denoted by the desert. The country of the
“Medes” is doubtless intended, which, in the view of civilized and refined Babylon, was an
uncultivated region, or a vast waste or wilderness.
From a terrible land - A country rough and uncultivated, abounding in forests or wastes.
2. CLARKE, “The desert of the sea - This plainly means Babylon, which is the subject of
the prophecy. The country about Babylon, and especially below it towards the sea, was a great
flat morass, overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris. It became habitable by being drained by the
many canals that were made in it.
Herodotus, lib. 1:184, says that “Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by
raising great dams against it; for before it overflowed the whole country like a sea.” And
Abydenus, (quoting Megasthenes, apud Euseb. Praep. Evang. 9:41), speaking of the building of
Babylon by Nebuchadonosor, says, “it is reported that all this part was covered with water and
was called the sea; and that Belus drew off the waters, conveying them into proper receptacles,
and surrounded Babylon with a wall.” When the Euphrates was turned out of its channel by
Cyrus, it was suffered still to drown the neighboring country; and, the Persian government,
which did not favor the place, taking no care to remedy this inconvenience, it became in time a
great barren morassy desert, which event the title of the prophecy may perhaps intimate. Such it
was originally; such it became after the taking of the city by Cyrus; and such it continues to this
day.
As whirlwinds in the south “Like the southern tempests” - The most vehement
storms to which Judea was subject came from the desert country to the south of it. “Out of the
south cometh the whirlwind,” Job_37:9. “And there came a great wind from the wilderness, and

3. smote the four corners of the house,” Job_1:19. For the situation of Idumea, the country (as I
suppose) of Job, see Lam_4:21 compared with Job_1:1, was the same in this respect with that of
Judea: -
“And Jehovah shall appear over them,
And his arrow shall go forth as the lightning;
And the Lord Jehovah shall sound the trumpet;
And shall march in the whirlwinds of the south.”
Zec_9:14.
3. GILL, “The burden of the desert of the sea,.... That this is a prophecy of the destruction
of Babylon is clear from the express mention both of the Medes and Persians, by whom it should
be, and of Babylon itself, and its fall, Isa_21:2 which, though prophesied of before, is here
repeated, partly for the certainty of it, and partly for the comfort of the people of the Jews, who
would be captives in it, and so break off and prevent their confidence in a nation that would be
ruined; and perhaps this prophecy might be delivered out about the time or on account of
Merodach king of Babylon sending letters and a present to Hezekiah, who showed to his
messengers all his treasures. Babylon is here called "the desert of the sea", not because it was a
desert land, for it was a very fruitful one; or because it would be laid desolate, and become as a
wilderness; but either because there was one between that and the countries of Media and
Persia, as Kimchi, from whence its destroyers would come; or rather, because it was, as the word
may be rendered, a "plain", for so the land of Chaldea was, and the city of Babylon particularly
was built in a plain, Gen_11:2 and because this country abounded with pools and lakes, which
with the Hebrews are called seas; and especially since the city of Babylon was situated by the
river Euphrates, which ran about it, and through it and which therefore is said to dwell upon
many waters, Jer_51:13 hence it has this name of the desert of the sea; besides, Abydenus (l),
from Megasthenes, informs us, that all the places about Babylon were from the beginning water,
and were called a sea; and it should be observed that mystical Babylon is represented by a
woman in a desert, sitting on many waters, which are interpreted of a multitude of people and
nations, Rev_17:1 and some here by "sea" understand the multitude of its riches, power, and
people. The Targum is,
"the burden of the armies, which come from the wilderness, as the waters of the sea;''
understanding it not of Babylon, but of its enemies and invaders, as follows:
as whirlwinds in the south pass through; and nothing can hinder them, such is their force
and power; they bear all before them, come suddenly, blow strongly, and there is no resisting
them; see Zec_9:14,
so it cometh from the desert; or "he", that is, Cyrus; or "it", the army under him, would
come with like irresistible force and power as the southern whirlwinds do, which come from a
desert country; at least that part of it in which their soldiers were trained up, and which in their
march to Babylon must come through the desert, that lay, as before observed, between that and
their country, and through which Cyrus did pass (m):
from a terrible land; a land of serpents and scorpions, as Jarchi; or a land afar off, as Kimchi
and Ben Melech; whose power and usage, or customs, were not known, and so dreaded, as the

4. Medes and Persians were by Nitocris queen of Babylon, who took care to preserve her people,
and prevent their falling into their hands. The Targum is,
"from a land in which terrible things are done.''
4. HENRY, “We had one burden of Babylon before (ch. 13); here we have another prediction
of its fall. God saw fit thus to possess his people with the belief of this event by line upon line,
because Babylon sometimes pretended to be a friend to them (as Isa_39:1), and God would
hereby warn them not to trust to that friendship, and sometimes was really an enemy to them,
and God would hereby warn them not to be afraid of that enmity. Babylon is marked for ruin;
and all that believe God's prophets can, through that glass, see it tottering, see it tumbling, even
when with an eye of sense they see it flourishing and sitting as a queen. Babylon is here called
the desert or plain of the sea; for it was a flat country, and full of lakes, or loughs (as they call
them in Ireland), like little seas, and was abundantly watered with the many streams of the river
Euphrates. Babylon did but lately begin to be famous, Nineveh having outshone it while the
monarchy was in the Assyrian hands; but in a little time it became the lady of kingdoms; and,
before it arrived at that pitch of eminency which it was at in Nebuchadnezzar's time, God by this
prophet plainly foretold its fall, again and again, that his people might not be terrified at its rise,
nor despair of relief in due time when they were its prisoners, Job_5:3; Psa_37:35, Psa_37:36.
Some think it is here called a desert because, though it was now a populous city, it should in
time be made a desert. And therefore the destruction of Babylon is so often prophesied of by this
evangelical prophet, because it was typical of the destruction of the man of sin, the great enemy
of the New Testament church, which is foretold in the Revelation in many expressions borrowed
from these prophecies, which therefore must be consulted and collated by those who would
understand the prophecy of that book. Here is,
I. The powerful irruption and descent which the Medes and Persians should make upon Babylon
(Isa_21:1, Isa_21:2): They will come from the desert, from a terrible land. The northern parts of
Media and Persia, where their soldiers were mostly bred, was waste and mountainous, terrible
to strangers that were to pass through it and producing soldiers that were very formidable. Elam
(that is, Persia) is summoned to go up against Babylon, and, in conjunction with the forces of
Media, to besiege it. When God has work of this kind to do he will find, though it be in a desert,
in a terrible land, proper instruments to be employed in it. These forces come as whirlwinds
from the south, so suddenly, so strongly, so terribly, such a mighty noise shall they make, and
throw down every thing that stands in their way. As is usual in such a case, some deserters will
go over to them: The treacherous dealers will deal treacherously. Historians tell us of Gadatas
and Gobryas, two great officers of the king of Babylon, that went over to Cyrus, and, being well
acquainted with all the avenues of the city, led a party directly to the palace, where Belshazzar
was slain. Thus with the help of the treacherous dealers the spoilers spoiled. Some read it thus:
There shall be a deceiver of that deceiver, Babylon, and a spoiler of that spoiler, or, which
comes all to one, The treacherous dealer has found one that deals treacherously, and the
spoiler one that spoils, as it is expounded, Isa_33:1. The Persians shall pay the Babylonians in
their own coin; those that by fraud and violence, cheating and plundering, unrighteous wars and

5. deceitful treaties, have made a prey of their neighbours, shall meet with their match, and by the
same methods shall themselves be made a prey of.
5. JAMISON, “Isa_21:1-10. Repetition of the assurance given in the thirteenth and
fourteenth chapters to the Jews about to be captives in Babylon, that their enemy should be
destroyed and they be delivered.
He does not narrate the event, but graphically supposes himself a watchman in Babylon,
beholding the events as they pass.
desert — the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to
become so again.
of the sea — The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a “sea” (Jer_51:13,
Jer_51:36; so Isa_11:15, the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed
these dykes, and so converted the whole country again into a vast desert marsh.
whirlwinds in the south — (Job_37:9; Zec_9:14). The south wind comes upon Babylon
from the deserts of Arabia, and its violence is the greater from its course being unbroken along
the plain (Job_1:19).
desert — the plain between Babylon and Persia.
terrible land — Media; to guard against which was the object of Nitocris’ great works
[Herodotus, 1.185]. Compare as to “terrible” applied to a wilderness, as being full of unknown
dangers, Deu_1:29.
6. K&D, “The power which first brings destruction upon the city of the world, is a hostile
army composed of several nations. “As storms in the south approach, it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land. Hard vision is made known to me: the spoiler spoils, and the devastator
devastates. Go up, Elam! Surround, Maday! I put an end to all their sighing.” “Storms in the
south” (compare Isa_28:21; Amo_3:9) are storms which have their starting-point in the south,
and therefore come to Babylon from Arabia deserta; and like all winds that come from
boundless steppes, they are always violent (Job_1:19; Job_37:9; see Hos_13:15). It would be
natural, therefore, to connect mimmidbar with lachaloph (as Knobel and Umbreit do), but the
arrangement of the words is opposed to this; lachalooph (“pressing forwards”) is sued instead of
yachaloph (see Ges. §132, Anm. 1, and still more fully on Hab_1:17). The conjunctio
periphrastica stands with great force at the close of the comparison, in order that it may express
at the same time the violent pressure with which the progress of the storm is connected. It is
true that, according to Herod. i. 189, Cyrus came across the Gyndes, so that he descended into
the lowlands to Babylonia through Chalonitis and Apolloniatis, by the road described by Isidor
V. Charax in his Itinerarium,
(Note: See C. Masson's “Illustration of the route from Seleucia to Apobatana, as given by
Isid. of Charax,” in the Asiatic Journal, xii. 97ff.)
over the Zagros pass through the Zagros-gate (Ptolem. vi. 2) to the upper course of the Gyndes
(the present Diyala), and then along this river, which he crossed before its junction with the
Tigris. But if the Medo-Persian army came in this direction, it could not be regarded as coming
“from the desert.” If, however, the Median portion of the army followed the course of the
Choaspes (Kerkha) so as to descend into the lowland of Chuzistan (the route taken by Major
Rawlinson with a Guran regiment),

6. (Note: See Rawlinson's route as described in Ritter's Erdkunde, ix. 3 (West-asien), p.
397ff.)
and thus approached Babylon from the south-east, it might be regarded in many respects as
coming mimmidbar (from the desert), and primarily because the lowland of Chuzistan is a broad
open plain - that is to say, a midbar. According to the simile employed of storms in the south, the
assumption of the prophecy is really this, that the hostile army is advancing from Chuzistan, or
(as geographical exactitude is not to be supposed) from the direction of the desert of ed-Dahna,
that portion of Arabia deserta which bounded the lowland of Chaldean on the south-west. The
Medo-Persian land itself is called “a terrible land,” because it was situated outside the circle of
civilised nations by which the land of Israel was surrounded. After the thematic commencement
in Isa_21:1, which is quite in harmony with Isaiah's usual custom, the prophet begins again in
Isa_21:2. Chazuth (a vision) has the same meaning here as in Isa_29:11 (though not Isa_28:18);
and chazuth kashah is the object of the passive which follows (Ges. §143, 1, b). The prophet calls
the look into the future, which is given to him by divine inspiration, hard or heavy (though in the
sense of difficilis, not gravis, cabed), on account of its repulsive, unendurable, and, so to speak,
indigestible nature. The prospect is wide-spread plunder and devastation (the expression is the
same as in Isa_33:1, compare Isa_16:4; Isa_24:16, bagad denoting faithless or treacherous
conduct, then heartless robbery), and the summoning of the nations on the east and north of
Babylonia to the conquest of Babylon; for Jehovah is about to put an end (hishbatti, as in
Isa_16:10) to all their sighing (anchathah, with He raf. and the tone upon the last syllable), i.e.,
to all the lamentations forced out of them far and wide by the oppressor.
7.CALVIN, “1.The burden of the desert of the sea. The Prophet, after having taught that their hope
ought to be placed, not on the Egyptians, but on the mercy of God alone, and after having foretold that
calamities would come on the nations on whose favor they relied, adds a consolation in order to
encourage the hearts of the godly. He declares, that for the Chaldeans, to whom they will be captives, a
reward is prepared; from which it follows, that God takes account of the injuries which they endure. By the
desert (62) he means Chaldea, not that it was deserted or thinly inhabited, but because the Jews had a
desert on that side of them; just as if, instead of Italy, we should name “ Alps,” because they are nearer to
us, and because we must cross them on our road to Italy. This reason ought to be kept in view; for he
does not describe the nature of the country, but forewarns the Jews that the destruction of the enemies,
which he foretells, is near at hand, and is as certain as if the event had been before their eyes, as that
desert was. Besides, the prophets sometimes spoke ambiguously about Babylon, that believers alone
might understand the hidden mysteries, as Jeremiah changes the king’ name. (63)
As storms from the south. He says from the south, because that wind is tempestuous, and produces
storms and whirlwinds. (64) When he adds that “ cometh from the desert,” this tends to heighten the
picture; for if any storm arise in a habitable and populous region, it excites less terror than those which

7. spring up in deserts. In order to express the shocking nature of this calamity, he compares it to storms,
which begin in the desert, and afterwards take a more impetuous course, and rush with greater violence.
Yet the Prophet appears to mean something else, namely, that as they burst forth like storms from that
direction to lay Judea desolate, so another storm would soon afterwards arise to destroy them; and
therefore he says that this burden will come from a terrible land. By this designation I understand Judea
to be meant, for it was not enough to speak of the ruin of Babylon, if the Jews did not likewise understand
that it came from God. Why he calls it “ terrible land” we have seen in our exposition of the eighteenth
chapter. (65) It was because, in consequence of so many displays of the wrath of God, its disfigured
appearance might strike terror on all. The occasion on which the words are spoken does not allow us to
suppose that it is called “” on account of the astonishing power of God by which it was protected.
Although therefore Babylon was taken and plundered by the Persians and Medes, Isaiah declares that its
destruction will come from Judea; because in this manner God will revenge the injuries done to that
nation of which he had promised to be the guardian.
(62) “ plainly means Babylon, which is the subject of the prophecy. The country about Babylon, and
especially below it towards the sea, was a great flat morass, often overflowed by the Euphrates and
Tigris. It became habitable by being drained by the many canals that were made in it.” — Lowth.
FT320 The allusion appears to be to the use of the name “” instead of “” “ Coniah... were the signet upon
my right hand. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol?” (Jer_22:24.) — Ed
FT321 Lowth remarks, and quotes Job_1:19, in support of the statement, that “ most vehement storms to
which Judea was subject came from the great desert country to the south of it.” — Ed
FT322 See p. 37
FT323 See vol. 1 p. 341
FT324 See vol. 1 p. 494
FT325 “ is here imparted to the description by the Prophet’ speaking of himself as of a Babylonian present
at Belshazzar’ feast, on the night when the town was surprised by Cyrus.” — Stock

8. FT326 “ corn (Heb. son) of my floor.” — Eng. Ver.
FT327 “ Dumah there are two interpretations, J. D. Michaelis, Gesenius, Maurer, Hitzig, Ewald, and
Umbreit understand it as the name of an Arabian tribe descended from Ishmael, (Gen_25:14,) or of a
place belonging to that tribe, perhaps the same now called Dumah Eljandil, on the confines of Arabia and
Syria. In that case, Seir, which lay between Judah and the desert of Arabia, is mentioned merely to
denote the quarter whence the sound proceeded. But as Seir was itself the residence of the Edomites or
children of Esau, Vitringa, Rosenmü and Knobel follow the Septuagint and Jarchi in explaining ‫דומה‬
(Dumah) as a variation of ‫,אדום‬ (Edom,) intended at the same time to suggest the idea of silence,
solitude, and desolation. — Alexander
FT328 See vol. 1 p. 265
FT329 “ water (or, bring ye, or, prevent ye) to him that was thirsty.” — Eng. Ver. Calvin’ version follows
closely that of the Septuagint, εἰς συνάντησιν ὕδωρ διψῶντι φέρετε, and agrees with other ancient
versions; but modern critics assign strong reasons for reading this verse in the preterite rather than in the
imperative.” — Ed
FT330 It would appear that, instead of “geminus est sensus,” some copies had read, “genuinus est
sensus;” for the French version gives “Cependant l’ que j’ mise en avant est plus simple;” “ the exposition
which I have given is more simple.” — Ed
FT331 “ the swords,” or, for fear (Heb. from the face.) — Eng. Ver. “ before the swords.” — Stock. “ the
presence of swords.” — Alexander
FT332 See vol 1 p. 496
FT333 “Diesque longa videtur opus debentibus.” — Hor. Ep. I.21. Another reading of this passage, which
gives “lenta “ instead of “longa,” is not less apposite to the purpose for which the quotation is made. “
those who perform task-work the day appears to advance slowly. ” — Ed
8. PULPIT, “THE BURDEN OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA. This is a short and somewhat vague, but
highly poetic, "burden of Babylon" It is probably an earlier prophecy than Isa_13:1-22. and 14; and
perhaps the first revelation made to Isaiah with respect to the fall of the great Chaldean capital. It exhibits
no consciousness of the fact that Babylon is Judah's predestined destroyer, and is expressive rather of
sympathy (verses 3, 4) than of triumph. Among recent critics, some suppose it to refer to Sargon's

9. capture of the city in B.C. 710; but the objection to this view, from the entire absence of all reference to
Assyria as the conquering power, and the mention of "Elam" and "Media" in her place, is absolutely fatal
to it. There can be no reasonable doubt that the same siege is intended as in Isa_13:1-22; where also
Media is mentioned (Isa_13:17); and there are no real grounds for questioning that the event of which the
prophet is made cognizant is that siege and capture of Babylon by Cyrus the Great which destroyed the
Babylonian empire.
Isa_21:1
The desert of the sea. The Isaianic authorship of this title is doubtful, since "the desert of the sea" is an
expression elsewhere wholly unknown to biblical writers. Some regard "the sea" as the Euphrates, in
which case "the desert of the sea" may be the waste tract west of the Euphrates, extending thence to the
eastern borders of Palestine. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; rather, as whirlwinds in the
south country, sweeping along. The "south country" is that immediately to the south of Judaea. Its liability
to whirlwinds is noticed in Zec_9:14 and in Job_37:9. It cometh. What cometh? Dr. Kay says, "God's
visitation;" Rosenmüller, "a numerous army." But is it not rather the "grievous vision" of the next
verse? From the desert. The great desert bounding Palestine on the east—a truly "terrible land." Across
this, as coming from Baby-Ionia to Palestine, seemed to rush the vision which it was given to the prophet
to see.
9. BI, “The desert of the sea
This enigmatical name for Babylon was no doubt suggested by the actual character of the
country in which the city stood.
It was an endless breadth or succession of undulations “like the sea,” without any cultivation or
even any tree: low, level, and full of great marshes; and which used to be overflowed by the
Euphrates, till the whole plain became a sea, before the river was banked in by Semiramis, as
Herodotus says. But the prophet may allude also to the social and spiritual desert which Babylon
was to the nations over which its authority extended, and especially to the captive Israelite; and
perhaps, at the same time, to the multitude of the armies which it poured forth like the waters of
the sea. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
The prophecy against Babylon
It is a magnificent specimen of Hebrew poetry in its abrupt energy and passionate intensity. The
prophet is, or imagines himself to be, in Babylon. Suddenly he sees a storm of invasion sweeping
down through the desert, which fills him with alarm. Out of the rolling whirlwind troops of
armed warriors flash into distinctness. A splendid banquet is being held in the great Chaldean
city; the tables are set, the carpets are spread; they eat, they drink, the revel is at its height.
Suddenly a wild cry is heard, “Arise, ye princes, anoint the shield!”—in other words, the foe is at
hand. “Spring up from the banquet, smear with” oil the leathern coverings of your shields that
the blows of the enemy may slide off from them in battle. The clang of arms disturbs the
Babylonian feast. The prophet sitting, as it were an illuminated spirit, as a watchman upon the
tower calls aloud to ask me cause of the terror. What is it that the watchman sees? The
watchman, with deep, impatient groan, as of a lion, complains that he sees nothing; that he has
been set there, apparently for no purpose, all day and all night long. But even as he speaks there
suddenly arises an awful need for his look-out. From the land of storm and desolation, the
desert between the Persian Gulf and Babylon, he sees a huge and motley host, some mounted on
horses, some on asses, some on camels, plunging forward through the night. It is the host of
Cyrus on his march against Babylon. In the advent of that Persian host he sees the downfall of
the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar and the liberation of Judah from her exile. On the instant, as

10. though secure of victory, he cries out, “Babylon is fallen.” And he, that is, Cyrus the Persian king,
a monotheist though he be, a worshipper of fire and the sun, has dashed in pieces all the graven
images of the city of Nimrod. Then he cries to his fellow exiles in Babylonian captivity, “O my
people, crushed and trodden down”—literally, “O my grain, and the son of my threshing floor”—
“this is my prophecy for you; it is a prophecy of victory for your champions; it is a prophecy of
deliverance for yourselves.” (Dean Farrar, D. D.)
The Persian advance on Babylon
(Isa_21:7; Isa_21:9):—It is a slight but obvious coincidence of prophecy and history that
Xenophon represents the Persians advancing by two and two. (J. A. Alexander.)
The Persian aversion to images
The allusion to idols (Isa_21:9) is not intended merely to remind us that the conquest was a
triumph of the true God over false ones, but to bring into view the well-known aversion of the
Persians to all images. Herodotus says they not only thought it unlawful to use images, but
imputed folly to those who did it. Here is another incidental but remarkable coincidence of
prophecy even with profane history. (J. A. Alexander.)
“The burden of the desert of the sea”
There is a burden in all vast things; they oppress the soul. The firmament gives it; the mountain
gives it; the prairie gives it. But I think nothing gives it like looking on the sea. The sea suggests
something which the others do not—a sense of desertness. In the other cases the vastness is
broken to the eye. The firmament has its stars; the mountain has its peaks; the prairie has its
flowers; but the sea, where it is open sea, has nothing. It seems a strange thing that the prophet,
in making the sea a symbol of life’s burden, should have selected its aspect of loneliness. Why
not take its storms? Because the heaviest burden of life is not its storms but its solitude. There
are no moments so painful as our island moments. One half of our search for pleasure is to avoid
self-reflection. The pain of solitary responsibility is too much for us. It drives the middle-aged
man into fast living, and the middle-aged woman into gay living. I cannot bear to hear the
discord of my own past. It appalls me; it overwhelms me; I fly to the crowd to escape my
unaccompanied shadow. (G. Matheson, D. D.)
2
A dire vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot.

11. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
1.BARNES, “A grievous vision - Margin, as in Hebrew ‘Hard.’ On the word ‘vision,’ see the
note at Isa_1:1. The sense here is, that the vision which the prophet saw was one that indicated
great calamity Isa_21:3-4.
Is declared unto me - That is, is caused to pass before me, and its meaning is made known
to me.
The treacherous dealer - (‫חבוגד‬ chaboged). The perfidious, unfaithful people. This is the
usual signification of the word; but the connection here does not seem to require the
signification of treachery or perfidy, but of “violence.” The word has this meaning in Hab_2:5,
and in Pro_11:3, Pro_11:6. It refers here to the Medes; and to the fact that oppression and
violence were now to be exercised toward Babylon. Lowth renders this:
‘The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed;’
But the authority for so rendering it is doubtful. He seems to suppose that it refers to Babylon.
The Hebrew evidently means, that there is to be plundering and devastation, and that this is to
be accomplished by a nation accustomed to it, and which is immediately specified; that is, the
united kingdom of Media and Persia. The Chaldee renders it, ‘They who bring violence, suffer
violence; and the plunderers are plundered.’ Jarchi says, that the sense of the Hebrew text
according to the Chaldee is, ‘Ah! thou who art violent! there comes another who will use thee
with violence; and thou plunderer, another comes who will plunder thee, even the Medes and
Persians, who will destroy and lay waste Babylon.’ But the Hebrew text will not bear this
interpretation. The sense is, that desolation was about to be produced by a nation “accustomed”
to it, and who would act toward Babylon in their true character.
Go up - This is an address of God to Media and Persia (see the note at Isa_13:17).
O Elam - This was the name of the country originally possessed by the Persians, and was so
called from Elam a son of Shem Gen_10:22. It was east of the Euphrates, and comprehended
properly the mountainous countries of Khusistan and Louristan, called by the Greek writers
“Elymais.” In this country was Susa or Shushan, mentioned in Dan_8:2. It is here put for Persia
in general, and the call on Elam and Media to go up, was a call on the united kingdom of the
Medes and Persians.
Besiege - That is, besiege Babylon.
O Media - (see the note at Isa_13:17).
All the sighing thereof have I made to cease - This has been very differently interpreted
by expositors. Some understand it (as Rosenmuller, Jerome, and Lowth,) as designed to be
taken in an “active” sense; that is, all the groaning “caused” by Babylon in her oppressions of
others, and particularly of God’s people, would cease. Others refer it to the army of the Medes
and Persians, as if “their” sighing should be over; that is, their fatigues and labors in the
conquest of Babylon. Calvin supposes that it means that the Lord would be deaf to the sighs of
Babylon; that is, he would disregard them and would bring upon them the threatened certain
destruction. The probable meaning is that suggested by Jerome, that God would bring to an end
all the sighs and groans which Babylon had caused in a world suffering under her oppressions
(compare Isa_14:7-8).

12. 2. CLARKE, “The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler
spoileth “The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed” - ‫הבוגד‬‫בוגד‬
‫והשודד‬‫שודד‬ habboged boged vehashshoded shoded. The MSS. vary in expressing or omitting the ‫ו‬
vau, in these four words. Ten MSS. of Kennicott are without the ‫ו‬ vau in the second word, and
eight MSS. are without the ‫ו‬ vau in the fourth word; which justifies Symmachus, who has
rendered them passively: ᆇ αθετων αθετειται και ᆇ ταλαιπωριζων ταλαιπωρει. He read ‫בגוד‬‫שדוד‬
bagud shadud. Cocceius (Lexicon in voce) observes that the Chaldee very often renders the verb
‫בגד‬ bagad, by ‫בזז‬ bazaz, he spoiled; and in this place, and in Isa_33:1, by the equivalent word ‫אנס‬
anas, to press, give trouble; and in Isa_24:16 both by ‫אנס‬ anas and ‫בזז‬ bazaz; and the Syriac in
this place renders it by ‫טלם‬ talam, he oppressed.
All the sighing thereof have I made to cease “I have put an end to all her
vexations” - Hebrews “Her sighing; that is, the sighing caused by her.” So Kimchi on the place:
“It means those who groaned through fear of him: for the suffixes of the nouns refer both to the
agent and the patient. All those who groaned before the face of the king of Babylon he caused to
rest;” Chald. And so likewise Ephrem Syr. in loc., edit. Assemani: “His groans, viz., the grief and
tears which the Chaldeans occasioned through the rest of the nations.”
3. GILL, “A grievous vision is declared unto me,.... The prophet; meaning the vision of
Babylon's destruction, which was "hard", as the word signifies, and might seem harsh and cruel;
not to him, nor to the Jews, but to the Chaldeans:
the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth; that is,
according to Jarchi, one treacherous dealer deals treacherously with another, and one spoiler
spoils another; the Medes and Persians deal treacherously with and spoil the Babylonians, who
had dealt treacherously with and spoiled other nations: and to this sense some read the words,
"the treacherous dealer hath found a treacherous dealer, and the spoiler one that spoileth" (n):
some take it to be a compellation of the Medes and Persians, calling upon them, under these
characters, to go up and besiege Babylon, as, "O treacherous dealer, O spoiler" (o); though the
words may be understood of the perfidy and treachery of the Babylonians, of which they had
been frequently guilty, and which is given as a reason of their fall and ruin; or rather they
suggest the treacherous means by which they should be ruined, even by some from among
themselves; particularly, history (p) informs us, that Gobrias and Gadates, two noblemen of the
king of Babylon, being used ill by him, revolted from him, and joined with Cyrus; and when the
river Euphrates was drained, went at the head of his army in two parties, and guided them into
the city, and took it; or rather Belshazzar king of Babylon himself is meant, who acted, and
continued to act, most impiously and wickedly: and therefore,
go up, O Elam; or Elamites, as the Targum and Septuagint; see Act_2:9 these were Persians,
so called from Elam, a province in Persia; who are here called upon by the Lord of armies,
through the mouth of the prophet, to go up to war against Babylon; and these are mentioned
first, because Cyrus, who commanded the whole army, was a Persian: or if Elam is taken for a

13. province, which was indeed subject to Babylon, of which Shushan was the capital city, Dan_8:2
the governor of it, Abradates, revolted from the Babylonians, and joined Cyrus, and fought with
him (q):
besiege, O Media; or, O ye Medes, join with the Persians in the siege of Babylon; as they did:
all the sighing thereof have I made to cease; either of the army of the Medes and Persians,
who, by reason of long and tedious marches, frequent battles, and hard sieges, groaned and
sighed; but now it would be over with them, when Babylon was taken; or of the Babylonians
themselves, who would have no mercy shown them, nor have any time for sighing, being cut off
suddenly, and in a moment; or rather of other people oppressed by them, and particularly the
Lord's people the Jews, who had been in captivity for the space of seventy years, during which
they had sighed and groaned, because of the hardships they endured; but now sighing would be
at an end, and they should have deliverance, as they had, by Cyrus the Persian. The sighing is
not that with which they sighed, but which they caused in others.
4. HENRY, “To the proud oppressors it would be a grievous vision (Isa_21:2), particularly to
the king of Babylon for the time being, and it should seem that he it is who is here brought in
sadly lamenting his inevitable fate (Isa_21:3, Isa_21:4): Therefore are my loins filled with pain;
pangs have taken hold upon me, etc., which was literally fulfilled in Belshazzar, for that very
night in which his city was taken, and himself slain, upon the sight of a hand writing mystic
characters upon the wall his countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him, so that
the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another, Dan_5:6. And yet
that was but the beginning of sorrows. Daniel's deciphering the writing could not but increase
his terror, and the alarm which immediately followed of the executioners at the door would be
the completing of it. And those words, The night of my pleasure has he turned into fear to me,
plainly refer to that aggravating circumstance of Belshazzar's fall that he was slain on that night
when he was in the height of his mirth and jollity, with his cups and concubines about him and a
thousand of his lords revelling with him; that night of his pleasure, when he promised himself
an undisturbed unallayed enjoyment of the most exquisite gratifications of sense, with a
particular defiance of God and religion in the profanation of the temple vessels, was the night
that was turned into all this fear. Let this give an effectual check to vain mirth and sensual
pleasures, and forbid us ever to lay the reins on the neck of them - that we know not what
heaviness the mirth may end in, nor how soon laughter may be turned into mourning; but this
we know that for all these things God shall bring us into judgment; let us therefore mix
trembling always with our joys.
5. JAMISON, “dealeth treacherously — referring to the military stratagem employed by
Cyrus in taking Babylon. It may be translated, “is repaid with treachery”; then the subject of the
verb is Babylon. She is repaid in her own coin; Isa_33:1; Hab_2:8, favor this.
Go up — Isaiah abruptly recites the order which he hears God giving to the Persians, the
instruments of His vengeance (Isa_13:3, Isa_13:17).
Elam — a province of Persia, the original place of their settlement (Gen_10:22), east of the
Euphrates. The name “Persia” was not in use until the captivity; it means a “horseman”; Cyrus
first trained the Persians in horsemanship. It is a mark of authenticity that the name is not
found before Daniel and Ezekiel [Bochart].
thereof — the “sighing” caused by Babylon (Isa_14:7, Isa_14:8).

14. 6. PULPIT , “A grievous vision; literally, a hard vision; not, however, "hard of interpretation" (Kay), but
rather "hard to be borne," "grievous," "calamitous." The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously;
rather, perhaps, the robber robs (Knobel); or, the violent man uses violence (Rosenmüller). The idea of
faithlessness passes out of the Hebrew boged occasionally, and is unsuitable here, more especially if it is
the army of Cyrus that is intended. Go up, O Elam. The discovery that Cyrus, at the time of his conquest
of Babylon, Bore the title of "King of Ansan," not "King of Persia," coupled with the probability that "Ansan"
was a part of Elam, lends a peculiar interest to these words. Isaiah could not describe Cyrus as "King of
Persia," and at the same time be intelligible to his contemporaries, since Persia was a country utterly
unknown to them. In using the term "Elam" instead, he uses that of a country known to the Hebrews
(Gen_14:1), adjoining Persia, and, at the time of his expedition against Babylon, subject to
Cyrus. Besiege, O Media. Having given "Elam" the first place, the prophet assigns to Media the second.
Eleven years before he attacked Babylon, Cyrus had made war upon Astyages (Istuvegu), King of the
Medes, had captured him, and become king of the nation, with scarcely any opposition (see the 'Cylinder
of Nabonidus'). Hence the Medes would naturally form an important portion of the force which he led
against Babylon. All the sighing thereof have I made to cease. The "sighing" caused by Babylon to the
nations, to the captives, and to the kings whose prison-doors were kept closed (Isa_14:17), God has in
his counsels determined to bring to an end.
7.CALVIN, “2.A harsh vision. As the object was to soothe the grief of the people, it may be thought not
to be appropriate to call a vision, which is the occasion of joy, a harsh vision. But this refers to the
Babylonians, who, puffed up with their prosperity, dreaded no danger; for wealth commonly produces
pride and indifference. As if he had said, “ is useless to hold out the riches and power of the Babylonians,
and when a stone is hard, there will be found a hard hammer to break it.”
The spoiler. As Babylon had gained its power by plundering and laying waste other nations, it seemed to
be free from all danger. Although they had been a terror to others, and had practiced every kind of
barbarity and cruelty, yet they could not avoid becoming a prey and enduring injuries similar to those
which they had inflicted on others. The Prophet goes farther, and, in order to obtain credit to his
statements, pronounces it to be a righteous retaliation, that violence should correspond to violence.
Go up, O Elam. Elam is a part of Persia; but is taken for the whole of Persia, and on this account also the
Persians are called Elamites. It is worthy of observation, that, when Isaiah foretold these things, there
was no probability of war, and that he was dead a hundred years before there was any apprehension of
this calamity. Hence it is sufficiently evident that he could not have derived his information on this subject
from any other than the Spirit of God; and this contributes greatly to confirm the truth and certainty of the

15. prediction.
Besiege, O Mede. By commanding the Medes and Persians, he declares that this will not befall the
Babylonians at random or by chance, but by the sure decree of God, in whose name, and not in that of
any private individual, he makes the announcement. Coming forward therefore in the name of God, he
may, like a captain or general, command his soldiers to assemble to give battle. In what manner God
employs the agency of robbers and wicked men, has been formerly explained at the tenth chapter. (66)
I have made all his groaning to cease. Some understand it to mean, that the groaning, to which the
Babylonians had given occasion, ceased after they were subdued by the Medes and Persians; for by their
tyrannical measures they had caused many to groan, which must happen when wicked and ungodly men
possess rank and power. Others approach more closely, perhaps, to the real meaning of the Prophet,
when they say, that “ groaning ceased,” because the Babylonians experienced no compassion, having
formerly shewn none to others. But I explain it more simply to mean, that the Lord was deaf to their
groanings; as if he had said, that there would be no room for their groanings and lamentations, because
having been cruel and barbarous, it was just that they should receive back the same measure which they
had meted out to others. (Mat_7:2.)
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.
1.BARNES, “Therefore - In this verse, and the following, the prophet represents himself as
“in” Babylon, and as a witness of the calamities which would come upon the city. He describes
the sympathy which he feels in her sorrows, and represents himself as deeply affected by her
calamities. A similar description occurred in the pain which the prophet represents himself as
enduring on account of the calamities of Moab (see Isa_15:5, note; Isa_16:11, note).
My loins - (see the note at Isa_16:11).
With pain - The word used here (‫חלחלה‬ chalchalah) denotes properly the pains of parturition,
and the whole figure is taken from that. The sense is, that the prophet was filled with the most
acute sorrow and anguish, in view of the calamities which were coming on Babylon. That is, the

16. sufferings of Babylon would be indescribably great and dreadful (see Nah_2:11; Eze_30:4,
Eze_30:9).
I was bowed down - Under the grief and sorrow produced by these calamities.
At the hearing it - The Hebrew may have this sense, and mean that these things were made
to pass before the eye of the prophet, and that the sight oppressed him, and bowed him down.
But more probably the Hebrew letter ‫מ‬ (m) in the word ‫משׁמע‬ mishe
moa' is to be taken
“privatively,” and means, ‘I was so bowed down or oppressed that I could not see; I was so
dismayed that I could not hear;’ that is, all his senses were taken away by the greatness of the
calamity, and by his sympathetic sufferings. A similar construction occurs in Psa_69:23 : ‘Let
their eyes be darkened that they see not’ (‫מראות‬ mere
'oth) that is, “from” seeing.
2. PULPIT, “Therefore are my loins filled with pain, etc. (comp. above, Isa_15:5; Isa_16:9-11). The
prophet is horrorstruck at the vision shown him—at the devastation, the ruin, the carnage (Isa_13:18). He
does not stop to consider how well deserved the punishment is; he does not, perhaps, as yet know how
that, in smiting Babylon, God will be specially avenging the sufferings of his own nation (see the
introductory paragraph). I was bowed down at the hearing, etc.; rather, I am so agonized that I cannot
hear; I am so terrified that I cannot see.
3. GILL, “Therefore are my loins filled with pain,.... As a woman at the time of
childbirth, as the following words show: these words are spoken by the prophet, not with respect
to himself, as if he was pained at heart at the prophecy and vision he had of the ruin of Babylon,
since that was a mortal enemy of his people; and besides, their sighing being made to cease
could never be a reason of distress in him, but of joy: these words are spoken by him in the
person of the Babylonians, and particularly of Belshazzar their king:
pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth; which
come suddenly and at once, are very sharp and strong, and inevitable, which cannot be escaped;
so the sudden destruction of the wicked, and particularly of antichrist at the last day, and the
terror that shall attend it, are expressed by the same metaphor, 1Th_5:2,
I was bowed down at the hearing of it; distorted and convulsed; not the prophet at the
hearing of the prophecy, but Belshazzar, whom he personated, at hearing that Cyrus had entered
the city, and was at the gates of his palace:
I was dismayed at the seeing of it; the handwriting upon the wall, at which his countenance
changed, his thoughts were troubled, his loins loosed, and his knees smote one against another,
Dan_5:6.
4. PULPIT, “The sadness of a nation's overthrow.
A nation is God's creation, no less than an individual. And it is a far more elaborate work. What
forethought, what design, what manifold wisdom, must not have been required for the planning out of

17. each people's national character, for the partitioning out to them of their special gifts and aptitudes, for the
apportionment to each of its place in history, for the conduct of each through the many centuries of its
existence! It is a sad thing to be witness of a nation's demise. Very deeply does Isaiah feel its sadness.
His "loins are filled with pain;" the pangs that take hold of hint are "as the pangs of a woman that
travaileth;" he is "so agonized that he cannot hear," "so terrified that he cannot look" (verse 3). "His heart
flutters," like a frightened bird; terror overwhelms him; he cannot sleep for thinking of the dread calamity;
"the night of his pleasure is turned into fear." The sadness of such a calamity is twofold. It consists
(1) in the fact;
(2) in the circumstances.
I. THE SADNESS OF THE FACT. We mourn an individual gone from us—how much more a nation! What
a blank is created! What arts and industries are not destroyed or checked! What possibilities of future
achievement are not cut off! Again, an individual is only removed; he still exists, only in another place. But
a nation is annihilated. It has but one life. There is "no healing of its bruise" (Nah_3:19), no transference
of it to another sphere. From existence it has passed into nonexistence, and nothing can recall it into
being. It is like a sun extinguished in mid-heaven.
II. THE SADNESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES. The end of a nation comes necessarily by violence, from
within or from without—from without most commonly. A fierce host invades its borders, spreads itself over
its fertile fields, tramples down its crops, exhausts its granaries, consumes its cattle, burns its towns and
villages, carries everywhere ruin and desolation. Wanton injury is added to the injury which war cannot
but inflict—fruit-trees are cut down (Isa_16:8), works of art are destroyed, good land is purposely "marred
with stones" (2Ki_3:10). And if inanimate things suffer, much more do animate ones. Beasts of burden are
impressed and worked to death; horses receive fearful wounds and scream with pain; cattle perish for
want of care; beasts of prey increase as population lessens, and become a terror to the scanty remnant
(2Ki_17:25). Not only do armed men fall by thousands in fair fight, but (in barbarous times) the unwarlike
mass of the population suffers almost equally. "Every one that is found is thrust through, and every one
that is joined to them is slain by the sword" (Isa_13:15). Even women and children are not spared. Virgins
and matrons are shamefully used (Isa_13:16); children are ruthlessly dashed to the ground
(Isa_13:16; Psa_137:9); every human passion being allowed free course, the most dreadful excesses are
perpetrated. No doubt in modern times civilization and Christianity tend to alleviate in some degree the
horrors of war; but in a war of conquest, when the destruction of a nationality is aimed at, frightful scenes
are almost sure to occur, sufficient to sadden all but the utterly unfeeling. It should be the earnest

18. determination of every Christian to endeavor in every possible way to keep his own country free from the
guilt of such wars.
5. JAMISON, “Isaiah imagines himself among the exiles in Babylon and cannot help feeling
moved by the calamities which come on it. So for Moab (Isa_15:5; Isa_16:11).
pain — (Compare Isa_13:8; Eze_30:4, Eze_30:19; Nah_2:10).
at the hearing — The Hebrew may mean, “I was so bowed down that I could not hear; I was
so dismayed that I could not see” (Gen_16:2; Psa_69:23) [Maurer].
6. K&D, “Here again, as in the case of the prophecy concerning Moab, what the prophet has
given to him to see does not pass without exciting his feelings of humanity, but works upon him
like a horrible dream. “Therefore are my loins full of cramp: pangs have taken hold of me, as
the pangs of a travailing woman: I twist myself, so that I do not hear; I am brought down
with fear, so that I do not see. My heart beats wildly; horror hath troubled me: the darkness of
night that I love, he hath turned for me into quaking.” The prophet does not describe in detail
what he saw; but the violent agitation produced by the impression leads us to conclude how
horrible it must have been. Chalchalah is the contortion produced by cramp, as in Nah_2:11;
tzirim is the word properly applied to the pains of childbirth; na‛avah means to bend, or bow
one's self, and is also used to denote a convulsive utterance of pain; ta‛ah, which is used in a
different sense from Psa_95:10 (compare, however, Psa_38:11), denotes a feverish and irregular
beating of the pulse. The darkness of evening and night, which the prophet loved so much (che
shek, a desire arising from inclination, 1Ki_9:1, 1Ki_9:19), and always longed for, either that he
might give himself up to contemplation, or that he might rest from outward and inward labour,
had bee changed into quaking by the horrible vision. It is quite impossible to imagine, as
Umbreit suggests, that nesheph chishki (the darkness of my pleasure) refers to the nocturnal feast
during which Babylon was stormed (Herod. i. 191, and Xenophon, Cyrop. vii. 23).
7.CALVIN, “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, (67) he assumes, for the time, the character of a Babylonian. (68)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

19. 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.
4
My heart falters,
fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror to me.
1.BARNES, “My heart panted - Margin, ‘My mind wandered.’ The Hebrew word rendered
‘panted’ (‫תעה‬ ta‛ah) means to wander about; to stagger; to be giddy; and is applied often to one
that staggers by being intoxicated. Applied to the heart, it means that it is disquieted or
troubled. The Hebrew word “heart” here is to be taken in the sense of “mind.”
The night of my pleasure - There can be no doubt that the prophet here refers to the night
of revelry and riot in which Babylon was taken. The prophet calls it the night of “his” pleasure,
because he represents himself as being “in” Babylon when it should be taken, and, therefore,
uses such language as an inhabitant of Babylon would use. “They” would call it the night of their
pleasure, because it was set apart to feasting and revelry.
Hath he turned into fear - God has made it a night of consternation and alarm. The
prophet here refers to the fact that Babylon would be taken by Cyrus during that night, and that
consternation and alarm would suddenly pervade the affrighted and guilty city (see Dan. 5).
2. PULPIT, “My heart panted; rather, my heart trembleth, or fluttereth. The night of my pleasure; i.e. "the
night, wherein, I am wont to enjoy peaceful and pleasant slumbers."
3. GILL, “My heart panted,.... Fluttered about, and could hardly keep its place: or, "my mind
wandered" (r); like a person in distraction and confusion, that knew not what to think say or do:

20. fearfulness affrighted me; the terror of Cyrus's army seized him, of its irruption into the
city, and of his being destroyed by it; the writing on the wall threw him into a panic, and the
news of the Medes and Persians being entered the city increased it:
the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me; in which he promised
himself so much pleasure, at a feast he had made for his princes, wives, and concubines; either
in honour of his god, as some think (s), being an annual one; or, as Josephus ben Gorion (t)
says, on account of the victory he had obtained over the Medes and Persians; and so was quite
secure, and never in the least thought of destruction being at hand; but in the midst of all his
revelling, mirth, and jollity, the city was surprised and taken, and he slain, Dan_5:1. So mystical
Babylon, in the midst of her prosperity, while she is saying that she sits a queen, and knows no
sorrow, her judgment and plagues shall come upon her, Rev_18:7.
4. PULPIT, “Fall of Babylon.
It is thought, by some recent commentators, that the description refers to the siege of Babylon in B.C. 710
by Sargon the Assyrian. The King of Babylon at that time was Merodach-Baladan, who sent letters and a
present to Hezekiah when he was sick (Isa_39:1; 2Ki_20:12). The prophet may well grieve over the fall of
Babylon, as likely to drag down with it weaker kingdoms.
I. THE SOUND OF THE TEMPEST. What sublime poesy have the prophets found in the tempest! We are
perhaps impressed more through the perception of the ear than that of the eye, by the sense of vague,
vast, overwhelming power working through all the changes of the world. The sweeping up of a tempest
from the southern dry country of Judah is like the gathering of a moles belli, and this, again betokens that
Jehovah of hosts is stirring up his might in the world unseen. Hence his arrows go forth like lightning, his
trumpet blows (Zec_9:14). This movement comes from the terrible land, the desert, the haunt of serpents
and other horrible creatures.
II. THE VISION OF CALAMITY. The march of the barbarous conqueror is marked by cruelty and
devastation. The prophet's heart is overpowered within him. He writhes with anguish as in the visions of
the even-tide the picture of Babylon's fall passes before his mind. He beholds a scene of rivalry. There is
feasting and mirth. We are reminded of that description which De Quincey adduced as an example of the
sublime: "Belshazzar the king made a great feast unto a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the
thousand" (Dan_5:1); and of Byron's description of the eve of the battle of Waterloo at Brussels. Suddenly
an alarm is given; the walls have been stormed, the palace is threatened; the banqueters must start from
the couch and exchange the garb of luxury for the shield and the armor. The impression of the picture is
heightened by the descriptions in Herodotus and Xenophon ('Cyrop.,' 7.5), whether they refer to the same
event or no. It is the picture of careless ease and luxury surprised by sudden terror. "Let us go against

21. them," says Cyrus in Xenophon. "Many of them are asleep, many intoxicated, and all of them unfit for
battle." The scene, then, may be used parabolically to enforce those lessons of temperance, of
watchfulness, of sobriety, and prayerfulness which our religion inculcates.
III. THE WATCHMAN. The word of Jehovah directs that a watchman shall be posted, the prophet
"dividing himself into two persons"—his own proper person and that of the speculator or scout upon the
height of the watch-tower. So Habakkuk "stands upon his watch, and sets him upon the tower" (Hab_2:1).
And what does the prophet see? Cavalry riding two abreast, some on horses, others on asses, others
(with the baggage) on camels. This he sees; but he hears no authentic tidings of distant things, though
straining his ear in utmost tension. Then he groans with the deep tones of the impatient lion. How long is
he to remain at his post? We cannot but think of the fine opening of the 'Agamemnon' of AEschylus,
where the weary warder soliloquizes—
"The gods I ask deliverance from these labors,
Watch of a year's length, whereby, slumbering thro' it
On the Atreidai's roof on elbow, dog-like,
I know of mighty star-groups the assemblage,
And those that bring to men winter and summer."
(R. Browning's translation.)
As he waits for "the torch's token and the glow of fire," so does Isaiah wait for certain news about
Babylon. And, no sooner is the plaint uttered, than the wish is realized. The watchman sees a squadron
of cavalry, riding two abreast, and the truth flashes on him—Babylon is fallen! The images, symbols of the
might of the city, protected by the gods they represented, are dashed to the ground and broken. What
was felt under such circumstances may be gathered by the student of Greek history from the awful
impression made, on the eve of the expedition to Sicily, by the discovery of the mutilation of the statues of
the Hermai. It is all over with Babylon.
IV. THE ANGUISH OF THE PATRIOT. "O my threshed and winnowed one!" Poor Israel, who has already
suffered so much from the Assyrian, how gladly would the prophet have announced better tidings! The
threshing-floor is an image of suffering, and not confined to the Hebrews. It may be found in old Greek

22. lore, and in modern Greek folk-poesy. No image, indeed, can be more expressive
(comp. Isa_41:15; Mic_4:12, Mic_4:13; Jer_51:33). "But love also takes part in the threshing, and
restrains the wrath."
V. GENERAL LESSONS. The Christian minister is, too, a watcher. He must listen and he must look.
There are oracles to be heard by the attentive ear, breaking out of the heart of things—hints in the
distance to be caught by the wakeful and searching eye. "They whom God has appointed to watch are
neither drowsy nor dim-sighted. The prophet also, by this example, exhorts and stimulates believers to
the same kind of attention, that by the help of the lamp of the Word they may obtain a distant view of the
power of God."—J.
5. JAMISON, “panted — “is bewildered” [Barnes].
night of my pleasure — The prophet supposes himself one of the banqueters at
Belshazzar’s feast, on the night that Babylon was about to be taken by surprise; hence his
expression, “my pleasure” (Isa_14:11; Jer_51:39; Dan_5:1-31).
6. CALVIN, “4.My heart was shaken. Others render it not amiss, “ heart wandered;” for excessive
terror moves the heart, as it were, out of its place. He declares how sudden and unlooked for will be the
destruction of Babylon, for a sudden calamity makes us tremble more than one which has been long
foreseen and expected. Daniel relates, that what Isaiah here foretells was accomplished, and that he was
an eye-witness. Belshazzar had that night prepared a magnificent banquet, when the Persians suddenly
rushed upon him, and nothing was farther from his expectation than that he would be slain. High delight
was thus suddenly changed into terror. (Dan_5:30.)
5
They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!
1.BARNES, “Prepare the table - This verse is one of the most striking and remarkable that
occurs in this prophecy, or indeed in any part of Isaiah. It is language supposed to be spoken in
Babylon. The first direction - perhaps supposed to be that of the king - is to prepare the table for
the feast. Then follows a direction to set a watch - to make the city safe, so that they might revel

23. without fear. Then a command to eat and drink: and then immediately a sudden order, as if
alarmed at an unexpected attack, to arise and anoint the shield, and to prepare for a defense.
The “table” here refers to a feast - that impious feast mentioned in Dan. 5 in the night in which
Babylon was taken, and Belshazzar slain. Herodotus (i. 195), Xenophon (“Cyr.” 7, 5), and Daniel
Dan. 5 all agree in the account that Babylon was taken in the night in which the king and his
nobles were engaged in feasting and revelry. The words of Xenophon are, ‘But Cyrus, when he
heard that there was to be such a feast in Babylon, in which all the Babylonians would drink and
revel through the whole night, on that night, as soon as it began to grow dark, taking many
people, opened the dams into the river;’ that is, he opened the dykes which had been made by
Semiramis and her successors to confine the waters of the Euphrates to one channel, and
suffered the waters of the Euphrates again to flow over the country so that he could enter
Babylon beneath its wall in the channel of the river. Xenophon has also given the address of
Cyrus to the soldiers. ‘Now,’ says he, ‘let us go against them. Many of them are asleep; many of
them are intoxicated; and all of them are unfit for battle (ᅊσᆷντακτοι asuntaktoi).’ Herodotus says
(i. 191), ‘It was a day of festivity among them, and while the citizens were engaged in dance and
merriment, Babylon was, for the first time, thus taken.’ Compare the account in Dan. 5.
Watch in the watch-tower - place a guard so that the city shall be secure. Babylon had on
its walls many “towers,” placed at convenient distances (see the notes at Isa. 13), in which
guards were stationed to defend the city, and to give the alarm on any approach of an enemy.
Xenophon has given a similar account of the taking of the city: ‘They having arranged their
guards, drank until light.’ The oriental watch-towers are introduced in the book for the purpose
of illustrating a general subject often referred to in the Scriptures.
Eat, drink - Give yourselves to revelry during the night (see Dan. 5)
Arise, ye princes - This language indicates sudden alarm. It is the language either of the
prophet, or more probably of the king of Babylon, alarmed at the sudden approach of the enemy,
and calling upon his nobles to arm themselves and make, a defense. The army of Cyrus entered
Babylon by two divisions - one on the north where the waters of the Euphrates entered the city,
and the other by the channel of the Euphrates on the south. Knowing that the city was given up
to revelry on that night, they had agreed to imitate the sound of the revellers until they should
assemble around the royal palace in the center of the city. They did so. When the king heard the
noise, supposing that it was the sound of a drunken mob, he ordered the gates of the palace to be
opened to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. When they were thus opened, the army of
Cyrus rushed in, and made an immediate attack on all who were within. It is to this moment that
we may suppose the prophet here refers, when the king, aroused and alarmed, would call on his
nobles to arm themselves for battle (see Jahn’s “Hebrew Commonwealth,” p. 153, Ed. Andover,
1828).
Anoint the shield - That is, prepare for battle. Gesenius supposes that this means to rub
over the shield with oil to make the leather more supple and impenetrable (compare 2Sa_1:21).
The Chaldee renders it, ‘Fit, and polish your arms.’ The Septuagint, ‘Prepare shields.’ Shields
were instruments of defense prepared to ward off the spears and arrows of an enemy in battle.
They were usually made of a rim of brass or wood, and over this was drawn a covering of the
skin of an ox or other animal in the manner of a drum-head with us. Occasionally the hide of a
rhinoceros or an elephant was used. Burckhardt (“Travels in Nubia”) says that the Nubians use
the hide of the hippopotamus for the making of shields. But whatever skin might be used, it was
necessary occasionally to rub it over with oil lest it should become hard, and crack, or lest it
should become so rigid that an arrow or a sword would easily break through it. Jarchi says, that
‘shields were made of skin, and that they anointed them with the oil of olive.’ The sense is,
‘Prepare your arms! Make ready for battle!’

24. 2. CLARKE, “Prepare the table “The table is prepared” - In Hebrew the verbs are in
the infinitive mood absolute, as in Eze_1:14 : “And the animals ran and returned, ‫רצוא‬‫ושוב‬ ratso
veshob, like the appearance of the lightning;” just as the Latins say, currere et reverti, for
currebant et revertebantur. See Isa_33:11 (note), and the note there.
Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield - Kimchi observes that several of the rabbins
understood this of Belshazzar’s impious feast and death. The king of a people is termed the
shield, because he is their defense. The command, Anoint the shield, is the same with Anoint a
new king. Belshazzar being now suddenly slain, while they were all eating and drinking, he
advises the princes, whose business it was, to make speed and anoint another in his stead.
3. GILL, “Prepare the table,.... Set it, spread it, furnish it with all kind of provisions, as at a
feast; and such an one Belshazzar made, the night the city was taken: these words are directed to
him by his courtiers or queen, as represented by the prophet, in order to remove his fears; see
Dan_5:10,
watch in the watchtower; this is said to his servants, his soldiers, or sentinels, that were
placed on watchtowers to observe the motions of the enemy, who were ordered on duty, and to
be on guard, that he and his nobles might feast the more securely; and all this being done, a
table furnished, and a guard set, he, his nobles, and all his guests, are encouraged to "eat" and
"drink" liberally and cheerfully, without any fear of the Medes and Persians, who were now
besieging the city; when, at the same time, by the Lord it would be said,
arise, ye princes; not, ye nobles of Babylon, from your table, quit it, and your feasting and
mirth:
and anoint the shield; prepare your arms, see that they are in good order, get them in
readiness, and defend your king, yourselves, and your city, as some; but the princes of the
Medes and Persians, Cyrus and his generals, are bid to take their arms, and enter the city while
indulging themselves at their feast: it was usual to anoint shields, and other pieces of armour,
partly that they might be smooth and slippery, as Jarchi, that so the darts of the enemy might
easily slide off; and partly for the polishing and brightening of them, being of metal, especially of
brass; so the Targum,
"polish and make the arms bright;''
see 2Sa_1:21. Aben Ezra understands the words as an exhortation to the princes, to arise and
anoint Darius king, in the room of Belshazzar slain; the word "shield" sometimes signifying a
king, for which he mentions Psa_84:9 so Ben Melech; but they are a call of the prophet, or of the
Lord, to the princes of the Medes and Persians, to take the opportunity, while the Babylonians
were feasting, to fall upon them; and the words may be rendered thus (u),
"in or while preparing the table, watching in the watchtower, eating and drinking, arise, ye
princes, and anoint the shield;''
which was done by their servants, though they are called upon.

25. 4. HENRY, “A representation of the posture in which Babylon should be found when the
enemy should surprise it - all in festival gaiety (Isa_21:5): “Prepare the table with all manner of
dainties. Set the guards; let them watch in the watch-tower while we eat and drink securely and
make merry; and, if any alarm should be given, the princes shall arise and anoint the shield, and
be in readiness to give the enemy a warm reception.” Thus secure are they, and thus do they gird
on the harness with as much joy as if they were putting it off.
5. JAMISON, “Prepare the table — namely, the feast in Babylon; during which Cyrus
opened the dykes made by Semiramis to confine the Euphrates to one channel and suffered
them to overflow the country, so that he could enter Babylon by the channel of the river. Isaiah
first represents the king ordering the feast to be got ready. The suddenness of the irruption of
the foe is graphically expressed by the rapid turn in the language to an alarm addressed to the
Babylonian princes, “Arise,” etc. (compare Isa_22:13). Maurer translates, “They prepare the
table,” etc. But see Isa_8:9.
watch in ... watchtower — rather, “set the watch.” This done, they thought they might feast
in entire security. Babylon had many watchtowers on its walls.
anoint ... shield — This was done to prevent the leather of the shield becoming hard and
liable to crack. “Make ready for defense”; the mention of the “shield” alone implies that it is the
Babylonian revelers who are called on to prepare for instant self-defense. Horsley translates,
“Grip the oiled shield.”
6. K&D, “On the other hand, what Xenophon so elaborately relates, and what is also in all
probability described in Dan_5:30 (compare Jer_51:39, Jer_51:57), is referred to in Isa_21:5 :
“They cover the table, watch the watch, eat, drink. Rise up, ye princes! Anoint the shield!” This
is not a scene from the hostile camp, where they are strengthening themselves for an attack
upon Babylon: for the express allusion to the covering of the table is intended to create the
impression of confident and careless good living; and the exclamation “anoint the shield” (cf.,
Jer_51:11) presupposes that they have first of all to prepare themselves for battle, and therefore
that they have been taken by surprise. What the prophet sees, therefore, is a banquet in Babylon.
The only thing that does not seem quite to square with this is one of the infinitives with which
the picture is so vividly described (Ges. §131, 4, b), namely tzapoh hatztzaphith. Hitzig's
explanation, “they spread carpets” (from tzaphah, expandere, obducere, compare the Talmudic
tziphah, tziphtah, a mat, storea), commends itself thoroughly; but it is without any support in
biblical usage, so that we prefer to follow the Targum, Peshito, and Vulgate (the Sept. does not
give any translation of the words at all), and understand the hap. leg. tzaphith as referring to the
watch: “they set the watch.” They content themselves with this one precautionary measure, and
give themselves up with all the greater recklessness to their night's debauch (cf., Isa_22:13). The
prophet mentions this, because (as Meier acknowledges) it is by the watch that the cry, “Rise up,
ye princes,” etc., is addressed to the feasters. The shield-leather was generally oiled, to make it
shine and protect it from wet, and, more than all, to cause the strokes it might receive to glide off
(compare the laeves clypeos in Virg. Aen. vii. 626). The infatuated self-confidence of the chief
men of Babylon was proved by the fact that they had to be aroused. They fancied that they were

26. hidden behind the walls and waters of the city, and therefore they had not even got their
weapons ready for use.
7. PULPIT, “Prepare the table, etc. With lyrical abruptness, the prophet turns from his own feelings to
draw a picture of Babylon at the time when she is attacked. tie uses historical infinitives, the most lively
form of narrative. Translate, They deck the table, set the watch, eat, drink; i.e. having decked the table,
they commit the task of watching to a few, and then give themselves up to feasting and reveling, as if
there were no danger. It is impossible not to think of Belshazzar's feast, and the descriptions of the Greek
historians (Herod; 1.191; Xen; 'Cyrop.,' 7.23), which mark at any rate the strength of the tradition that,
when Babylon was taken, its inhabitants were engaged in revelry. Arise, ye princes, and anoint the
shield. In the midst of the feast there enters to the revellers one from the outside, with these words,
"Rise, quit the banquet; get your shields; anoint them; arm yourselves." That shields were greased with
fat or oil before being used in battle appears from Virg; 'AEneid,' 7.625, and other places. It was thought
that the enemy's weapons would more readily glance off an oiled surface.
8. CALVIN, “5.Prepare the table. These verbs may be taken for participles; as if he had said, “ they
were preparing the table and appointing a guard, while they were eating and drinking, sudden terror
arose; there was a call to arms, Arise ye princes,” etc.. But Isaiah presents lively descriptions, so as to
place the actual event, as it were, before our eyes. Certainly Xenophon does not describe so historically
the storming of the city; and this makes it evident that it was not natural sagacity, but heavenly inspiration,
that taught Isaiah to describe so vividly events that were unknown. Besides, we ought to observe the time
when these predictions were uttered; for at that time the kingdom of Babylon was in its most flourishing
condition, and appeared to have invincible power, and dreaded no danger. Isaiah ridicules this vain
confidence, and shews that this power will speedily be laid in ruins.
Let it not be thought absurd that he introduces the watchmen as speaking; for although the siege had not
shaken off the slothfulness of a proud and foolish tyrant so as to hinder him from indulging in gaiety and
feasting, still there is no room to doubt that men were appointed to keep watch. It is customary indeed
with princes to defend themselves by guards, that they may more freely and without any disturbance
abandon themselves to every kind of pleasure; but the Prophet expressly mixes up the sentinels with the
delicacies of the table, to make it more evident that the wicked tyrant was seized with a spirit of giddiness
before he sunk down to drunken reveling. The king of Babylon was thus feasting and indulging in mirth
with his courtiers, when he was overtaken by a sudden and unexpected calamity, not that he was out of
danger, but because he disregarded and scorned the enemy. The day before it happened, it might have

27. been thought incredible, for the conspiracy of Gobryas, and of that party which betrayed him, had not yet
been discovered. At the time when Isaiah spoke, none would have thought that an event so extraordinary
would ever take place.
6
This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout
and have him report what he sees.
1.BARNES, “Go, set a watchman - This was said to Isaiah in the vision. He represents
himself as in Babylon, and as hearing God command him to set a watchman on the watch-tower
who would announce what was to come to pass. All this is designed merely to bring the manner
of the destruction of the city more vividly before the eye.
2. PULPIT, “Go, set a watchman. The event is not to be immediate, it is to be watched for; and Isaiah
is not to watch himself, but to set the watchman. Moreover, the watchman waits long before he sees
anything (verse 8). These unusual features of the narrative seem to mark a remote, not a near,
accomplishment of the prophecy.
3. GILL, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me,.... This is a confirmation of the above
prophecy from the Lord himself, he showing to the prophet, in a visionary way, the ruin of
Babylon, and the means and instruments of it:
go, set a watchman; not Habakkuk, as Jarchi; nor Urias, as the Septuagint; nor Jeremiah, as
others; but himself, who, in a way of vision, represented a watchman on the walls of Babylon;
and which was no way unsuitable to his character and office as a prophet:
let him declare what he seeth; what he sees coming at a distance, or at hand, let him
faithfully and publicly make it known: these are not the words of the king of Babylon to one of
his watchmen; but of the Lord of hosts to his prophet.
4. HENRY, “A description of the alarm which should be given to Babylon upon its being
forced by Cyrus and Darius. The Lord, in vision, showed the prophet the watchman set in his
watch-tower, near the watch-tower, near the palace, as is usual in times of danger; the king
ordered those about him to post a sentinel in the most advantageous place for discovery, and,
according to the duty of a watchman, let him declare what he sees, Isa_21:6. We read of
watchmen thus set to receive intelligence in the story of David (2Sa_18:24), and in the story of
Jehu, 2Ki_9:17. This watchman here discovered a chariot with a couple of horsemen attending

28. it, in which we may suppose the commander-in-chief to ride. He then saw another chariot drawn
by asses or mules, which were much in use among the Persians, and a chariot drawn by camels,
which were likewise much in use among the Medes; so that (as Grotius thinks) these two
chariots signify the two nations combined against Babylon, or rather these chariots come to
bring tidings to the palace; compare Jer_51:31, Jer_51:32. One post shall run to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one
end while he is revelling at the other end and knows nothing of the matter. The watchman,
seeing these chariots at some distance, hearkened diligently with much heed, to receive the first
tidings. And (Isa_21:8) he cried, A lion; this word, coming out of a watchman's mouth, no doubt
gave them a certain sound, and every body knew the meaning of it, though we do not know it
now. It is likely that it was intended to raise attention: he that has an ear to hear, let him hear, as
when a lion roars. Or he cried as a lion, very loud and in good earnest, the occasion being very
urgent. And what has he to say? 1. He professes his constancy to the post assigned him: “I stand,
my lord, continually upon the watch-tower, and have never discovered any thing material till
just now; all seemed safe and quiet.” Some make it to be a complaint of the people of God that
they had long expected the downfall of Babylon, according to the prophecy, and it had not yet
come; but withal a resolution to continue waiting; as Hab_2:1, I will stand upon my watch, and
set me upon the tower, to see what will be the issue of the present providences. 2. He gives
notice of the discoveries he had made (Isa_21:9): Here comes a chariot of men with a couple of
horsemen, a vision representing the enemy's entry into the city with all their force or the tidings
brought to the royal palace of it.
5. JAMISON, “Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth — God’s direction
to Isaiah to set a watchman to “declare” what he sees. But as in Isa_21:10, Isaiah himself is
represented as the one who “declared.” Horsley makes him the “watchman,” and translates,
“Come, let him who standeth on the watchtower report what he seeth.”
6. K&D, “The prophecy is continued with the conjunction “for” (ci). The tacit link in the train
of thought is this: they act thus in Babylon, because the destruction of Babylon is determined.
The form in which this thought is embodied is the following: the prophet receives instruction in
the vision to set a me
tzappeh upon the watch-tower, who was to look out and see what more took
place. “For thus said the Lord to me, Go, set a spy; what he seeth, let him declare.” In other
cases it is the prophet himself who stands upon the watch-tower (Isa_21:11; Hab_2:1-2); but
here in the vision a distinction is made between the prophet and the person whom he stations
upon the watch-tower (specula). The prophet divides himself, as it were, into two persons
(compare Isa_18:4 for the introduction; and for the expression “go,” Isa_20:2). He now sees
through the medium of a spy, just as Zechariah sees by means of the angel speaking in him; with
this difference, however, that here the spy is the instrument employed by the prophet, whereas
there the prophet is the instrument employed by the angel.
7.CALVIN, “6.For thus hath the Lord said to me. The Prophet is commanded to set a watchman on the
watchtower, to see these things at a distance; for they cannot be perceived by the eyes, or learned by
conjecture. In order, therefore, that all may know that he did not speak at random, he declares that he

29. foretells these things; for although they are unknown to men, and incredible, yet he clearly and distinctly
knows them by the spirit of prophecy, because he is elevated above the judgment of men. This ought to
be carefully observed; for we must not imagine that the prophets learned from men, or foresaw by their
own sagacity, those things which they made known; and on this account also they were justly called “”
(1Sa_9:9.) Though we also see them, yet our sight is dull, and we scarcely perceive what is at our feet;
and even the most acute men are often in darkness, because they understand nothing but what they can
gather by the use of reason. But the prophets speak by the Spirit of God, as from heaven. The amount of
what is stated is, that whosoever shall attempt to measure this prophecy by their own judgment will do
wrong, because it has proceeded from God, and therefore it goes far beyond our sense.
Go, appoint a watchman. It gives additional weight that he “ a watchman in the name of God.” If it be
objected, “ relate incredible things as if they had actually happened,” he replies that he does not declare
them at random; for he whom the prince has appointed to be a watchman, sees from a distance what
others do not know. Thus Isaiah saw by the revelation of the Spirit what was unknown to others.
7
When he sees chariots
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
1.BARNES, “And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen - This passage is very
obscure from the ambiguity of the word ‫רכב‬ rekeb - ‘chariot.’ Gesenius contends that it should
be rendered ‘cavalry,’ and that it refers to cavalry two abreast hastening to the destruction of the
city. The word ‫רכב‬ rekeb denotes properly a chariot or wagon Jdg_5:28; a collection of wagons
2Ch_1:14; 2Ch_8:6; 2Ch_9:25; and sometimes refers to the “horses or men” attached to a
chariot. ‘David houghed all the chariots’ 2Sa_8:4; that is, all the “horses” belonging to them.
‘David killed of the Syrians seven hundred chariots’ 2Sa_10:18; that is, all “the men” belonging
to seven hundred chariots. According to the present Masoretic pointing, the word ‫רכב‬ rekeb
does not mean, perhaps, anything else than a chariot strictly, but other forms of the word with
the same letters denote “riders or cavalry.” Thus, the word ‫רכב‬ rakab denotes a horseman
2Ki_9:17; a charioteer or driver of a chariot 1Ki_22:34; Jer_51:21. The verb ‫רבב‬ rabab means “to

30. ride,” and is usually applied to riding on the backs of horses or camels; and the sense here is,
that the watchman saw “a riding,” or persons riding two abreast; that is, “cavalry,” or men borne
on horses, and camels, and asses, and hastening to attack the city.
With a couple of horsemen - The word ‘couple’ (‫צמד‬ tsemed) means properly a “yoke or
pair;” and it means here that the cavalry was seen “in pairs, that is,” two abreast.
A chariot of asses - Or rather, as above, “a riding” on donkeys - an approach of men in this
manner to battle. Asses were formerly used in war where horses could not be procured. Thus
Strabo (xv. 2, 14) says of the inhabitants of Caramania, ‘Many use donkeys for war in the want of
horses.’ And Herodotus (iv. 129) says expressly that Darius Hystaspes employed donkeys in a
battle with the Scythians.
And a chariot of camels - A “riding” on camels. Camels also were used in war, perhaps
usually to carry the baggage (see Diod. ii. 54; iii. 44; Livy, xxxvii. 40; Strabo, xvi. 3). They are
used for all purposes of burden in the East, and particularly in Arabia.
2. CLARKE, “And he saw a chariot, etc. “And he saw a chariot with two riders; a
rider on an ass, a rider on a camel” - This passage is extremely obscure from the ambiguity
of the term ‫רכב‬ recheb, which is used three times, and which signifies a chariot, or any other
vehicle, or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse, or any other animal; or a company of chariots, or
riders. The prophet may possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders; riders on
asses or mules, and riders on camels; or led on by two riders, one on an ass, and one on a camel.
However, so far it is pretty clear, that Darius and Cyrus, the Medes and the Persians, are
intended to be distinguished by the two riders on the two sorts of cattle. It appears from
Herodotus, 1:80, that the baggage of Cyrus’ army was carried on camels. In his engagement with
Croesus, he took off the baggage from the camels, and mounted his horsemen upon them; the
enemy’s horses, offended with the smell of the camels, turned back and fled. - L.
3. GILL, “And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen,.... The drivers of it, or the
riders in it; perhaps meaning Cyrus and Darius:
a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; by the former may be meant the Persians, who
very much used mules or asses; and the Medes by the latter, who abounded in camels: the words
are in the singular number, and may be rendered, "a rider of an ass, and a rider of a camel" (w);
and so may describe the couple of riders along with the chariot, which may signify the whole
army of the Medes and Persians, chariots being much used in war; and the rider of the ass or
mule may design Cyrus, who was called a mule, because of his mixed descent, being a Persian by
his father, and a Mede by his mother's side; so the oracle of Apollo told the Babylonians, that
their city should stand, until a mule was king of the Medes; and the rider of the camel may point
at Darius:
and he hearkened diligently with much heed; the watchman that was set to watch used
the utmost attention to what he saw, and listened diligently to the noise of this chariot and
horsemen, as they came nearer.

31. 4. PULPIT, “And he saw he hearkened; rather, he shall see he shall hearken (Kay). He is to wait
and watch until he sees a certain sight; then he is to listen attentively, and he will hear the crash of the
falling city. A chariot with a couple of horsemen; rather, a troop of horsemen riding two and two. This is
exactly how a cavalry force was ordinarily represented by the Assyrians. Chariots are not intended either
here or in Isa_21:9. They were not employed by the Persians until a late period of their history. A chariot
of asses, and a chariot of camels; rather, men mounted on asses and on camels. It is well known that
both animals were employed by the Persians in their expeditions to carry the baggage (Herod; 1.80;
4.129; Xen; 'Cyrop.,' 7.1, etc.). But neither animal was ever attached to a chariot.
5. JAMISON, “chariot, etc. — rather, “a body of riders,” namely, some riding in pairs on
horses (literally, “pairs of horsemen,” that is, two abreast), others on asses, others on camels
(compare Isa_21:9; Isa_22:6). “Chariot” is not appropriate to be joined, as English Version
translates, with “asses”; the Hebrew means plainly in Isa_21:7, as in Isa_21:9, “a body of men
riding.” The Persians used asses and camels for war [Maurer]. Horsley translates, “One drawn in
a car, with a pair of riders, drawn by an ass, drawn by a camel”; Cyrus is the man; the car drawn
by a camel and ass yoked together and driven by two postilions, one on each, is the joint army of
Medes and Persians under their respective leaders. He thinks the more ancient military cars
were driven by men riding on the beasts that drew them; Isa_21:9 favors this.
6. K&D, “What the man upon the watch-tower sees first of all, is a long, long procession, viz.,
the hostile army advancing quietly, like a caravan, in serried ranks, and with the most perfect
self-reliance. “And he saw a procession of cavalry, pairs of horsemen, a procession of asses, a
procession of camels; and listened sharply, as sharply as he could listen.” Receb, both here and
in Isa_21:9, signifies neither riding-animals nor war-chariots, but a troop seated upon animals -
a procession of riders. In front there was a procession of riders arranged two and two, for
Persians and Medes fought either on foot or on horseback (the latter, at any rate, from the time
of Cyrus; vid., Cyrop. iv 3); and parash signifies a rider on horseback (in Arabic it is used in
distinction from rakib, the rider on camels). Then came lines of asses and camels, a large number
of which were always taken with the Persian army for different purposes. They not only carried
baggage and provisions, but were taken into battle to throw the enemy into confusion. Thus
Cyrus gained the victory over the Lydians by means of the great number of his camels (Herod. i.
80), and Darius Hystaspis the victory over the Scythians by means of the number of asses that
he employed (Herod. iv 129). Some of the subject tribes rode upon asses and camels instead of
horses: the Arabs rode upon camels in the army of Xerxes, and the Caramanians rode upon
asses. What the spy saw was therefore, no doubt, the Persian army. But he only saw and
listened. It was indeed “listening, greatness of listening,” i.e., he stretched his ear to the utmost
(rab is a substantive, as in Isa_63:7; Psa_145:7; and hikshib, according to its radical notion,
signifies to stiffen, viz., the ear);
(Note: Böttcher has very correctly compared kashab (kasuba) with kashah (kasa), and
Fleischer with sarra (tzar), which is applied in the kal and hiphil (asarra) to any animal

32. (horse, ass, etc.) when it holds its ears straight and erect to listen to any noise (sarra udhneı̄h,
or udhnahu bi-udhneı̄h, or bi-udhnı̄h iv., asarra bi-udhnı̄h, and also absolutely asarra, exactly
like hikshib).)
but he heard nothing, because the long procession was moving with the stillness of death.
7.CALVIN, “7.And he saw a chariot. What he now adds contains a lively description of that defeat.
Some think that it is told by the king’ messenger. This is a mistake; for the Prophet, on the contrary,
foretells what he has learned from the watchman whom he appointed by the command of God. Here he
represents the watchman as looking and reporting what he saw. As if at the first glance he had not seen it
clearly, he says that there is “ chariot,” and afterwards observing more closely, he says that there is “
couple of horses” in the chariot. At first, on account of the novelty and great distance of the objects, the
report given is ambiguous and confused; but afterwards, when a nearer view is obtained, they are better
understood. There is no absurdity in applying to prophets or to divine visions what belongs to men; for we
know that God, accommodating himself to our feeble capacity, takes upon himself human feelings.
8
And the lookout[a]
shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
1.BARNES, “And he cried, A lion - Margin, ‘As a lion.’ This is the correct rendering. The
particle ‫כ‬ (k) - ‘as,’ is not unfrequently omitted (see Isa_62:5; Psa_11:1). That is, ‘I see them
approach with the fierceness, rapidity, and terror of a lion (compare Rev_10:3).
My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower - This is the speech of the
watchman, and is addressed, not to Yahweh, but to him that appointed him. It is designed to
show the “diligence” with which he had attended to the object for which he was appointed. He
had been unceasing in his observation; and the result was, that now at length he saw the enemy
approach like a lion, and it was certain that Babylon now must fall. The language used here has a
striking resemblance to the opening of the “Agamemnon” of AEschylus; being the speech of the
watchman, who had been very long upon his tower looking for the signal which should make
known that Troy had fallen. It thus commences:
‘Forever thus! O keep me not, ye gods,
Forever thus, fixed in the lonely tower
Of Atreus’ palace, from whose height I gaze
O’er watched and weary, like a night-dog, still

33. Fixed to my post; meanwhile the rolling year
Moves on, and I my wakeful vigils keep
By the cold star-light sheen of spangled skies.’
Symmons, quoted in the “Pictorial Bible.”
I am set in my ward - My place where one keeps watch. It does not mean that he was
confined or imprisoned, but that he had kept his watch station (‫משׁמרת‬ mishe
meret from ‫שׁמר‬ sha
mar “to watch, to keep, to attend to”).
Whole nights - Margin, ‘Every night.’ It means that he had not left his post day or night.
2. CLARKE, “And he cried, A lion “He that looked out on the watch” - The present
reading, ‫אריה‬ aryeh, a lion, is so unintelligible, and the mistake so obvious, that I make no doubt
that the true reading is ‫הראה‬ haroeh, the seer; as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his
copy, who renders it by ‫דקוא‬ duka, a watchman.
3. GILL, “And he cried, a lion,.... That is, the watchman cried, a lion, or that he saw a lion;
not Uriah the priest, as the Septuagint; nor Habakkuk, as some Jewish writers; but Cyrus, at the
head of the Persian and Median armies, compared to a lion for his fierceness, courage, and
strength; see 2Ti_4:17 a type of Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, by whom antichrist, or
mystical Babylon, will be destroyed, Rev_5:5. The Targum is,
"the prophet said, the voice of armies, coming with coats of mail, as a lion.''
Aben Ezra interprets it, the watchman cried as a lion, with a great voice; upon sight of the
chariots and horsemen, he lifted up his voice, and roared like a lion, to express the terror he was
in, and the greatness of the calamity that was coming upon the city.
I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime: so that nothing could escape
his notice:
and I am set in my ward whole nights: which expresses his diligence, vigilance, and
constancy, in the discharge of his duty; and therefore what he said he saw might be depended
on.
4. PULPIT, “And he cried, A lion; rather, he cried as a lion; i.e. with a loud deep voice
(comp. Rev_10:3). The watchman, after long waiting, becomes impatient, and can contain himself no
longer. He makes complaint of his long vain watch. My lord; rather, O Lord. The watchman addresses his
complaint to Jehovah.

34. 5. JAMISON, “A lion — rather, “(The watchman) cried, I am as a lion”; so as is understood
(Isa_62:5; Psa_11:1). The point of comparison to “a lion” is in Rev_10:3, the loudness of the cry.
But here it is rather his vigilance. The lion’s eyelids are short, so that, even when asleep, he
seems to be on the watch, awake; hence he was painted on doors of temples as the symbol of
watchfulness, guarding the place (Hor. Apollo) [Horsley].
6. K&D, “At length the procession has vanished; he sees nothing and hears nothing, and is
seized with impatience. “Then he cried with lion's voice, Upon the watch-tower, O Lord, I stand
continually by day, and upon my watch I keep my stand all the nights.” He loses all his
patience, and growls as if he were a lion (compare Rev_10:3), with the same dull, angry sound,
the same long, deep breath out of full lungs, complaining to God that he has to stand so long at
his post without seeing anything, except that inexplicable procession that has now vanished
away.
7.CALVIN, “8.And he cried, A lion. “ hearkened diligently with much heed,” at length he
observes a lion. This is supposed to mean Darius who conquered and pillaged Babylon, as we learn from
Daniel. (Dan_5:28.)
I stand continually. When the watchman says that he is continually on his watchtower by day and by
night, this tends to confirm the prediction, as if he had said that nothing can be more certain than this
vision; for they whom God has appointed to keep watch are neither drowsy nor dim-sighted. Meanwhile,
by this example, he exhorts and stimulates believers to the same kind of attention, that by the help of the
lamp of the word, they may obtain a distant view of the power of God.
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!’”

35. 1.BARNES, “And, behold ... a chariot of men - This place shows that the word ‘chariot’
(‫רכב‬ rekeb) may denote something else than a wagon or carriage, as a chariot drawn by men
cannot be intended. The sense can be expressed, perhaps, by the word “riding,” ‘I see a riding of
men approach;’ that is, I see “cavalry” drawing near, or men riding and hastening to the battle.
With a couple of horsemen - The word ‘with’ is not in the Hebrew. The meaning is, ‘I see a
riding of men, or cavalry; and they come in pairs, or two abreast.’ A part of the sentence is to be
supplied from Isa_21:7. He saw not only horsemen, but riders on donkeys and camels.
And he answered - That is, the watchman answered. The word ‘answer,’ in the Scriptures,
means often merely to commence a discourse after an interval; to begin to speak Job_3:2;
Dan_2:26; Act_5:8.
Babylon is fallen - That is, her ruin is certain. Such a mighty army is drawing near, and they
approach so well prepared for battle, that the ruin of Babylon is inevitable. The “repetition” of
this declaration that ‘Babylon is fallen,’ denotes emphasis and certainty. Compare Psa_92:9 :
For lo, thine enemies, O Lord,
For lo, thine enemies shall perish.
Psa_93:3 :
The floods have lifted up, O Lord;
The floods have lifted up their waves.
A similar description is given of the fall of Babylon in Jer_50:32; Jer_51:8; and John has
copied this description in the account of the overthrow of the mystical Babylon Rev_18:1-2.
Babylon was distinguished for its pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. It became, therefore, the
emblem of all that is haughty, and as such is used by John in the Apocalypse; and as such it was
a most striking emblem of the pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and oppression which have always
been evinced by Papal Rome.
And all the graven images - Babylon was celebrated for its idolatry, and perhaps was the
place where the worship of idols commenced. The principal god worshipped there was Belus, or
Bel (see the note at Isa_46:1).
Are broken ... - That is, shall be destroyed; or, in spite of its idols, the whole city would be
ruined.
2. CLARKE, “Here cometh a chariot of men, etc. “A man, one of the two riders” -
So the Syriac understands it, and Ephrem Syr.
3. GILL, “And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men,.... Or "of a man" (x); a chariot with
a man in it, Cyrus or Darius:
with a couple of horsemen; the army of the Medes and Persians, with their two leaders or
generals, as before; only now seen nearer the city, just entering into it; for so the word may be
rendered, "goeth", or "is gone in a chariot", &c.:

36. and he answered, and said; either the watchman, upon seeing the chariot and horsemen go
into the city; or one of the horsemen that went in; so the Syriac and Arabic versions; or rather
the prophet, and the Lord by him:
Babylon is fallen, is fallen: which is repeated to show the certainty of it. The same words are
used of the fall of mystical Babylon, Rev_14:8. The Targum is,
"it is fallen, and also it shall be, that Babylon shall fall;''
that is, a second time, and hereafter: and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of two falls, one by
the Medes and Persians, and the other by the hand of heaven, or God himself: literal Babylon fell
by the former; mystical Babylon will fall by the latter, even by the breath of Christ's mouth, and
the brightness of his coming:
and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground; either Cyrus
or Darius, who might do this, not from any detestation of them, but for the sake of the gold, and
silver, and riches, that were about them; or rather the Lord by them, and so put an end to
idolatry; as will be, when mystical Babylon is destroyed.
4. HENRY, “He gives notice of the discoveries he had made (Isa_21:9): Here comes a chariot
of men with a couple of horsemen, a vision representing the enemy's entry into the city with all
their force or the tidings brought to the royal palace of it.
5. JAMISON, “chariot of men — chariots with men in them; or rather, the same body of
riders, horsemen two abreast, as in Isa_21:7 [Maurer]. But Horsley, “The man drawn in a car
with a pair of riders.” The first half of this verse describes what the watchman sees; the second
half, what the watchman says, in consequence of what he sees. In the interval between Isa_21:7
and Isa_21:9, the overthrow of Babylon by the horsemen, or man in the car, is accomplished.
The overthrow needed to be announced to the prophet by the watchman, owing to the great
extent of the city. Herodotus (1.131) says that one part of the city was captured some time before
the other received the tidings of it.
answered — not to something said previously, but in reference to the subject in the mind of
the writer, to be collected from the preceding discourse: proclaimeth (Job_3:2, Margin;
Dan_2:26; Act_5:8).
fallen ... fallen — The repetition expresses emphasis and certainty (Psa_92:9; Psa_93:3;
compare Jer_51:8; Rev_18:2).
images — Bel, Merodach, etc. (Jer_50:2; Jer_51:44, Jer_51:52). The Persians had no images,
temples, or altars, and charged the makers of such with madness [Herodotus 1.131]; therefore
they dashed the Babylonian “images broken unto the ground.”
6. K&D, “But when he is about to speak, his complaint is stifled in his mouth. “And, behold,
there came a cavalcade of men, pairs of horsemen, and lifted up its voice, and said, Fallen,
fallen is Babylon; and all the images of its gods He hath dashed to the ground!” It is now clear
enough where the long procession went to when it disappeared. It entered Babylon, made itself
master of the city, and established itself there. And now, after a long interval, there appears a

37. smaller cavalcade, which has to carry the tidings of victory somewhere; and the spy hears them
cry out in triumph, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon!” In Rev_18:1-2, the same words form the shout of
triumph raised by the angel, the antitype being more majestic than the type, whilst upon the
higher ground of the New Testament everything moves on in spiritual relations, all that is
merely national having lost its power. Still even here the spiritual inwardness of the affair is so
far expressed, that it is Jehovah who dashes to the ground; and even the heathen conquerors are
obliged to confess that the fall of Babylon and its pesilim (compare Jer_51:47, Jer_51:52) is the
work of Jehovah Himself. What is here only hinted at from afar - namely, that Cyrus would act
as the anointed of Jehovah - is expanded in the second part (Isaiah 40-66) for the consolation of
the captives.
7. PULPIT, “And, behold, here cometh, etc. Our translators make the words those of the watchman.
But they are better taken as the prophet's statement of a fact, "And behold, just then there cometh a troop
of men, riding two and two"—the sign for which he was to watch (Isa_21:7), or rather the first part of it.
We must suppose the rest of the sign to follow, and the watchman then to listen awhile attentively.
Suddenly he hears the sound of a sacked town, and he exclaims, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, etc. All
the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. Recent documents, belonging to the
time of Cyrus, and treating of his capture of Babylon, show that this expression is not to be understood
literally. Cyrus was not an iconoclast; he did not break into pieces, or in any way destroy or insult the
Babylonian idols. On the contrary, he maintained them in their several shrines, or restored them where
they had been displaced; he professed himself a worshipper of the chief Babylonian gods—Bel, Nebo,
and Merodach—he repaired the temple of Merodach; he prayed to Bel and Nebo to lengthen his days; he
caused his son, Cambyses, to take part in the great religious ceremony wherewith the Babylonians
opened the new year. Thus his conquest of Babylon did not bring upon its gods a physical, but only a
moral, destruction. The Persian victory discredited and degraded them. It proclaimed to Western Asia that
the idolatrous system so long prevalent in the region between Mount Zagros and the Mediterranean was
no longer in the ascendant, but lay at the mercy of another quite different religion, which condescended to
accord it toleration. Such was the permanent result. No doubt there was also, in the sack of the city, much
damage done to many of the idols by a greedy soldiery, who may have carried off many images of gold or
silver, and broken up others that were not portable, and stripped off the plates of precious metal from the
idols of "brass, and iron, and wood, and stone" (Dan_5:6).
8. CALVIN, “9.Babylon is fallen, is fallen. This shews plainly that it is not king Belshazzar’ watchman
who is introduced, for this speech would be unsuitable to such a character. The Prophet therefore makes
known, by the command of God, what would happen. Now, this may refer either to God or to Darius, as
well as to the watchman; and it makes little difference as to the meaning, for Darius, being God’ servant in

38. this matter, is not inappropriately represented to be the herald of that judgment. There would be greater
probability in referring it to God himself; for Darius had no such thoughts when he overthrew the idols of
the Babylonians. But the speech agrees better with the character of a guardian, as if an angel added an
interpretation to the prophecy.
And all the graven images of her gods. There is here an implied contrast between the living God and
dead idols. This mode of expression, too, deserves notice, when he calls them “ of gods;” for the
Babylonians knew, as all idolaters loudly proclaim, that their images are not gods. Yet they ascribed to
them divine power, and when this is done, “ truth of God is changed into a lie,” (Rom_1:25,) and not only
so, but God himself is denied. But on this subject we shall afterwards speak more largely. Here we see,
that by her destruction Babylon was punished for idolatry, for he assigns the reason why Babylon was
destroyed. It was because the Lord could not endure that she should glory in her “ images.”
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.
1.BARNES, “O my threshing - The words ‘to thresh,’ ‘to tread down,’ etc., are often used in
the Scriptures to denote punishments inflicted on the enemies of God. An expression likes this
occurs in Jer_51:33, in describing the destruction of Babylon: ‘The daughter of Babylon is like a
threshing floor; it is time to thresh her.’ In regard to the mode of threshing among the Hebrews,
and the pertinency of this image to the destruction of the enemies of God, see the note at
Isa_28:27. Lowth, together with many others, refers this to Babylon, and regards it as an
address of God to Babylon in the midst of her punishment: ‘O thou, the object on which I shall
exercise the severity of my discipline; that shall lie under my afflicting hand like grain spread out
upon the floor to be threshed out and winnowed, to separate the chaff from the wheat.’ But the
expression can be applied with more propriety to the Jews; and may be regarded as the language
of “tenderness” addressed by God through the prophet to his people when they should be
oppressed and broken down in Babylon: ‘O thou, my people, who hast been afflicted and
crushed; who hast been under my chastening hand, and reduced to these calamities on account
of your sins; hear what God has spoken respecting the destruction of Babylon, and your
consequent certain deliverance.’ Thus it is the language of consolation; and is designed, like the
prophecies in Isa. 13; 14, to comfort the Jews, when they should be in Babylon, with the
certainty that they would be delivered. The language of “tenderness” in which the address is
couched, as well as the connection, seems to demand this interpretation.

39. And the corn of my floor - Hebrew, ‘The son of my threshing floor’ - a Hebraism for grain
that was on the floor to be threshed. The word ‘son’ is often used in this special manner among
the Hebrews (see the note at Mat_1:1).
That which I have heard ... - This shows the scope or design of the whole prophecy - to
declare to the Jews the destruction that would come upon Babylon, and their own consequent
deliverance. It was important that they should be “assured” of that deliverance, and hence,
Isaiah “repeats” his predictions, and minutely states the manner in which their rescue would be
accomplished.
2. CLARKE, “O my threshing - “O thou, the object upon which I shall exercise the severity
of my discipline; that shalt lie under my afflicting hand, like corn spread upon the floor to be
threshed out and winnowed, to separate the chaff from the wheat!” The image of threshing is
frequently used by the Hebrew poets, with great elegance and force, to express the punishment
of the wicked and the trial of the good, or the utter dispersion and destruction of God’s enemies.
Of the different ways of threshing in use among the Hebrews, and the manner of performing
them, see the note on Isa_28:27 (note).
Our translators have taken the liberty of using the word threshing in a passive sense, to
express the object or matter that is threshed; in which I have followed them, not being able to
express it more properly, without departing too much from the form and letter of the original.
“Son of my floor,” Hebrews It is an idiom of the Hebrew language to call the effect, the object,
the adjunct, any thing that belongs in almost any way to another, the son of it. “O my threshing.”
The prophet abruptly breaks off the speech of God; and instead of continuing it in the form in
which he had begun, and in the person of God, “This I declare unto you by my prophet,” he
changes the form of address, and adds, in his own person, “This I declare unto you from God.”
3. GILL, “O my threshing, and the corn of my floor,.... Which may be understood either
of the Babylonians, now threshed or punished by the Lord, and whom he had made use of as
instruments for the punishment of others; or rather of the people of the Jews, whom the prophet
calls "his", as being his countrymen, to whom he was affected, and with whom he sympathized;
and besides, he speaks in the name of the Lord; or it is the Lord that speaks by him, calling the
church of the Jews his floor, and the people his corn, which were dear and valuable to him, as
choice grain, wheat, and other things; and therefore, though he threshed or afflicted them, it was
for their good, to purge and cleanse them, and separate the chaff from them; and indeed it was
on their account, and for their good, that all this was to be done to Babylon, before predicted;
where they were, as corn under the threshing instrument, greatly oppressed and afflicted, but
now should be delivered; for the confirmation of which it is added:
that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto
you; the preceding prophecy was not a dream of his, but a vision from the Lord of hosts; it was
not devised by him, but told him by the Lord, and that for the good and comfort of the people of
Israel, whose covenant God he was; and the prophet acted a faithful part, in delivering it just as
he received it, which might be depended on.

40. 4. HENRY, “Notice is given to the people of God, who were then captives in Babylon, that
this prophecy of the downfall of Babylon was particularly intended for their comfort and
encouragement, and they might depend upon it that it should be accomplished in due season,
Isa_21:10. Observe,
1. The title the prophet gives them in God's name: O my threshing, and the corn of my floor!
The prophet calls them his, because they were his countrymen, and such as he had a particular
interest in and concern for; but he speaks it as from God, and directs his speech to those that
were Israelites indeed, the faithful in the land. Note, (1.) The church is God's floor, in which the
most valuable fruits and products of this earth are, as it were, gathered together and laid up. (2.)
True believers are the corn of God's floor. Hypocrites are but as the chaff and straw, which take
up a great deal of room, but are of small value, with which the wheat is now mixed, but from
which it shall be shortly and for ever separated. (3.) The corn of God's floor must expect to be
threshed by afflictions and persecutions. God's Israel of old was afflicted from her youth, often
under the plougher's plough (Psa_129:3) and the thresher's flail. (4.) Even then God owns it for
his threshing; it is his still; nay, the threshing of it is by his appointment, and under his restraint
and direction. The threshers could have no power against it but what was given them from
above.
2. The assurance he gives them of the truth of what he had delivered to them, which therefore
they might build their hopes upon: That which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel - that, and nothing else, that, and no fiction or fancy of my own - have I declared unto
you. Note, In all events concerning the church, past, present, and to come, we must have an eye
to God both as the Lord of hosts and as the God of Israel, who has power enough to do any thing
for his church and grace enough to do every thing that is for her good, and to the words of his
prophets, as words received from the Lord. As they dare not smother any thing which he has
entrusted them to declare, so they dare not declare any thing as from him which he has not
made known to them, 1Co_11:23.
5. JAMISON, “my threshing — that is, my people (the Jews) trodden down by Babylon.
corn of my floor — Hebrew, “my son of the floor,” that is, my people, treated as corn laid on
the floor for threshing; implying, too, that by affliction, a remnant (grain) would be separated
from the ungodly (chaff) [Maurer]. Horsley translates, “O thou object of my unremitting
prophetic pains.” See Isa_28:27, Isa_28:28. Some, from Jer_51:33, make Babylon the object of
the threshing; but Isaiah is plainly addressing his countrymen, as the next words show, not the
Babylonians.
6. K&D, “The night vision related and recorded by the prophet, a prelude to the revelations
contained in Chapters 40-60, was also intended for the consolation of Israel, which had already
much to suffer, when Babylon was still Assyrian, but would have to suffer far more from it when
it should become Chaldean. “O thou my threshing, and child of my threshing-floor! What I
have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.” Threshing (dush)
is a figure used to represent crushing oppression in Isa_41:15 and Mic_4:12-13; and judicial
visitation in Jer_51:33 (a parallel by which we must not allow ourselves to be misled, as
Jeremiah has there given a different turn to Isaiah's figure, as he very frequently does); and
again, as in the present instance, chastising plagues, in which wrath and good intention are
mingled together. Israel, placed as it was under the tyrannical supremacy of the imperial power,

41. is called the medusshah (for medushah, i.e., the threshing) of Jehovah - in other words, the corn
threshed by Him; also His “child of the threshing-floor,” inasmuch as it was laid in the floor, in
the bosom as it were of the threshing-place, to come out threshed (and then to become a
thresher itself, Mic_4:12-13). This floor, in which Jehovah makes a judicial separation of grains
and husks in Israel, was their captivity. Babylon is the instrument of the threshing wrath of God.
But love also takes part in the threshing, and restrains the wrath. This is what the prophet has
learned in the vision (“I have heard,” as in Isa_28:22) - a consolatory figure for the threshing-
corn in the floor, i.e., for Israel, which was now subject to the power of the world, and had been
mowed off its own field and carried captive into Babylonia.
7. PULPIT, “O my threshing, and the corn of my floor. These are the words of the prophet to Israel. Her
chastisements have long been "threshing" Israel, separating the grain from the chaff, and will do so still
more as time goes on. The prophet's message is for the comfort of those who shall have gone through
the process and become the true "children of the threshing-floor"—pure wheat, fit to be gathered into the
garner of God (Mat_3:12).
8. CALVIN, “10.My thrashing, and the son of my floor. (69) The wealth of that powerful monarchy
having dazzled the eyes of all men by its splendor, what Isaiah foretold about its destruction might be
reckoned fabulous. He therefore leads their minds to God, in order to inform them that it was God who
had undertaken to destroy Babylon, and that it is not by the will of men, but by divine power, that such
loftiness will fall to the ground. The “” and “ son of the floor” mean the same thing; for this mode of
expression is frequently employed by Hebrew writers, who often repeat the same statement in different
language.
This passage ought to be carefully observed, that we may correct a vice which is natural to us, that of
measuring the power of God by our own standard. Not only does our feebleness place us far below the
wisdom of God; but we are wicked and depraved judges of his works, and cannot be induced to take any
other view of them than of what comes within the reach of the ability and wisdom of men. But we ought
always to remember his almighty power, and especially when our own reason and judgment fail us. Thus,
when the Church is oppressed by tyrants to such a degree that there appears to be no hope of
deliverance, let us know that the Lord will lay them low, and, by trampling on their pride and abasing their
strength, will shew that they are his “” for the subject of this prediction was not a person of mean rank, but
the most powerful and flourishing of all monarchies. The more they have exalted themselves, the more
quickly will they be destroyed, and the Lord will execute his “” upon them. Let us learn that what the Lord
has here given as a manifestation of inconceivable ruin, applies to persons of the same stamp.

42. That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts. When he says that he has “ it from the Lord of hosts,” he
sets a seal, as it were, on his prophecy; for he declares that he has not brought forward his own
conjectures, but has received it from the Lord himself. Here it is worthy of our notice, that the servants of
God ought to be fortified by this boldness to speak in the name of God, as Peter also exhorts, “ that
speaketh, let him speak as the oracles of God.” (1Pe_4:11.) Impostors also boast of the name of God, but
his faithful servants have the testimony of their conscience that they bring forward nothing but what God
has enjoined. Observe, also, that this confirmation was highly necessary, for the whole world trembled at
the resources of this powerful monarchy.
From the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. It is not without reason that he gives to God these two
appellations. As to the former, it is indeed a title which always applies to God; but here, undoubtedly, the
Prophet had his eye on the matter in hand, in order to contrast the power of God with all the troops of the
Babylonians; for God has not a single army, but innumerable armies, to subdue his enemies. Again, he
calls him “ God of Israel,” because by destroying Babylon he shewed himself to be the defender and
guardian of his people; for the overthrow of that monarchy procured freedom for the Jews. In short, all
these things were done for the sake of the Church, which the Prophet has here in view; for it is not the
Babylonians, who undoubtedly laughed at these predictions, but believers, whom he exhorts to rest
assured that, though they were oppressed by the Babylonians, and scattered and tossed about, still God
would take care of them.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11
A prophecy against Dumah[b]
:
Someone calls to me from Seir,
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
1.BARNES, “Analysis of Isa_21:11, Isa_21:12. - VISION 17. Dumah, or Idumea.

43. This prophecy is very obscure. It comprises but two verses. When it was delivered, or on what
occasion, or what was its design, it is not easy to determine. Its brevity has contributed much to
its obscurity; nor, amidst the variety of interpretations which have been proposed, is it possible
to ascertain with entire certainty the true explanation. Perhaps no portion of the Scriptures, of
equal length, has been subjected to a greater variety of exposition. It is not the design of these
Notes to go at length into a detail of opinions which have been proposed, but to state as
accurately as possible the sense of the prophet. Those who wish to see at length the opinions
which have been entertained on this prophecy, will find them detailed in Vitringa and others.
The prophecy relates evidently to Idumea. It stands in connection with that immediately
preceding respecting Babylon, and it is probable that it was delivered at that time. It has the
appearance of being a reply by the prophet to language of “insult or taunting” from the
Idumeans, and to have been spoken when calamities were coming rapidly on the Jews. But it is
not certain that that was the time or the occasion. It is certain only that it is a prediction of
calamity succeeding to prosperity - perhaps prosperity coming to the afflicted Hebrews in
Babylon, and of calamity to the taunting Idumeans, who had exulted over their downfall and
captivity, and who are represented as sneeringly inquiring of the prophet what was the prospect
in regard to the Jews. This is substantially the view given by Vitringa, Rosenmuller, and
Gesenius.
According to this interpretation, the scene is laid in the time of the Babylonlsh captivity. The
prophet is represented as having been placed on a watch-tower long and anxiously looking for
the issue. It is night; that is, it is a time of calamity, darkness, and distress. In this state of
darkness and obscurity, someone is represented as calling to the prophet from Idumea, and
tauntingly inquiring, what of the night, or what the prospect was. He asks, whether there was
any prospect of deliverance; or whether these calamities were to continue, and perhaps whether
Idumea was also to be involved in them with the suffering Jews. To this the prophet answers,
that the morning began to dawn - that there was a prospect of deliverance. But he adds that
calamity was also coming; calamity probably to the nation that made the inquiry - to the land of
Idumea - “perhaps” calamity that should follow the deliverance of the Hebrew captives, who
would thus be enabled to inflict vengeance on Edom, and to overwhelm it in punishment. The
morning dawns, says the watchman; but there is darkness still beyond. Light is coming - but
there is night also: light for us - darkness for you. This interpretation is strengthened by a
remarkable coincidence in an independent source, and which I have not seen noticed, in the
137th Psalm. The irritated and excited feelings of the captive Jews against Edom; their
indignation at the course which Edom pursued when Jerusalem was destroyed; and their desire
of vengeance, are all there strongly depicted, and accord with this interpretation, which
supposes the prophet to say that the glad morning of the deliverance of the “Jews” would be
succeeded by a dark night to the taunting Idumean. The feelings of the captured and exiled Jews
were expressed in the following language in Babylon Psa_137:7 :
Remember, O Jehovah, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation.
That is, we desire vengeance on Idumea, who joined with our enemies when Jerusalem was
destroyed; and when Jerusalem shall be again rebuilt, we pray that they may be remembered,
and that punishment may be inflicted on them for exulting over our calamities. The watchman
adds, that if the Idumean was disposed to inquire further, he could. The result could be easily
ascertained. It was clear, and the watchman would be disposed to give the information. But he
adds, ‘return, come;’ perhaps meaning, ‘repent; then come and receive an answer;’ denoting that
if the Idumeans “wished” a favorable answer, they should repent of their treatment of the Jews
in their calamities, and that “then” a condition of safety and prosperity would be promised them.

44. As there is considerable variety in the ancient versions of this prophecy, and as it is brief, they
may be presented to advantage at a single view. The Vulgate does not differ materially from the
Hebrew. The following are some of the other versions:
Septuagint: “The vision of Idumea.” Unto me he called out of Seir, Guard the fortresses - Φυλά
σσετε ᅚπάλξεις phulassete epalcheis). I guard morning and night. If you inquire, inquire, and
dwell with me. In the grove (δρυµሬ drumo) thou shalt lie down, and in the way of Dedan (∆αιδάn
Daidan).
Chaldee: “The burden of the cup of malediction which is coming upon Duma.” - He cries to
me from heaven, O prophet, prophesy; O prophet, prophesy to them of what is to come. The
prophet said, There is a reward to the just, and revenge to the unjust. If you will be converted, be
converted while you can be converted.
Syriac: “The burden of Duma.” The nightly watchman calls to me out of Seir. And the
watchman said, The morning cometh and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire, and then at
length come.
Arabic: “A prophecy respecting Edom and Seir, the sons of Esau.” Call me from Seir. Keep the
towers. Guard thyself morning and evening. If you inquire, inquire.
It is evident, from this variety of translation, that the ancient interpreters felt that the
prophecy was enigmatical and difficult. It is not easy, in a prophecy so brief, and where there is
scarcely any clue to lead us to the historical facts, to give an interpretation that shall be entirely
satisfactory and unobjectionable. Perhaps the view given above may be as little liable to
objection as any one of the numerous interpretations which have been proposed.
Verse 11
The burden - (see the note at Isa_13:1). This word ‘burden’ naturally leads to the
supposition that “calamity” in some form was contemplated in the prophecy. This is also
indicated in the prophecy by the word night.
Of Dumah - Dumah (‫דוּמה‬ dumah) is mentioned in Gen_25:14, and 1Ch_1:30, as one of the
twelve sons of Ishmael. It is known that those sons settled in Arabia, and that the Arabians
derive their origin from Ishmael. The name ‘Dumah,’ therefore, properly denotes one of the
wandering tribes of the Ishmaelites. The Septuagint evidently read this as if it had been ‫אדום‬ 'edo
m - Edom or Idumea - ᅾδουµαία Idoumaia Jakut mentions two places in Arabia to which the
name ‘Dumah’ is given, Dumah Irak, and Dumah Felsen. The former of these, which Gesenius
supposes is the place here intended, lies upon the borders of the Syrian desert, and is situated in
a valley seven days’ journey from Damascus, according to Abulfeda, in lon. 45 degrees E.; and in
lat. 29 degrees 30’ N; and about three and a half days’ journey from Medina. Niebuhr mentions
Dumah as a station of the Wehabites (see Gesenius, “Commentary in loc.”) There can be little
doubt that the place referred to is situated on the confines of the Arabian and Syrian deserts,
and that it is the place called by the Arabians “Duma the stony, or Syrian Duma” (Robinson’s
Calmet). It has a fortress, and is a place of strength Jerome says, ‘Duma is not the whole
province of Idumea, but is a certain region which lies toward the south, and is twenty miles
distant from a city of Palestine called Eleutheropolis, near which are the mountains of Seir.’ It is
evident from the prophecy itself that Idumea is particularly referred to, for the prophet
immediately adds, that the voice came to him from mount ‘Seir,’ which was the principal
mountain of Idumea. Why the name ‘Dumah’ is used to designate that region has been a matter
on which critics have been divided.

45. Vitringa supposes that it is by a play upon the word ‘Dumah,’ because the word “may” be
derived from ‫דמם‬ damam to be silent, to be still; and that it is used to denote the “silence,” or the
“night,” which was about to come upon Idumea; that is, the calamity of which this was a
prediction. Kocher supposes that the prophet used the word denoting ‘silence’ (‫דוּמה‬ dumah) by a
paranomasia, and by derision for ‫אדום‬ 'edom, as if Idumea was soon to be reduced to silence, or
to destruction. Idumea, or the country of Edom, is frequently referred to by the prophets (see
Jer_49:7-10, Jer_49:12-18; Eze_35:1-4, Eze_35:7, Eze_35:9, Eze_35:14-15; Joe_3:19;
Amo_1:11; Obad. 1:2-18; Mal_1:3-4). For a description of Idumea, and of the prophecies
respecting it, see the notes at Isa. 34.
He calleth - One calleth; there is a voice heard by me from Seir. Lowth renders it, ‘A voice
crieth unto me.’ But the sense is, that the prophet hears one crying, or calling (‫קרא‬ qore') to him
from the distant mountain.
Unto me - The prophet Isaiah.
Out of Seir - The name ‘Seir’ was given to a mountainous tract or region of country that
stretched along from the southern part of the Dead Sea, to the eastern branch of the Red Sea,
terminating near Ezion-geber. Mount Hor formed a part of this range of mountains. Esau and
his descendants possessed the mountains of Seir, and hence, the whole region obtained the
name of Edom or Idumea. Mount Seir was anciently the residence of the “Horites” Gen_14:6,
but Esau made war upon them and destroyed them (compare Gen_36:8-9; Deu_2:5, Deu_2:12).
Here it is put for the country of Idumea, and the sense is, that the whole land, or the inhabitants
of the land, are heard by the prophet in a taunting manner asking him what of the night.
Watchman - (see the note at Isa_21:6). The prophet Isaiah is here referred to (compare
Isa_52:8; Isa_56:10). He is represented as being in the midst of the calamities that had come
upon Judea, and as having his station in desolate Jerusalem, and looking for the signs of
returning day. The eye is turned toward the east - the source from where light comes, and from
where the exiles would return to their own land. Thus anxiously waiting for the indications of
mercy to his desolate country, he hears this taunting voice from Idumea, asking him what was
the prospect? what evidence there was of returning prosperity?
What of the night? - (compare Hab_2:1). ‘How stands the night? What is the prospect?
What have you to announce respecting the night? How much of it is passed? And what is the
prospect of the dawn?’ ‘Night’ here is the emblem of calamity, affliction, oppression, as it often is
in the Scriptures (compare Job_35:10; Mic_3:6); and it refers here probably to the calamities
which had come upon Judea. The inquiry is, How much of that calamity had passed? What was
the prospect? How long was it to continue? How far was it to spread? The inquiry is “repeated”
here to denote “intensity” or “emphasis,” manifesting the deep interest which the inquirer had in
the result, or designed to give emphasis and point to the cutting taunt.
2. CLARKE, “The burden of Dumah “The oracle concerning Dumah” - Pro ‫דומה‬
Dumah, Codex R. Meiri habet ‫אדום‬ Edom; and so the Septuagint, Vid. Kimchi ad h. 50. Biblia
Michaelis, Halae, 1720, not. ad 50. See also De Rossi. Bishop Lowth translates the prophecy
thus: -
11. The Oracle Concerning Dumah.
A voice crieth to me from Seir:
Watchman, what from the night?

46. Watchman, what from the night?
12. The watchman replieth: -
The morning cometh, and also the night.
If ye will inquire, inquire ye: come again.
This differs very little from our common Version. One of Kennicott’s MSS., and one of my
own, omit the repetition, “Watchman, what from the night?”
This prophecy, from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, and from the
brevity of the expression, is extremely obscure. The Edomites as well as the Jews were subdued
by the Babylonians. They inquire of the prophet how long their subjection is to last: he intimates
that the Jews should be delivered from their captivity; not so the Edomites. Thus far the
interpretation seems to carry with it some degree of probability. What the meaning of the last
line may be, I cannot pretend to divine. In this difficulty the Hebrew MSS. give no assistance.
The MSS. of the Septuagint, and the fragments of the other Greek Versions, give some
variations, but no light. This being the case, I thought it best to give an exact literal translation of
the whole two verses, which may serve to enable the English reader to judge in some measure of
the foundation of the various interpretations that have been given of them.
The burden of Dumah. - R. D. Kimchi says, “His father understood this of the destruction of
Dumah (one of the cities of the Ishmaelites) by the inhabitants of Seir; and that they inquired of
the prophet to know the particular time in which God had given them a commission against it.
The prophet answered: The morning - the time of success to you, cometh, is just at hand; and
the night - the time of utter destruction to the inhabitants of Dumah, is also ready.” I have heard
the words applied in the way of general exhortation.
1. Every minister of God is a watchman. He is continually watching for the safety and
interests of his people, and looking for the counsel of God that he may be properly
qualified to warn and to comfort.
2. Such are often called to denounce heavy judgments; they have the burden of the word of
the Lord to denounce against the impenitent, the backslider, the lukewarm, and the
careless.
3. When the watchman threatens judgments, some are awakened, and some mock:
Watchman, what of the night? ”What are the judgments thou threatenest, and when are
they to take place?”
4. To this question, whether seriously or tauntingly proposed, the watchman answers:
1. The morning cometh - there is a time of repentance granted; a morning of God’s long-
suffering kindness now appears: and also the night - the time in which God will no
longer wait to be gracious, but will cut you off as cumberers of the ground.
2. But if you will inquire seriously how you are to escape God’s judgments, inquire ye.
3. There is still a door of hope; continue to pray for mercy.
4. Return from your iniquities.
5. Come to God, through Christ, that ye may obtain salvation.
3. GILL, “The burden of Dumah,.... Whether this prophecy concerns the Edomites or
Idumeans, or whether the Arabians, particularly the Dumean Arabians, is a question, since
Dumah was a son of Ishmael, Gen_25:14 and there was a place in Arabia called Dumatha (y);
and Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it here of Dumah the son of Ishmael; but inasmuch as

47. mention is made of Seir, a mountain, which belonged to the Edomites, Gen_36:8 and a distinct
prophecy afterwards follows concerning Arabia, it is more generally thought that Dumah
signifies Edom or Idumea; the Septuagint version renders it, the vision of Idumea; and the
Arabic version calls it, a prophecy concerning Edom and Seir; and Jarchi, by Dumah,
understands Edom; and Kimchi himself observes, that in a book of R. Meir's, it was found
written,
"the burden of Duma, the burden of Edom.''
Jerom says, Duma is not the whole province of Idumea, but a certain country in it, that lay to the
south, twenty miles distant from a city of Palestine, in his days called Eleutheropolis; and
further observes, that some of the Hebrews read "Roma" for "Duma", and suppose that the
Roman empire is designed; and certain it is, that nothing is more common with them than to
call the Roman empire, and Rome itself, by the name of Edom, and the Romans, or Christians,
Edomites (z):
he calleth to me out of Seir; a mountain inhabited by the Edomites, the posterity of Esau, so
called from Seir the Horite, Gen_36:8. The Targum understands this of God calling from heaven
to the prophet to prophesy; and Jarchi of an angel, or a prophet out of Seir, calling to God, who
he supposes is meant by the watchman; but it seems best to interpret it of an Edomite, or an
inhabitant of Mount Seir, calling to the watchman, and saying, as follows:
watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the night? what time of night is it?
what o'clock is it? how much of the night is gone, and what remains to come? it is the business of
watchmen to give or tell the time of night: or, "what from the night?" (a) what has happened
since it was night? hast thou observed nothing? is not the enemy nigh, or danger at hand? or,
"what" sayest thou "concerning the night?" the night of darkness, affliction, and distress, in
which we are, when will it be over? the question is repeated, as is usual with persons in a panic,
and fearing the watchman should not hear them the first time; or it may denote one coming
after another in a fright, asking the same question. Some, by the watchman, understand God
himself, as Jarchi and Abarbinel, who is Israel's keeper, Psa_121:4 where the same word is used
as here; and well agrees with God, who is the keeper and preserver of all men in a way of
providence; and of his own people in a way of grace; and who, as he watches over the evil of sin,
to bring the evil of affliction or punishment for it; so he watches over his, to do good unto them;
and, as the times and seasons are in his power only, and are known by him, it is most proper to
apply unto him. Others think Christ is meant, as Cocceius; and so the Jews say (b), this is
Metatron the keeper of Israel, which with them is one of the names of the Messiah; and to whom
this character of a watchman agrees, as he is the shepherd of his flock, and the keeper of his
people; and who, as the omniscient God, knows all things that are, and shall be, and which will
quickly come to pass: though it may be best of all to understand it of a prophet or prophets, who
were called watchmen under the Old Testament, Isa_21:6 as ministers of the word are under the
New, in allusion to shepherds and watchmen of cities; and whose business it is, as to show
sinners the danger of their ways, and to arouse sleepy saints, so to give the time of night, that the
churches of Christ may know whereabout they are. Now let it be observed, that this prophecy
may refer to the times when Dumah, Edom, or Idumea, was possessed by the Jews, according to
the prophecy in Num_24:18 as it was before the coming of Christ; Herod, an Idumean, was
upon the throne of Judea when he came, at which time the Jews and Idumeans were mixed
together; and the latter, at least many of them, embraced the Jewish religion (c), and so had
knowledge of the Messiah and his coming, after which they may be thought to be inquiring here.
The Mosaic dispensation was a night season, there was much obscurity in it, the shadows of
darkness were stretched out on it; and though there was the moon of the ceremonial law, and

48. there were the stars the prophets, yet the sun of righteousness was not risen; and it was a time of
gross darkness with the Gentile world: now one or more of these proselyted Idumeans, or of the
Jews among them, may be supposed to be inquiring of the prophet or prophets of the Lord in
their time, how much of this night was gone, when it would be over, or the Messiah would
appear, and bring in the morning, and make the bright day of the Gospel dispensation. And
again, as Edom and Seir were typical of Rome Papal, or the Romish antichrist, the person calling
out to the watchman may design such of the people of God in the midst of them, for which see
Rev_18:4 who, sensible of the night of darkness they are in, are looking for and inquiring after
latter day light and glory. The Targum of the whole verse is,
"the burden of the cup of curse, to give Dumah to drink: to me he calls out of heaven, prophet,
declare unto them the prophecy; prophet, declare unto them what shall hereafter come to pass.''
4. HENRY, “This prophecy concerning Dumah is very short, and withal dark and hard to be
understood. Some think that Dumah is a part of Arabia, and that the inhabitants descended
from Dumah the sixth son of Ishmael, as those of Kedar (Isa_21:16, Isa_21:17) from Ishmael's
second son, Gen_25:13, Gen_25:14. Others, because Mount Seir is here mentioned, by Dumah
understand Idumea, the country of the Edomites. Some of Israel's neighbours are certainly
meant, and their distress is foretold, not only for warning to them to prepare them for it, but for
warning to Israel not to depend upon them, or any of the nations about them, for relief in a time
of danger, but upon God only. We must see all creature confidences failing us, and feel them
breaking under us, that we may not lay more weight upon them than they will bear. But though
the explication of this prophecy be difficult, because we have no history in which we find the
accomplishment of it, yet the application will be easy. We have here,
1. A question put by an Edomite to the watchman. Some one or other called out of Seir,
somebody that was more concerned for the public safety and welfare than the rest, who were
generally careless and secure. As the man of Macedonia, in a vision, desired Paul to come over
and help them (Act_16:9), so this man of Mount Seir, in a vision, desired the prophet to inform
and instruct them. He calls not many; it is well there are any, that all are not alike unconcerned
about the things that belong to the public peace. Some out of Seir ask advice of God's prophets,
and are willing to be taught, when many of God's Israel heed nothing. The question is serious:
What of the night? It is put to a proper person, the watchman, whose office it is to answer such
enquiries. He repeats the question, as one in care, as one in earnest, and desirous to have an
answer. Note, (1.) God's prophets and ministers are appointed to be watchmen, and we are to
look upon them as such. They are as watchmen in the city in a time of peace, to see that all be
safe, to knock at every door by personal enquiries (“Is it locked? Is the fire safe?”), to direct
those that are at a loss, and check those that are disorderly, Son_3:3; Son_5:7. They are as
watchmen in the camp in time of war, Eze_33:7. They are to take notice of the motions of the
enemy and to give notice of them, to make discoveries and then give warning; and in this they
must deny themselves. (2.) It is our duty to enquire of the watchmen, especially to ask again and
again, What of the night? for watchmen wake when other sleep. [1.] What time of the night?
After a long sleep in sin and security, is it not time to rise, high time to awake out of sleep?
Rom_13:11. We have a great deal of work to do, a long journey to go; is it not time to be stirring?
“Watchman, what o'clock is it? After a long dark night is there any hope of the day dawning?”
[2.] What tidings of the night? What from the night? (so some); “what vision has the prophet
had tonight? We are ready to receive it.” Or, rather, “What occurs to night? What weather is it?
What news?” We must expect an alarm, and never be secure. The day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; we must prepare to receive the alarm, and resolve to keep our ground, and
then take the first hint of danger, and to our arms presently, to our spiritual weapons.

49. 2. The watchman's answer to this question. The watchman was neither asleep nor dumb;
though it was a man of Mount Seir that called to him, he was ready to give him an answer: The
morning comes. He answers, (1.) By way of prediction: “There comes first a morning of light,
and peace, and opportunity; you will enjoy one day of comfort more; but afterwards comes a
night of trouble and calamity.” Note, In the course of God's providence it is usual that morning
and night are counterchanged and succeed each other. Is it night? Yet the morning comes, and
the day-spring knows his place, Psa_30:5. Is it day? Yet the night comes also. If there be a
morning of youth and health, there will come a night of sickness and old age; if a morning of
prosperity in the family, in the public, yet we must look for changes. But God usually gives a
morning of opportunity before he sends a night of calamity, that his own people may be
prepared for the storm and others left inexcusable. (2.) By way of excitement: If you will
enquire, enquire. Note, It is our wisdom to improve the present morning in preparation for the
night that is coming after it. “Enquire, return, come. Be inquisitive, be penitent, be willing and
obedient.” The manner of expression is very observable, for we are put to our choice what we
will do: “If you will enquire, enquire; if not, it is at your peril; you cannot say but you have a fair
offer made you.” We are also urged to be at a point: “If you will, say so, and do not stand
pausing; what you will do do quickly, for it is no time to trifle.” Those that return and come to
God will find they have a great deal of work to do and but a little time to do it in, and therefore
they have need to be busy.
5. JAMISON, “Isa_21:11, Isa_21:12. A prophecy to the Idumeans who taunted the afflicted
Jews in the Babylonish captivity.
One out of Seir asks, What of the night? Is there a hope of the dawn of deliverance? Isaiah
replies, The morning is beginning to dawn (to us); but night is also coming (to you). Compare
Psa_137:7. The Hebrew captives would be delivered, and taunting Edom punished. If the
Idumean wish to ask again, he may do so; if he wishes an answer of peace for his country, then
let him “return (repent), come” [Barnes].
Dumah — a tribe and region of Ishmael in Arabia (Gen_25:14; 1Ch_1:30); now called
Dumah the Stony, situated on the confines of Arabia and the Syrian desert; a part put for the
whole of Edom. Vitringa thinks “Dumah,” Hebrew, “silence,” is here used for Idumea, to imply
that it was soon to be reduced to silence or destruction.
Seir — the principal mountain in Idumea, south of the Dead Sea, in Arabia-Petraea. “He
calleth” ought to be rather, “There is a call from Seir.”
to me — Isaiah. So the heathen Balak and Ahaziah received oracles from a Hebrew prophet.
Watchman — the prophet (Isa_62:6; Jer_6:17), so called, because, like a watchman on the
lookout from a tower, he announces future events which he sees in prophetic vision (Hab_2:1,
Hab_2:2).
what of the night — What tidings have you to give as to the state of the night? Rather,
“What remains of the night?” How much of it is past? [Maurer]. “Night” means calamity
(Job_35:10; Mic_3:6), which, then, in the wars between Egypt and Assyria, pressed sore on
Edom; or on Judah (if, as Barnes thinks, the question is asked in mockery of the suffering Jews
in Babylon). The repetition of the question marks, in the former view, the anxiety of the
Idumeans.

50. 6. K&D, “This oracle consists of a question, addressed to the prophet from Seir, and of the
prophet's reply. Seir is the mountainous country to the south of Palestine, of which Edom took
possession after the expulsion of the Horites. Consequently the Dumah of the heading cannot be
either the Duma of Eastern Hauran (by the side of which we find also a Tema and a Buzan); or
the Duma in the high land of Arabia, on the great Nabataean line of traffic between the northern
harbours of the Red Sea and Irak, which bore the cognomen of the rocky (el-gendel) or Syrian
Duma (Gen_25:14); or the Duma mentioned in the Onom., which was seventeen miles from
Eleutheropolis (or according to Jerome on this passage, twenty) “in Daroma hoc est ad
australem plagam,” and was probably the same place as the Duma in the mountains of Judah -
that is to say, judging from the ruins of Daume, to the south-east of Eleutheropolis (see the Com.
on Jos_15:52), a place out of which Jerome has made “a certain region of Idumaea, near which
are the mountains of Seir.” The name as it stands here is symbolical, and without any
demonstrable topographical application. Dumah is deep, utter silence, and therefore the land of
the dead (Psa_94:17; Psa_115:17). The name ‫אדום‬ is turned into an emblem of the future fate of
Edom, by the removal of the a sound from the beginning of the word to the end. It becomes a
land of deathlike stillness, deathlike sleep, deathlike darkness. “A cry comes to me out of Seir:
Watchman, how far is it in the night? Watchman, how far in the night?” Luther translates the
participle correctly, “they cry” (man ruft; compare the similar use of the participle in Isa_30:24;
Isa_33:4). For the rest, however, we have deviated from Luther's excellent translation, for the
purpose of giving to some extent the significant change from ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ְ‫י‬ ַ ִ‫מ‬ and ‫יל‬ ֵ ִ‫.מ‬ The more winged
form of the second question is expressive of heightened, anxious urgency and haste. The wish is
to hear that it is very late in the night, and that it will soon be past; min is partitive (Saad.),
“What part of the night are we at now?” Just as a sick man longs for a sleepless night to come to
an end, and is constantly asking what time it is, so do they inquire of the prophet out of Edom,
whether the night of tribulation will not be soon over. We are not to understand, however, that
messengers were really sent out of Edom to Isaiah; the process was purely a pneumatical one.
The prophet stands there in Jerusalem, in the midst of the benighted world of nations, like a
sentry upon the watch tower; he understands the anxious inquiries of the nations afar off, and
answers them according to the word of Jehovah, which is the plan and chronological measure of
the history of the nations, and the key to its interpretation. What, then, is the prophet's reply?
He lets the inquirer “see through a glass darkly.”
6B. SBC, “The prophet appears to introduce himself as addressed in scorn by the people of the
land which he is commissioned to warn. "Watchman, what of the night?" What new report of
woe hast thou to unroll, thou who hast placed thyself as an authorised observer and censurer of
our doings? But the prophetical watchman—the calm commissioner of heaven—replies,
adopting their own languages, "Yes, the morning (the true morning of hope and peace) cometh,
and also the night (the real and terrible night of God’s vengeance): if ye will (if ye are in genuine
earnest) inquire, inquire. Obtain the knowledge you seek, the knowledge of the way of life; and
acting on this knowledge, repent, and turn to the Lord your God."
I. Consider the question. (1) Some ask the report of the night with utter carelessness as to the
reply. (2) Some ask in contempt. (3) Some ask it in horror and anguish of heart.
II. What is still the duty of him who holds the momentous position of watchman in the City of
God? (1) He did not turn away from the question, in whatever spirit it was asked. (2) He uttered
with equal assurance a threat and a promise. (3) He pressed the necessity of care in the study
and earnest inquiry after the nature of the truth. (4) He summed up all by an anxious, a cordial,
and a reiterated invitation to repentance and reconciliation with an offended but pardoning

51. God. Thus, the single verse might be regarded as an abstract of the duties of the ministerial
office. May God grant to His ministers a genuine desire to fulfil that office, to His people an
equal anxiety to receive its labours.
W. Archer Butler, Sermons Doctrinal and Practical, 2nd series, p. 342.
7.PULPIT, “THE BURDEN OF DUMAH. This short "burden" is probably to be understood as uttered
with reference to Edom, which the prophet prefers to call "Dumah," i.e. "silence," in reference to the
desolation which he sees to be coming upon the country. Such a play upon words is very usual in the
East. Isaiah has already given an instance of it in the name under which he has designated Heliopolis
(Isa_19:18).
Isa_21:11
Dumah. There were at least two towns of this name; but neither of them is in the district of Seir. It is best,
therefore, to regard "Dumah" here as representing Edom, or Iaumaea (so the LXX; Jarchi,
Rosenmüller, Kay, Cheyne, and others). He calleth to me; rather, one calleth to me; i.e. I seem to hear a
call from Mount Seir, as of one making inquiry of me. There is no need to suppose that the inquiry was
actually made. Mount Self, or the district south-south-east of the Dead Sea, was the heart of the
Idumaean country, which thence extended vaguely eastward and westward. What of the night? i.e. what
hour, or, rather, perhaps, what watch of the night is it? May we consider that "the night is far spent, and
the day at hand? Edom had offended Sargon by joining with Ashdod, and was probably at tiffs time
oppressed by Sargon in consequence.
8. CALVIN, “11.The burden of Dumah. It is evident from Gen_25:14, that this nation was descended
from a son of Ishmael, to whom this name was given, and hence his posterity are called
Dumeans. (70) The cause of their destruction, which is here foretold, cannot be known with certainty, and
this prophecy is obscure on account of its brevity. Yet we ought always to remember what I have formerly
remarked, that it was proper that the Jews should be fortified against the dreadful stumbling-blocks which
were approaching. When so many changes take place, particularly if the world is turned upside down,
and if there is a rapid succession of events, we are perplexed and entertain doubts whether all things
happen at random and by chance, or are regulated by the providence of God. The Lord therefore shews
that it is he who effects this revolution, and renews the state of the world, that we may learn that nothing
here is of long duration, and may have our whole heart and our whole aim directed to the reign of Christ,
which alone is everlasting.

52. Since therefore these changes were near at hand, it was proper that the Jews should be forewarned, that
when the event followed, they should call them to remembrance, contemplate the wisdom of God, and
strengthen their faith. Besides, there is no room to doubt that the Jews were harassed by various
thoughts, when they saw the whole world shaken on all sides, and desired to have some means of
avoiding those storms and tempests; for we always wish to be in safety and beyond the reach of danger.
Some might have wished to find new abodes, that they might better provide for their own safety; but when
storms raged on every hand, they were reminded to remain at home, and to believe that no safer
habitation could anywhere be found than in the company of the godly.
This example ought also to be a warning to many who separate themselves from the Church through fear
of danger, and do not consider that a greater danger awaits them out of it. These thoughts might
therefore distress the Jews, for we have seen in the eighth chapter that their minds were
restless. (71) When they were thus tossed about in uncertainty, and fleeing to foreign nations, they would
naturally lose heart; and this, I think, is the chief reason why the destruction of the Dumeans is foretold,
namely, that the Jews might seek God with their whole heart, and that above all things they might commit
to his care the safety of the Church. Let us therefore learn to keep ourselves within the Church, though
she be afflicted by various calamities, and let us bear patiently the fatherly chastisements which are
inflicted on children, instead of choosing to go astray, that we may drink the dregs which choke the
wicked. (Psa_75:8; Isa_51:17.) What shall become of strangers and reprobates, if children are thus
chastised? (1Pe_4:17.) Yet it is possible that the chosen people suffered some molestation from the
people of God, when their neighbors assailed them on every side.
Out of Seir. Mount Seir, as we learn from the book of Genesis, was a mountain of the Edomites.
(Gen_14:6.) Under the name of this mountain he includes the whole kingdom. In this place he represents,
as in a picture, those things which called for an earnest address.
Watchman, what of the night? It is probable that the Edomites, who put the question, were not at a great
distance from them, and that they were solicitous about the danger as one in which they were themselves
involved. He introduces them as inquiring at the “” not through curiosity, but with a view to their own
advantage, what he had observed in “ night,” just as when one has asked a question, a second and a
third person follow him, asking the same thing. This is the meaning of the repetition, that the inquiry is
made not by one individual only, but by many persons, as commonly happens in cases of doubt and
perplexity, when every man is afraid on his own account, and does not believe what is said by others.
9. BI, “The burden of Dumah

53. Like Moab, Edom had once formed part of David’s dominions, but in the days of disruption and
weakness both had rebelled.
What about Edom now? When Moab was so soon to fall—when the Assyrian was spreading
devastation all around—what was to be Edom’s fate? The prophet hears the appeal addressed to
him as God’s watchman and with anxious repetition. The words, “Watchman, what of the night?
How much of the night has passed?” contain the cry of perplexity and a demand for light and
guidance. But the answer is an oracle of silence. Not yet is Edom to be told what is God’s will
concerning her future. She is assured that there will be alternations of light and darkness for her
as for all in the time of their probation. Meanwhile, patience is to have its perfect work; and after
a little while she may inquire again. A later prophecy shows the work of Divine judgment on this
land. (Buchanan Blake, B. D.)
Dumah
It lay to the south of Palestine, thus bordering on the inheritance of Judah. It was a wild
mountainous district, inhabited by a race whose character reflected the rugged nature of their
surroundings. They were constantly at war with their neighbours, especially the Jews, and spent
a large portion of their time making inroads into southern Palestine for the sake of plunder and
conquest. On account of these invasions, and also because they joined the Chaldeans against the
Jews, the most sweeping denunciations were pronounced against them. In course of time these
denunciations were followed by disasters, in consequence of which the Edomites became a
vanquished people, and were finally incorporated with the Jewish nation. Then, when at a later
period the whole of that region passed into the hands of the Greeks and Romans, it became
known by the Greek name of Idumea—Dumah being the old Hebrew name. Hence the “burden
of Dumah” means the prophecy concerning the fate of Idumea or Edom. (D. Merson, M. A. , B.
D.)
The oracle of Dumah
The land of Edom pleads for some vision to her also. Judah is to be rescued. The prophet has
seen the Persian host in its varied array—troops of chariots and horsemen crashing through the
brazen gates of idolatrous Babylon, extinguishing its feasts in blood, issuing from it with the cry
of victory. It is good news for Judah, but what shall it be for Edom? It is as if the voice of Esau
cried out once more, “Hast Thou but one blessing, O my Father. Bless me, even me also, O my
Father.” And as the prophet stands in imagination on the peak of the hill, he hears a voice calling
to him out of Seir, the stronghold of the Edomites, a sharp, agitated cry, “Watchman, how far in
the night? Watchman, what hour of the night? Does the darkness still linger, is the morning
near?” Well might Edom be in terror; the sons of Esau had behaved to Judah in her hour of
affliction with malignant hatred which had wounded her to the heart. In Obadiah, in Amos, in
Ezekiel, in Jeremiah, you may read traces of their crime. When the Jews fled before the
advances of Nebuchadnezzar, the Edomites, true to their miserable destiny, their hand against
every man and every man’s hand against them, had cruelly massacred and intercepted the
helpless fugitives, and had urged Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the Holy City. It is to this that the
sad Psalmist of the Exile alludes when he says: “Remember, O Lord, against the children of
Edom, in the day of Jerusalem, how they cried, ‘Down with it, down with it, even to the ground.’”
Naturally, therefore, in the approaching hour of Judah’s emancipation, the prophet has not
much comfort to bestow on these cruel and treacherous” sons of the desert. All he can say to the
Edomites at first is a riddling message of which not much can be made. But then, after this stern
and dubious answer, as though somewhat relenting, the watchman cries, “If ye wish to inquire

54. again, inquire ye,” and then, very briefly, “Return, come.” In other words. “The oracle for you,
sons of Edom, is no vaticination about a mere earthly future.” It may be summed up in two
words—in the warning, “Repent,” and in the invitation, “Come.” (Dean Farrar, D. D.)
Edomites and Jews: a hostile world attacking the Church
It may help us to the true meaning of this question, if we keep in mind the relation in which the
Edomites stood the Jews. That relation was one of the closest, if we have respect to origin or
birth; but if we have respect to friendship, then the feelings existing between them were of the
most hostile kind. Descended from a common stock, they kept alive the family animosities. The
Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau, hated the Israelites on account of the deceitful
conduct of Jacob their father. The sight of the prosperity of the sons of Jacob perpetuated the
old grudge in the breast of the less favoured sons of Esau; and their seasons of adversity were
made the occasions of bitter sneers. These two nations have become associated in our minds, the
one with the people of God, the other with their enemies. The sons of Jacob were chosen, in
preference to the sons of Esau, to be the medium of carrying the Divine blessings to all nations.
The Edomites were in consequence filled with envy and hatred towards their brethren, lost no
opportunity of attacking them in the most envenomed spirit, and thus they may justly be
regarded as a type of the hostile world attacking the Church of God. Here, then, we seem to have
a clue to the interpretation of the passage before us. If we regard the Jewish nation as a type of
the Church or people of God, and the Edomites as a type of the hostile world, we have here a
question addressed to the Church by the world, and we have the Church’s reply. (D. Merson, M.
A. , B. D.)
Eastern watchmen
It was the custom in the regions of the East in ancient times, to erect lofty watchtowers, so high
as to be above all surrounding buildings, and to place watchmen on them, who should observe
all that came within their view and report accordingly. The design of this custom was to prevent
the approach of an enemy unforeseen. The watchman in his lofty tower observed in the distance
the gathering of armies and the mustering of hosts; he could see in the far-off horizon the
glistening of weapons and the waving of the banners of war; and then he gave warning and the
people prepared for the event. There is very frequent allusion to this custom in the Scriptures;
and it is in reference to it, that the ministers of the Church of God are described as the Lord’s
“watchmen.” It is their duty to stand upon the walls and upon the watchtowers of the Church
that they may see the approaching danger, and to give warning, that the people perish not
(Isa_62:6; Eze_33:2, etc.). (M. H. Seymour, M. A.)
Watchman
A different word from that in Isa_21:6, and signifying not one who spies or looks out, but one
who guards or keeps (Psa_130:6). (Prof. Driver, D. D.)
The burden
The burden is in two respects—

55. 1. Of the prophets that bear it. The Word of the Lord is a heavy burden till they are delivered
of it; there is no rest to the surcharged conscience. The ministry is a matter of both honour
and burden. Are there none that catch at honour, but will not meddle with the burden.
2. Of the people that were to suffer it. The judgments of God are heavy on whomsoever they
light. It is true of them what the philosopher said of himself, Perieram nisi periissem,—they
are undone that are not undone. Security is the very suburbs of hell. An insensible heart is
the devil’s anvil, he fashioneth all sins on it, and the blows are not felt. (T. Adams.)
The burden of Dumah
I. THE CHARACTER HERE GIVEN OF THE PROPHET.
II. THE IMPORTUNITY OF THE PEOPLE APPLYING TO HIM.
III. HIS ANSWER.
1. We may tender the prophet’s answer to any who would perplex themselves or others with
inquiries respecting the existing state of this world’s affairs.
2. The wicked, walking after their own lusts and counsels, sometimes, in a scoffing manner,
inquire of ministers, “What of the night? What think ye of my state and prospects? What of
the truth of religion? What of the uses and importance of godliness? My wickedness thrives,
and you said that it would be my ruin; my vices are pleasant, and you said that they would be
bitter; my mind is at ease, and you said that I should be harassed in conscience. Where is the
truth of your words? where the severity of judgment?—what evidence of a day of
retribution?” The awful answer again is, “the morning cometh, and also the night.”
3. The prophet’s answer was given to persons in trouble; and thus applied, its import is
various. To some who demand of us, in seasons of their distress, “Watchman, what of the
night?” the answer is, Time is fast passing, and your sorrows are fast passing with it. To
others, “The morning cometh,” but as yet it is profound night to you, many and heavy
sorrows still await you. Your spiritual condition is such, that our Heavenly Father will seek
to bring you to Himself by many grievous visitations; hateful indeed, to the natural will, but
most salutary for the soul’s health. Or else, perhaps, as you have approved yourselves to God
in the season of prosperity, it is the Divine pleasure to make experiment of you in the fiery
furnace of adversity, to see whether “tribulation can separate you from the love of Christ.” To
others again, the answer is, It is the seventh hour, the midnight of your affliction is already
past, and if passed by a little only, you have already suffered the extreme of your earthly
portion of endurance; all that follows shall be comparatively light, and work for you a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, if in patience ye possess your souls. (A.
Williams, M. A.)
The watchman’s report and advice
I. WHO IS THE WATCHMAN REFERRED TO?
II. THE INQUIRY INSTITUTED.
1. The whole state of the world demands of the servants of God that they should prayerfully
and diligently regard the signs and movements of the times.
2. There are personal inquiries which ought to press upon all who are rightly impressed with
a sense of their responsibility to God. “How is the period of my probation passing? What is

56. the progress of the night, which is to be succeeded by a morrow which knows no change or
ending? How speeds the night in which my soul’s salvation is to be determined?”
III. THE WATCHMAN’S REPORT IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION. “The morning cometh,
and also the night.” This report is most comprehensive, and may convey the following ideas—
1. That there will be nothing settled or permanent: changes may be expected.
(1) There has always been a mixture of light and darkness in the Church—in its
perceptions of truth, and in the events connected with it.
(2) So in the case of the individual Christian, in times of sorrow and distress: darkness
has appeared to compass his path; yet he has not been without gleams of comfort and
light.
2. But the report without doubt is designed to indicate a period of coming joy to believers, of
misery and woe to the wicked—to the one the morning cometh, to the other night.
3. There is one other observation in the watchman’s report worthy of attention, namely, that
the morning and the night are said to come together; “the morning cometh, and also the
night.” It may seem strange to many that these periods should be said to come
simultaneously. But if you look at the characters to whom they thus come, the difficulty is
removed. That which will be a time of light and comfort to the righteous, will be one of
darkness and dismay to the ungodly. Indeed, it is partly so in the present imperfect state of
things. The very blessings of the impenitent are turned into curses; their day of mercy and
grace becomes a night of darkness and calamity; whilst, on the other hand, all that appear
night and trouble to the people of God, are means of increased light and joy to them. Their
sorrow is turned into joy; their tribulation worketh patience and experience and hope.
IV. THE ADVICE WHICH THE WATCHMAN GIVES IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE REPORT.
1. Inquiry is the first duty recommended. We look for nothing, and expect nothing so long as
there is indifference. It was the great sin of God’s professing people of old, that “they would
not consider.” It is only when we can excite a spirit of serious inquiry that we can hope for
lasting good from our efforts.
2. But to diligent inquiry, return to God is recommended. All inquiry in fact is for this
purpose, and it would be useless if it did not issue in an actual return to your Father.
3. The prophet closes with one more observation, and it is used by way of encouragement—
“Come.” (T. Dealtry, D. D.)
The watchman’s report and advice
I. THE WATCHMAN’S REPORT.
1. As it may be supposed to respect the public affairs of our country.
2. The state of virtue and piety among us.
II. THE WATCHMAN’S ADVICE. The doom of Dumah was not inevitably fixed; she would yet
be indulged with a morning of opportunities; and the only sure ground of hope was in a
returning to God. We have as a nation something of Dumah’s morning—some farther space for
reflection and repentance. It must be of the greatest moment to know what an offended God
expects. “Inquire; return; come.” The inquiring, returning, coming, so kindly and seasonably
urged on Dumah, in her night, are recommended to us on every ground, whether human or
Divine.

57. 1. Nothing can be more fit and proper in itself.
2. It is the subject of a Divine command.
3. In the patience and forbearance of God, and in the wonderful method He has devised for
the pardon and salvation of a guilty people, we have a loud call and a most powerful motive
to “inquire, return, and come.”
4. And there are important and happy consequences resulting from a sinful people’s
inquiring, returning’, and coming to God. (N. Hill.)
“Watchman, what of the night?”
I. CONSIDER THE QUESTION.
1. Some ask the report of the night with utter carelessness as to the reply.
2. Some ask in contempt.
3. Some ask in horror and anguish of heart.
II. WHAT IS STILL THE DUTY OF HIM WHO HOLDS THE MOMENTOUS POSITION OF
WATCHMAN IN THE CITY OF GOD?
1. He did not turn away from the question, in whatever spirit it was asked.
2. He uttered with equal assurance a threat and a promise.
3. He pressed the necessity of care in the study and earnest inquiry after the nature of the
truth.
4. He summed up all by an anxious, a cordial, and a reiterated invitation to repentance and
reconciliation with an offended but pardoning God. Thus, the single verse might be regarded
as an abstract of the duties of the ministerial office. (W. Archer Butler, D. D.)
The world’s challenge and the Church’s response
I. This is THE WORLD’S CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH. From the midst of that darkness
which, by reason of the limitation of our knowledge, encompasses us all; and from thy midst of
that double darkness which enwraps those who are untouched and unchanged by the love of
Christ Jesus, this challenge is continually coming to the Church. This is—
1. The cry of scepticism. The scepticism of our day is, in some instances, evidently the error
of noble but misguided spirits, who, having discovered that in some matters of belief
concerning which they had thought themselves very sure, they were wholly in the wrong, and
having in other cases been baffled in the search for certainty, have too hastily given up all
hope of obtaining saris faction and rest with respect to many of the most momentous
questions of human life. There is, however, a shallower scepticism. It addresses the Church
in tones of equal incredulity, but breathing the spirit of vanity, hostility, and contempt.
2. The cry of the world’s worldliness. Men who are living for this life only, ask the question.
There is a terribly close connection between worldliness and scepticism of the scoffing and
contemptuous sort. The tendency of a life in which there is no regard for God and eternity, is
to produce an unbelief far more blighting than that disbelief which is the result of misguided
thinking. And with all the wild recklessness or supercilious scorn or stolid indifference of old
times, they ask, “What of the night? You prophets of darkness, who take so gloomy a view of

58. the condition of the world, who warn us of a perpetual darkness for those who live so
heedlessly, what of the night? You who profess to believe that your religion can do such great
things, where are the signs of its power, and of the accomplishment of its work? What signs
of the dissipation of the darkness of which you speak, and of the coming of the day?”
3. The cry of the world’s agony. From the darkness of the sin which is shutting out of the life
all joy and purity and hope, from the woe which is crushing them, men make their appeal to
the Church of God. They ask for the causes of this darkness and for the means by which it
may be removed. But there are many who are conscious that the agony they feel is
attributable to their sin; and in the sense of their alienation from God they ask of the Church,
pleadingly, What of the night? It is not simply the apprehension of darkness, but the
consciousness of it, the darkness of being sinful. “Oh tell us if there be forgiveness, peace,
purity, and rest, for guilty, storm-tossed, polluted, and wearied hearts!”
4. The cry of the world’s hope. Many have felt the dawn of a new day in their own hearts,
and now they continually pray, “Thy kingdom come.” Although they have light within, they
see the darkness around them. But because of what they have themselves experienced, they
cannot despair of the case of humanity.
II. THE RESPONSE WITH WHICH THE CHURCH IS ENTRUSTED, and which she is bound
urgently and confidently to deliver. “The morning cometh, and also the night.”
1. The Church’s message to the world is a message of mingled mercy and severity, of joyous
and of sad import. We look at what Christianity has done and is doing in the world; and the
result of the examination is a deep and growing conviction that the evidences of Christianity
never were so strong or convincing as today.
(1) And this is our answer to scepticism. Account for Christianity. See what it has done
for nations, what for a single life!
(2) This, too, is our answer to the cry of the worldly. However blind men may be to the
fact, however incapable of reading the signs of the times, assuredly the course of human
history proclaims “the morning cometh”; the morning of a day which shall reveal the
falseness of every mode of life which involves forgetfulness of God; the morning of a day
when every heart unconsecrated to God shall declare its dissatisfaction, and when every
cherished lust of wrong shall reveal its insatiable appetite, by the cry, “Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity.”
(3) And this is the message of the Church to the agonised: “The morning cometh” of the
day when the wounds of humanity shall be forever healed; when the sorrow of men shall
be turned into joy. We see signs of this already, in the present amelioration of man’s
condition which Christianity produces.
(4) And in the brightness of that morning, which many signs proclaim cometh for the
world, the hopeful shall find all, and more than all, for which their hearts have ever
yearned, and more than all of which their imagination ever dreamed.
2. But alas! if it be true that the morning cometh, it is not less necessary that we should add,
“and also the night.” The dawning of the day of Christ will leave some in profounder
darkness.
3. Therefore, we close with the urgent personal appeal of the prophet: “If ye will inquire,
inquire ye: return, come.” Let this be the commencement of an earnest inquiry as to the
claims Christianity, and we do not fear for the result. Let the value of the world be estimated,
and compared with the value of the favour and the life of God; and there can be but one
issue. Let this be the day of earnest seeking for the light, the peace and the pardon of God;
and the agony of a troubled heart and the burden of a guilty conscience shall be taken away,

59. and the spirit shall know the life and liberty of Christ Jesus. “Inquire ye,” and in this truth as
it is in Jesus ye shall find all you need. (T. Stephenson.)
The burden of Dumah
I. ENDEAVOUR TO EXPLAIN IT.
II. EXHIBIT THE LESSONS WHICH IT TEACHES; or, apply it to the friends and the foes of
God.
1. We have an illustration of the conduct of a taunting world; a world often disposed not to
reason, but to make derision of religion; a world always finding occasions, in some peculiar
state of the Church, or in some aspect of religion, for the exhibition of irony or scorn.
2. We have in the response of the watchman, “The morning cometh,” an illustration of the
times of light and prosperity in the Church destined to succeed those of calamity. We may
apply it to the individual Christian in the midst of calamity. Thus, too, it is of the Church
universal. In her darkest hours, it was true that brighter days were to dawn. So it is now. The
night of sin is to be succeeded by a long bright day. There is one thing only that is certain in
the future history of this world—its conversion to God and to the true religion.
3. In like manner we have an illustration of a third important fact—the night of calamity that
is coming on a sinful and scoffing world.
4. There remains one other idea. That is, if you—the despiser—will inquire in a humble
manner; if you will come with proper reverence, and will turn from your sins, light will
stream along your path; and the sun of prosperity will ride up your sky, and pour down his
noontide radiance upon you also. (A. Barnes, D. D.)
“Watchman, what of the night?”
I. THE WATCHMAN AS TYPICAL OF EVERY TRUE AMBASSADOR OF THE CROSS.
1. He occupied vantage ground. He was selected for the office; placed in an appropriate
position—where, unhindered, he could carry on his observations.
2. He possessed knowledge of the ground he surveyed a mere enthusiast would not do, nor a
novice, nor an enemy; a patriot would be the best, with a clear head and a warm heart.
3. He would expect implicit obedience to his cries. If he said “All well!” people might rest; if,
“To arms!” people must be up. Apply these points to the office of the Christian ministry.
II. THE INQUIRER OF THE WATCHMAN AS TYPICAL OF THE ANXIOUS SEEKER AFTER
SALVATION.
1. He was painfully conscious of the darkness. Every awakened sinner feels the darkness of
ignorance, and danger, and guilt, and wonders what of the night—how, and when will it end?
2. He was anxiously desirous of the light. The anxious seeker after salvation longs for the
Light of the world—the light of the glorious Gospel to shine into his heart.
III. THE ANSWER OF THE WATCHMAN AS TYPICAL OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF
THE SOUL IN RELIGION.
1. The morning cometh—the morning of day, of newness of life, of glorious opportunity.

60. 2. “Also the night.” The day will not last forever, let us work while it is called day. (F. W.
Brown.)
The world’s interrogation and the Church’s response
I. WHEN NIGHT HANGS HEAVILY ON THE CHURCH, IT HANGS STILL MORE HEAVILY
ON THE WORLD. The Assyrian oppression lay like a cloud on Judah, but in lying on Judah it
projected a still heavier cloud upon Edom. The world is so bound up with the Church that,
consciously or unconsciously, it rises with the Church’s rising, falls with the Church’s falling,
rejoices in the Church’s freedom, pines in the Church’s bondage, is lightened by the Church’s
sunshine, is shadowed by the Church’s clouds. And this, take the world in what aspect you may,
as the world of society, the world of business, the world of pleasure. What is the practical lesson?
Do not leave the Church because the Church may be wrapped in adversity; if you do, a deeper
adversity is awaiting you in the quarter to which you repair. And the same law holds good in a
wider sense. We are compassed with mystery. Some persons, impatient with the obscurities of
faith, take refuge in the greater obscurities of unbelief. Restless under the clouds of Judah, they
seek relief amidst the heavier clouds of Edom. There never was a greater mistake than to
suppose that because Christianity is bound up with problems, the abandonment of belief is the
abandonment of mystery.
II. And the fact is, the world realises this; for note as the next thought we deduce from the
passage, THAT IN THE MIDST OF THIS COMMON NIGHT, ENVELOPING BOTH CHURCH
AND WORLD, THE WORLD TURNS TO THE CHURCH FOR LIGHT. It is very suggestive that
in the general pressure of the general gloom the Edomite is represented as appealing to the Jew,
a representative of the Jewish God., Was there none to consult nearer home?
Where were the seers of Idumea? Through all ages the principle is the same. Ever, in the midst
of the cloud that surrounds us all, the world puts its questions to the Church. Sometimes,
indeed, the question is ironical. Sometimes it is curious. Often, however, the question is earnest.
III. And thus we come up to the next plain lesson, THAT WHEN THE WORLD QUESTIONS
THE CHURCH, THE CHURCH MUST BE READY TO ANSWER. That implies—
1. That the Church has an answer to give. It is conceivable that, in some cases, professing
Christian men may have no answer. When the question comes, they are nonplussed; it
embarrasses, puzzles them. What is the reason? With one class, want of perception of the
difficulty. And for another class, the reason may be that, while feeling the pressure of the
difficulty, they have not obtained a solution for themselves. Wherefore, when face to face
with the world’s questions, let us see to it that we have material for an answer.
2. And let us give the answer we have. Let the possession of truth be followed by the
communication of it, as often as opportunity arises.
IV. And yet, let it always be remembered that WHILE THE CHURCH SHOULD BE READY TO
ANSWER THE WORLD’S QUESTIONINGS, THE NATURE OF THE ANSWER MUST BE
CONDITIONED BY THE MORAL STATE OF THE QUESTIONER. Look once more at the
prophet. So long as the attitude of Edom is an attitude of general inquiry, the prophet has only a
general statement. “The morning cometh,” he says, “and also the night.” It is when this attitude
of general inquiry passes into the attitude of personal repentance, that he promises a personal
and particular revelation corresponding. “Cleanse your hearts,” he says, “reform your ways, turn
to the Lord, and then come back again, and I will tell you more.” And here we turn from the duty
and responsibility of those that are questioned to the spirit and character of those that question
them. You ask if sorrow will pass, doubt dissolve, providence unfold itself, Scripture become
plain, heaven be won. Our answer is, “Yes—in the experience of some”; whether in your

61. experience we cannot say, until we know more. If yours is the sensitive conscience, the tender
heart, the submissive will, if you sorrow for sin, if you turn to righteousness, if you cleave to
God, then we can tell. For you the night is departing, but if the night is not vanishing in your
own heart, it is useless, it is trifling, to ask how the night goes elsewhere. How apt are some men
to divert attention from the state of matters within by directing it to the state of matters
without—the prospects of neighbours, the words of Scripture, the controversies of the Church,
the mysteries of Providence! He who will know of the doctrine must do the will. (W. A. Gray.)
The coming dawn
(A Christmas homily) (with Rom_13:12):—“The night is far spent; the day is at hand.” But for
the fact which Christmas commemorates, we should have no reply to that question save one:
“Though the morning cometh, the night cometh also.” It is only the advent of Christ, and the
prophecy latent in that advent, which enable us to add in the full assurance of faith: “The night is
far spent, and the day which has no night is at hand.”
1. That you may see that both these answers to the question which the world and the Church
have so long been asking are true, and in what sense they are true, let us consider how far St.
Paul’s answer to it has been fulfilled; whether the day which he foresaw did not really come,
but also whether this day was not followed by a night and the promise of its dawn overcast.
When he stood on his watchtower and surveyed the horizon, he had much reason to believe
that the night of heathenism was far spent; that the day of the Lord, the day on which Christ
would take to Himself His great power and rule in all the earth, was close at hand. But as we
look back on the period to which he looked forward with such confident hope, we can see
that the end was not yet, although it seemed so near; that, though a morning came, a night
came also. The apostolic day, or age, was hardly over before the night came rushing back;
and in a few centuries the dogmas and superstitions, the vices and crimes, of heathenism
were to be found in the very Church itself, where, alas, too many of them still linger. Yet even
in “the dark ages there was a remnant who had light in their dwellings, and did not
altogether lose hope. And when the day of the Reformation dawned on Europe, Luther and
his compeers had little doubt that the true day of the Lord had come at last, that a light had
arisen which would speedily renew the face of the earth. And a day had come, but not the
great day of Christ. The end was not even yet. Over its larger spaces, even Europe still lies in
darkness, the darkness of superstition, or sensuality, or indifference; while in Africa, Asia
with its teeming millions, and South America, we can discern only distant and twinkling
points of light which are all but lost in the surrounding darkness. So that when we in our
turn ask, “Watchman, what of the night? Is it almost gone? Will it soon pass?” we, too, can
often hear none but the old reply, “If a morning is coming, so also is a night.” We try to hope,
but the verdict of history is against us. Analogy is against us. How long it took to make the
world! how slowly it was built up, inch by inch, before it was ready for the foot of man! And
how intolerably slow is man’s growth and development! Reason and experience are against
us. Think what the world is like,—how nation makes war on nation, and class on class, how
common and unblushing vice is even among those who should be best fortified against it by
education and position, how much of our virtue is but a prudent and calculating selfishness!
Think how hard we ourselves know it to be to wean even one heart from selfishness and self-
indulgence, and to fix it in the love and pursuit of whatsoever is true and fair, good and kind;
how slowly we advance in godliness even when we have the grace of God to help us and are
working together with Him! And then tell me whether you must not say, “The dawn may be
coming, but as surely as the day comes, the night will come also; many days and many nights
must still pass, many alternations of light and darkness must sweep across the face of the
earth, before the great day of the Lord can arise and shine upon us.”

62. 2. If that be your conclusion I have good tidings for you. The very meaning and message of
advent is, that all these mornings and evenings are gradually leading in the day of the Lord;
that He is preparing for the coming of His kingdom in the darkness as well as in the light, by
every night through which we pass as well as every day, by every disappointment and every
postponement of hope as well as by every fulfilment. Many forms of wrong, cruelty, and vice
are impossible now which were possible, and even common, before the Son of God and Son
of man dwelt among us; nay, even before the Reformation carried through Europe a light by
which such deeds of darkness were reproved. The individual man may stand little higher,
whether in wisdom or in goodness, than of old; but the number of men capable of high
thoughts, noble alms, and lives devoted to the service of truth and righteousness,
incomparably larger. The world took long to make, and may take still longer to remake; but
its re-creation in the image of God is just as certain as its creation. The darkness of ignorance
and superstition may still lie heavily over the larger spaces of the world; but the points of
light are rapidly increasing. As we count time, the end is not yet; but as God counts time, the
end is not far off. (S. Cox, D. D.)
National responsibility
The prophet has here nothing to predict; his function is only to repeat the oft unheeded warning
that all things in this universe of God go on by unchanging law and in regular succession; “the
morning,” as in the apparent revolution of the sun round the earth, so also in the revolutions of
states and kingdoms and empires, “the morning cometh, and also the night.” Like causes
produce like events; the course of providence may be foretold from the action of those with
whom it deals.
And what is history, but the exhibition of this great but much neglected truth? e.g., Egypt,
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. In each case we may distinctly trace their more or less
speedy downfall to the operation of the same eternal law of justice; requiting on each the
iniquities of each, and making those iniquities the very causes of their overthrow. What
likelihood, then, is there of the same principle not being carried out again; of its not being
carried out in the case of nations and kingdoms in which we feel more than an antiquarian
interest? To them, too, will come, as the morning, so also the night. It is, of course, most difficult
to appraise the fortunes, to calculate the probable destiny of any nation of which we ourselves
form component parts. The human mind, like the human eye, must see things somewhat at a
distance in order to get them into due perspective and appreciate their exact proportions. But
this difficulty does not affect our power of evaluating the principles of conduct on which we see
men or nations act. Those principles are broad and clearly marked, and it is easy to perceive how
far justice and right dealing, truth and soberness, self-devotion for the common good and real,
not mock, philanthropy are practised: or, on the other side, how far oppression and cowardice,
luxury and vice, falsehood and selfishness, are the real rulers of the nation. It was the true
function of the Hebrew prophets to rouse the conscience of the nation to what they spake. If,
then, we wish to acquire some idea of the probable future of the great empire to which we
belong, it will be well carefully to review the aspects of life prevailing in it, and to see in what
way the eternal obligations of the Divine law are observed, or how far they are despised and
violated. (Archbishop Reichel, D. D.)
“Watchman, what of the night?”

63. I. GOOD MEN SUFFERING. The pious Jews were now in deepest sorrow. It was their night.
The good have often a night. Physical suffering, secular difficulties, social bereavements,
spiritual temptations, conscious imperfections, often turn the sky of a good man into night.
II. WICKED MEN TAUNTING. The voice from Mount Seir was, “What of the night?” The
language is sarcastic and contemptuous. The wicked, instead of sympathising with the good in
their sufferings, often treat them with heartless ridicule. The spirit is seen now in various
questions that are addressed to the Church.
(1) Where is your superior happiness?
(2) Where are the triumphs of your cause?
(3) Where is your spiritual superiority to other men?
III. THE GREAT GOD SPEAKING TO BOTH. “The morning cometh and also the night.”
1. His voice to the good. “The morning cometh.” There is a morning for the Church on this
earth. There is a morning to the good in eternity.
2. The voice to the wicked. “The night cometh.” “Where is Edom now? The night cometh,
sinner: the shadows are gathering already,” etc. (Homilist.)
“What of the night?”
I. “Watchman, what of the night” of SENSE AND SIN? “The morning cometh”—the morning of
sinlessness. “Also the night.” Sin now, sin then; sin on sin, sin forever and ever!
II. “Watchman, what of the night” of SUFFERING AND SORROW? “The morning cometh.”
“God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” “Also the night”—the night of eternal suffering
and sorrow.
III. “Watchman, what of the night” of MOCKING AND MYSTERY? “The morning cometh,”
when the mocking mystery will vanish. “They shall see His face.” “Also the night”—“the outer
darkness,” the black profound, where the soul wanders forever Christless, restless, lost.
IV. “Watchman, what of the night” of SOLITUDE AND SEPARATION? In this world we have
never met. Men of science tell us that there are in this universe no two atoms in real contact.
“The morning cometh,” the morning of meeting for the first time in the never parting of the
revelation of God. “Now we see in a mirror darkly,” etc. “Also the night,” the night of a
separation eternal. Let another natural law be traced in this spiritual world. If you took away all
contrary and opposing forces from a propelled cannonball, and if you secured a perfect vacuum
in boundless space, by vis inertiae, the ball would go on forever. If this is the first law of motion
in mechanics, it is as really the first law of motion in the wrath of God on an eternally separated
lost soul. (J. Bailey, M. A.)
Visions of the day and night
The great beauty and power of the Word of God lies in this, that it is never obsolete and never
out of date.
I. THE QUESTION in our text. Night is the emblem of ignorance, sorrow, sin, crime, danger,
and disaster; as in the natural night there are different degrees of light and shade, of gloom and
darkness, so it is with the spiritual night.
II. THE ANSWER. “The morning cometh.”

64. 1. To nations.
2. To individuals. It comes to the awakened and accepted sinner in the form of pardon and
deliverance from the power and burden of sin and guilt. It comes to others in the form of
deliverance from some secret, instinctive, but crushing sorrow, which has pressed the poor
heart down for years; which has made them, some from physical and some from spiritual
weakness, walk for a long period in gloom and darkness, crying, “Oh! when will it end?”
3. The morning cometh to others in declining years; to the aged, the afflicted, the dying.
4. “And the night cometh,” when the long-abused love and compassion, and patience of God
shall be at length exhausted; when the plea of mercy shall be exchanged for the penalty of
justice, and the shield of the Advocate give way to the sword of the Avenger. It cometh to
nations; it cometh to individuals. (G. Davenport.)
Alternations of morning and night
The morning cometh in the appearing of Messiah, the Prince; and also the night of the exclusion
of the Jews. The morning cometh, in the spread of the Gospel among the Gentile nations; and
also the night, in the tenfold persecutions which wasted the Church. The morning cometh, in the
reign of Constantine the Great over the Roman empire; and also the night of Arian blasphemy
and persecution. The morning cometh, in the reformation of religion from popery; and also the
night of a fearful falling sway. The morning cometh, more bright and glorious than all which
have preceded, in the glory of the latter days; and also the night of another falling sway before
the general judgment. And then shall a morning burst upon the universe, which shall never be
overcast. (W. Taylor.)
The burden of Dumah
I. THE WORLD’S QUESTION. In the first instance it is a question put by the Edomites of
Mount Seir to Israel’s watchman. It is worth noting that a people animated with such hostile
feelings should thus open up communication with the objects of their hostility. Two expiations
might be given. It may be they asked the question tauntingly in a spirit of mockery, or they may
have asked it earnestly in a spirit of anxious inquiry. Either of these views will fit the historical
conditions.
I. If we adopt the first, we must suppose the Jews to be in captivity and the Edomites
prospering, and we know from history that they did prosper during the Babylonish captivity, At
that time they got possession of a portion of Jewish territory in southern Palestine, having been
permitted to settle there as a reward for their services to the Babylonians during the struggle
that preceded the captivity. While occupying this new settlement, their fortunes rose, and in the
exuberance of success they retaliated on their now oppressed brethren, as much as to say, You
who boasted of being the special favourites of Heaven, where is now your God? Your night of
oppression has continued long enough, is there any sign of deliverance? Surely it is time for your
God to show His hand! The picture is something like this: On Mount Seir, the highest eminence
in the land, the Edomites are convened, elated by their fleeting prosperity; while in a foreign
land are the captive Jews, groaning under the yoke of the oppressor, and their watchman or
prophet standing on his watchtower, eager to catch the first ray of deliverance. From the one to
the other passes the taunting, call, “Watchman, what of the night?” And the watchman returns
the reply, “The morning is coming, and also the night. Do not deceive yourselves, ye taunting
Edomites, your momentary prosperity will become a night of gloom and our present calamities
will be followed by a glorious day. The morning of deliverance will come to the captive Jews, but

65. the night of desolation to the mocking Edomites.” The question is still thrown out by the
unbeliever with a fling of scorn, “Watchman, what of the night?” “Tell us what progress you are
making, etc. There are not wanting in these days men who affect to throw discredit on Christian
and missionary effort. Look, say they, how little has been accomplished by these means in the
past, and how much remains to be done. Instead of the Gospel, let us try civilisation, the spread
of commerce, and the wider diffusion of knowledge, and the morning will soon dawn. Now, if
this were so, it would indeed be a serious charge. But what are the facts! Let it he conceded that
the visible marks of Christian progress are not overwhelming; at the same time no one who will
cast his eyes over the earth can fail to see that the nations most advanced in civilisation and
what is called modern culture are also the most Christian.
2. Let us think of the question as being asked in a spirit of anxious inquiry. In this case, the
once captive Jews must be regarded as a prosperous people, living in their own land, and the
once prosperous Edomites as an oppressed People. In their distress they cry to those whom
they previously mocked. But their cry has a different meaning now that the tables have been
turned. “What of the night” now means an earnest desire to know how long their calamities
are likely to last. As if they had said, It has been a night of dire adversity with us, tell us, you
who are a watchman in Zion, is that night nearly past? We have suffered much, and are
longing for relief. Are our sufferings nearly at an end? If this view is adopted, it is still a
question addressed by the world to the Church; no longer, however, in mockery, but in a
spirit of anxious inquiry. There do come times in the history of godless nations and
individuals, when, in the midst of trouble, they are constrained to pay homage to the Church,
and call upon her for advice. There are in the Bible several instances of the wicked consulting
God’s ministers in times of calamity. And have we not seen examples of men calling on God
in the hour of calamity, who never bowed a knee to Him in the hour of their prosperity!
When such a question is asked with a true motive, that of itself is an indication to the
watchman that the morning is coming. It is the duty of the spiritual watchman to declare to
the people the whole counsel of the King, to discern wisely the signs of the times, so as to be
able to impart the needed instruction.
II. THE CHURCH’S REPLY, whether the question is asked by way of taunt or in an earnest
spirit. In either case, the inquirer is assured that the morning of a glorious deliverance will come
to the oppressed Church, while a night of awful desolation will fall upon her foes.
1. This prophecy was unmistakably fulfilled in the after history of the Edomites. The
morning did come, as the watchman said, and for a short period the Edomites were a
flourishing people in the land of Seir; but they refused to inquire, they did not return, they
wandered further from the path of righteousness, and the long night of desolation overtook
them. The prophecy regarding it, in Isa_34:12-13, has been literally fulfilled. And this is the
inevitable doom of those who will not improve the day of their merciful visitation—“the night
cometh.”
2. But while the watchman’s message to the enemies of the Gospel is one of woe and
warning, he has a message of encouragement to the people of God. “The morning cometh.”
Night and morning! Unlike air, and yet they go hand in hand. What will be morning to some
will be night to others.
3. Yet again, the watchman says, “If ye will inquire, inquire ye.” Addressed originally to the
inquiring Edomites, the words still apply to their modern successors whether they put their
questions in jest or in earnest. The inquiring spirit here meets with no rebuff, for it is a
healthy sign. History records instances of men who studied the Christian evidences in order
to refute them, and ended by becoming devoted Christians. Religion, so far from shunning
investigation, rather invites it. And if there is a sure solution of his -perplexities awaiting the
critical investigator, there is also an answer that will satisfy the inquirer after salvation.

66. 4. There is another class of persons to whom the watchman’s commission extends. To them
he says, “return”—a word which may he taken to refer to backsliders.
5. The text contains one other word—a word of encouragement to all. This word is, “come”; a
word that Jesus, when on earth, was never weary of uttering, and which He has left behind
Him as the Church’s invitation call to Gospel privileges. (D. Merson, M. A. , B. D.)
The night watchmen Mount Seir
The double question and the doubting reply are well suited to the changing aspects of nature in a
mountain land. To the inhabitants of such countries, inquiries for the winds and the clouds, the
morning and the night, are as familiar as the words of daily salutation. And the variable
condition of human society, the advance and decline of nations, the concealments and
revelations of Providence, are well illustrated by the darkness and the day, the shadows and the
sunshine among mountains. Such was the history of the Hebrew nation under the especial
guidance of Divine providence in ancient times. Such has been and still in the history of peoples
and opinions in the European world. The good and the glorious days of Samuel, and David, and
Solomon, and Hezekiah, were followed by the dark and evil days of Saul, and Jeroboam, and
Ahab, and Manasseh- Athanasius and Augustine, Luther and Calvin, Cranmer and Knox,
Whitefield and Wesley, the great champions of truth and reformation, found their dark shadow
and counterpart in Arius and Pelagius, Loyola and the Inquisition, Voltaire and the French
Revolution. The bright dawn of a better day has always been overcast with dark and angry
clouds. And yet the providence of God is wiser and mightier than the policies of man. The night
which comes with the morning is partial and temporary, although it seems for a time to devour
the day and cut off the hopes of mankind. In the darkest periods of human history, we need only
the clear vision of faith to see the day approaching. It is ever God’s way to bring light out of
darkness, joy out of sorrow, rest out of weariness, for the waiting and longing soul. (D. March,
D. D.)
Sin the great silencer
The word Dumah means “silence,” “the land of silent desolation.” It is a very suggestive thought.
Sin is the great silencer. The end of sin is silence. Assuredly that was true in the case of Edom. It
was true of it at the time when the prophet spoke, it was to be true of it still more completely in
the ages to follow. Travellers tell us that if we want to know how Providence can turn a fruitful
land into barrenness, and make a defenced city a heap, for the iniquity of the inhabitants
thereof, we have only to look at Edom, with its hills and plains picked clean of every vestige of
vegetation, and its ruined palaces, once the home of busy men, now the haunt of vultures and
the lair of scorpions, all human sound gone—the voice of mirth, the voice of gladness, the voice
of the bridegroom, the voice of the bride! But why go to Edom for an illustration? Look nearer
home. Go to any city churchyard. Pass through the iron gates that divide those strangely
contrasted crowds, the throng of the living and the congregation of the dead. How still!
Everything may be orderly, everything trim—winding walks, flowery borders, spreading shrubs,
grassy mounds, careen monuments white and clean, but all so still, no sound nor motion
anywhere, save the wind that shudders through the yew trees, and the measured chime of the
steeple clock as it tolls its hourly reminder that we too shall be still, still as the throngs beneath.
What makes that stillness? Sin. Sin is the great silencer, and death is the climax of the silence
that it makes. (W. A. Gray.)

67. The silence of God
It is really a terrible answer, for there can be nothing so terrible for us on earth as to know that
God has nothing to say to us. “O, my God!” cried Martin Luther, “smite me with famine, with
want, with pestilence, with all the sore diseases on earth, rather than Thou be silent to me.” Yet
God is sometimes thus silent to wicked men and to wicked nations; He is so for their
punishment. “Ephraim is turned unto idols. Let him alone.” (Dean Patter, D. D.)
Mount Seir; false confidences
Be not too confident in thy Mount Seir! Every wicked soul has her Mount Seir to trust in; they
that have no assurance of rest in heaven, have their refuges and mountains of help on earth.
David so returns it upon the wicked (Psa_11:1). “In the Lord put I my trust: how then say ye to
my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?” Why should I seek to foreign helps, that have settled
myself in the bosom of rest itself? Riches are a Mount Seir to the covetous; they rest on them.
Honour is a Mount Seir to the ambitious, against all the besiegings of rivals. Sensuality to the
voluptuous, against all the disturbances of a clamorous conscience. Pride, fraud, drunkenness,
are a Mount Seir to the lovers of them; but alas, how unsafe! If stronger against, and further
removed from the hand of man, yet nearer to God’s hand in heaven; though we acknowledge no
place procul a Jove, or procul a fulmine,—far from God, or from His thunder. But we say, it is
not the safest sailing on the top of the mast; to live on the mountainous height of a temporal
estate is neither wise nor happy. Men standing in the shade of humble valleys, look up and
wonder at the height of hills, and think it goodly living there, as Peter thought Tabor; but when
with weary limbs they have ascended, and find the beams of the sun melting their spirits, or the
cold blasts of wind making their sinews stark, flashes of lightning or cracks of thunder soonest
endangering their advanced heads, then they confess, checking their proud conceit, the low
valley is safest; for the fruitful dews that fall first on the hills stay least while there, but run down
to the valleys. And though on such a promontory a man further sees, and is further seen, yet in
the valley, where he sees less, he enjoys more. Take heed, then, lest to raise thy Mount Seir high,
thou dejectest thy soul. If we build our houses by unrighteousness, and our chambers without
equity, though as strong as Mount Seir, they shall not be able to stand in the earthquake of
judgment. God so threatens Jehoiakim (Jer_22:15).Think not your houses to be fortresses, when
your souls are unarmed of Christian weapons—faith and obedience. (T. Adams.)
Edomite scorners
I will single you out four sorts of these Edomites, scorners,—for I justly parallel them—
1. Atheists: such as have voluntarily, violently, extinguished to them selves the sunlight of
the Scripture, moonlight of the creature, nay, the sparks and cinders of nature, that the more
securely, as unseen and unhidden of their own hearts, they might prodigally act the works of
darkness
2. Epicures: that deny not a God and a day of judgment, but put it far off Amo_6:3), with,
Give me the present, take thou the hope of future joys.
3. Libertines: that neither affirm no night, nor put it far off, but only the strength of sin
prevails over all; and, come sorrow, death, grave, hell, they must have their pleasures.
4. Common profane persons: that will suffer themselves to wear God’s livery, though they
serve the devil. (T. Adams.)

68. Watchman, what of the night?—
The duty of examining the signs of the times
I. The first thing which, in reference to this inquiry, the words before us suggest, is, that IT IS
OF THE LORD HIMSELF THE INQUIRY MUST BE MADE. His eye alone seeth under the
whole heaven; and He only knoweth the end from the beginning. Nothing can be more utterly
fallacious than any mere calculation of human probabilities in regard to the future progress of
Divine truth—in regard to the course it may be destined to run. When Jesus of Nazareth had
been put to an ignominious death, His few and obscure disciples dispersed in terror, and when
the handful of peasants and fishermen who had been the companions of His ministry were shut
up, unnoticed and unknown, in an upper chamber at Jerusalem, who could have foreseen that
the blast of the trumpet, blown by this small and feeble band, was to shake down the mighty
Jericho of that universal heathenism which then overspread and enslaved the benighted earth?
When, fifteen hundred years thereafter, a poor, emaciated Augustinian monk was wearing
himself out in his gloomy cell in the terrible conflict of an awakened conscience, which all his
self-righteous austerities could not satisfy or soothe, who could have foreseen that in that single
man the Lord was training a soldier, who should confront, single-handed, the gigantic power of
the man of sin, and liberate the half of Europe from his galling and destructive yoke? But if
human sagacity would thus have been baffled on the one hand by unlooked-for triumphs to the
cause of truth, would it not have been equally confounded on the other by unexpected defeats?
When the day of Gospel light was breaking forth in such glorious splendour upon the world in
apostolic times, who would have ventured to anticipate that so bright a day was to be succeeded
by the dark ages, the long, dismal, dreary centuries during which the few remaining witnesses
prophesied in sackcloth, amid bonds and stripes, and imprisonments, and death? Again, when
the Lutheran Reformation, like a strong wind out of the clear north, was sweeping off from the
nations the dense cloud of papal superstition, and revealing once more to their wondering eyes
the long-hidden Sun of righteousness, who would have thought that the horrid cloud would
again return to spread its murky folds over so many of its ancient fields, and that men, choosing
darkness rather than the light, would love to have it so? It is to the Lord we must turn if we
desire to know what is in the womb of time.
II. However discouraging the aspect of things may, in many points, appear, “THE MORNING
COMETH”—a day of unprecedented brilliancy and joy, when the kingdom and dominion under
the whole heaven shall be given to the Son of man, and when, emancipated from the strife and
turmoil of incessant wars, and enjoying and exhibiting a foretaste and emblem of the heavenly
state, the rest of Zion shall be glorious.
III. WE MUST REJOICE WITH TREMBLING, FOR WHILE THE MORNING COMETH,
THERE COMETH ALSO THE NIGHT. When the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion
shall have come, it will be a night to her adversaries and oppressors; but to Zion herself it will be
a bright and glorious day. (R. Buchanan, D. D.)
The watchman’s office
I. A watchman must be DULY AUTHORISED AND APPOINTED TO THE STATION. It is not
left to any man to mount the watchtower at pleasure—to take his round through the streets—or
to challenge the citizens, except he can show a regular commission for the service. Ezekiel, with
all his zeal for his country, and love to his own people, could not occupy the post of a watchman
among them till the God of Israel made him one (Eze_3:17). Thus a call, a commission, is

69. indispensably necessary to the exercise of any office in the Church of Christ, especially of the
office of the ministry. But when the call is given and the appointment conferred, the watchman
ought, without gainsaying, to repair to his box.
II. A watchman ought to be SAGACIOUS AND QUICK-SIGHTED. A simpleton, or a blind man
(Luk_6:39), would be altogether unfit for a watchman. He could neither descry the enemy as he
approached the city, nor penetrate his mischievous designs, nor alarm the citizens of the
impending danger. The ministers of Christ are accordingly represented in the Revelation as “full
of eyes”; and they have need of all the eyes ascribed to them, that they may take heed to
themselves, and watch over others.
III. VIGILANT. An indolent and sleepy watchman is a most dangerous officer in a city,
especially in a period of warfare. For, while men sleep, the enemy may occupy the gates, or
mount the walls. The ministers of Christ ought to be very vigilant in watching over the people;
and other officers are to exert themselves in watching along with them. For, “while men sleep,”
the enemy sows his tares of error, of heresy, and division.
IV. SPIRITED. A spirited watchman, ever upon the alert, to detect the disorderly, and to
suppress them in their first appearances, is an eminent blessing in his station. By the spirited
exertions of an active watchman, much disorder and tumult in the streets of a city may be
prevented, especially during the night. So ought the minister of Christ to display a firm and
spirited determination to suppress disorder and vice of every kind, although it should cost him
much trouble, and the strife of tongues against him, in accomplishing his object. It is also part of
the constitutional duty of every good citizen, to assist the watchman, by all the means in his
power, to suppress riot, and check the unruly. Let private Church members attend to this.
V. Watchmen ought to be STEADY. They are to occupy their station, to maintain their post, and
in no instance to neglect their duty. The ministers of Christ, in like manner, are to “be steadfast,
unmovable,” etc. (1Co_15:58). They are “to watch, to stand fast in the faith, to quit themselves
like men and to be strong.”
VI. Watchmen are to be COURAGEOUS. A coward would, of all others, be a most unfit person
for a watchman, especially in the night, and when the enemy was at the gates. Such ought
unquestionably to be a prominent qualification of the minister of Christ, and of all who bear rule
in the Church along with him. A trimming, truckling, temporising humour, to please men, and a
dread of giving offence in the discharge of positive duty, is altogether unsuitable to the condition
of those whose chief attention is to please and honour God.
VII. Watchmen are to be FAITHFUL. They are neither to betray their trust, by conniving with
the disorderly, nor to expose the city, by keeping silence, while they perceive danger
approaching. This part of the watchman’s character may be often perverted, as, indeed, what
part of it may not? Men may make a great noise and parade about being faithful and honest,
who, in truth, have nothing so much at heart, as to gratify their own vanity, interest, pride,
humour, or favourite plans of action. But the faithfulness intended by this particular chiefly
respect? plain and honest dealing with the consciences of men. The faithful servant of the Lord
is to warn the transgressor of the error of his ways, and of the danger of persisting in error.
VIII. Watchmen are to be FRANK IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE, either to inform the citizen of the
hour of the night, or to guide him on his way. The watchmen of the Old Testament gave the time
of night under that dispensation, and laid themselves out to collect every information (1Pe_1:11).
The watchmen of the New Testament are to continue the inquiry into the mind of the Spirit; that
they may tell what of the night—what is the part of prophecy which applies to the present
times—and what the signs of the breaking light of the coming glory. Such is a very tender and
useful department of the spiritual watchman. He is to guide the bewildered—to encourage and
protect such as apprehend themselves in danger—and to tell them, to the best of his

70. information, concerning the Friend of sinners. (W. Taylor.)
Aspects of the times
I. The Christian man has still before him THE UNBELIEF AND IRRELIGION OF THE NIGHT,
and yet there are streaks of sunny dawn.
II. The Christian man has MUCH IN HIS OWN HISTORY THAT SPEAKS OF THE NIGHT, and
yet there is morning there too.
III. The Christian man sees that IN NATIONS WHERE THE PURE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
PERVADES THE PEOPLE, WE HAVE THE HOPE OF THE WORLD.
IV. THE CHRISTLESS MAN MAY ASK, “WHAT OF THE NIGHT?” as well as the Christian. (W.
M. Statham.)
A momentous inquiry
I. Let us see how this inquiry will apply to THE WORLD IN GENERAL The world commenced
with a bright and sinless morning. But early in the history of our race, the power of the tempter
was so successfully wielded, that the bright morning was succeeded by a day of dark clouds and
desolating storms. With the growth of the world’s population the overspreading darkness grew
until God could bear with the wickedness of the world no more. After the deluge the world
started anew from another head. Old crimes, old corruptions, quickly regained their sway. Long
centuries came and passed away. The moral heavens grew darker as time rolled by, and as the
world’s inhabitants increased in numbers. Here and there only was there a ray of light shining
amid the abounding darkness. Outside of Judea there was not much to dispel the darkness.
Greece, somewhat enlightened, furnished a Socrates and a Plato. But Greece, because of her
crimes and vices, soon went down to ruin. The once magnificent empires, Egypt, Assyria,
Greece, and Rome, were alike involved in the moral night of error and sin, and their greatness,
once so commanding, and their glory, once so brilliant, have passed away. Indeed, in all
succeeding ages, and among all the peoples of the earth, the darkness has prevailed. What
prospect is there for this sin-darkened world? We may respond in the words of the prophet:
“The morning cometh.” The long night of captivity, of error, of wrong, of violence shall give
place to the glorious day, wherein the ransomed of the Lord everywhere shall rejoice in that
liberty with which God makes His people free.
II. How will the inquiry of our text apply to ISAIAH’S TIME? It was indeed for the chosen
people a time of darkness. The Jews were captives in Babylon. Isaiah had a grander vision and
saw another morning. He saw the breaking day, and told of the advent of the promised Messiah,
who was to be the light and the glory of the world. The vision which Isaiah saw we also are
permitted to see. We see the complete fulfilment of many of the predictions of the prophet. And
there are the signs, which will not fail, that his grandest visions will be realised.
III. How will this inquiry, “Watchman, what of the night?” apply to our OWN TIMES?
1. Glance for a moment at the progress that has been made in our times in science and in art.
2. Ours has been a time of moral progress.
3. The religious progress of the world is remarkable.
4. All around us are signs of improvement.

71. IV. How will this inquiry, “Watchman, what of the night?” apply to OURSELVES
PERSONALLY?
1. There is the night of scepticism, or partial scepticism, in which some are involved. To the
earnest and sincere inquirer the response must be, “The morning cometh,”
2. There is a night of worldliness. For the worldly the morning waiteth. Christ stands at the
door and knocks. He is the light and the life of men.
3. There is a night of penitential sorrow. For every awakened, penitent, and believing one
the morning cometh.
4. There is the night of suffering. The morning cometh, when the wounds of the sorrowing
shall be healed, and when their sorrow shall be turned into joy.
5. The Christian worker may sometimes inquire, “Watchman, what of the night?” Learn to
labour faithfully and to wait.
6. While the morning cometh for all who willingly hear and obey the Gospel, the night also
cometh for the disobedient and unbelieving. (D. D.Currie.)
Heathen darkness and Gospel light
1. There is something to encourage us in the interest now taken in missions as compared
with a century ago. We can fairly point to what is done for missions as a proof of the vitality
and the power of Christian principles, evidence at once of the influence which Christianity
exerts on its disciples, and earnest of its ultimate triumph.
2. But looking at the dark night of heathendom in answer to the question, What of the night?
it is scarcely possible to present its condition in colours that are too dark. We speak of the
wickedness of our home population, and bad enough it is; but if you remember how much is
done to discourage it; how a healthy public opinion rebukes it; how Christianity grapples
with it, and creates an atmosphere which is inimical to its existence, so that those who
practise it are made to feel ashamed; and when you consider, on the other hand, how in
many parts of heathendom wickedness is actually deified, how the very gods they worship
are incarnations of vice, and personifications of every evil passion; how in many instances
licentiousness and cruelty are enjoined as part of their religious rites,—when you think of all
that, you can understand that the wickedness at home is nothing compared with that which
exists in heathen lands. To some minds the most affecting consideration of all is the
dishonour done to the Almighty by their religious beliefs and ceremonies.
3. But is the Gospel an appropriate remedy for the evils of which we speak? You want the
world to be brought back to God, and nothing but the Gospel of Christ will suffice for that.
Let men say what they will, the world is not today what it was when Christianity dawned
upon it. Then it was wrapt in total darkness—a darkness that might be felt. Now the light of
the Gospel is penetrating the darkest parts of the earth, and many nations of the world are
being permeated with and moulded by the influence which it exerts. Moreover, it is
advancing.
4. When the Church enters on her work with the zeal and enthusiasm which it ought to
excite; when she drains her resources, and strains every nerve to secure success; when she
prays, and labours, and toils for it; when she gives the bulk of her property to it; when she
sends out her noblest sons, and puts forth her best energies, then, perhaps, she may begin to
talk about expecting the conversion of the world! Think of what Christ has done for you, and
then bestir yourselves to take an active interest in this stupendous work, and to make some

72. sacrifices for its extension. (W. Landels, D. D.)
Inquire ye: return, come
Inquire; return; come
I. INQUIRE.
1. Where? Where should a people inquire, but at their God? (Isa_8:19-20).
2. How? With humility, reverence, and desire of knowledge.
3. When? In the morning of thy years. The devil is a false sexton, and sets the clock too slow,
that the night comes ere we be aware. Tarry not, then, till your piles of usuries, heaps of
deceits, mountains of blasphemies, have caused God to hide Himself, and will not be found.
There is a sera nimis hora, time too late, which Esau fell unluckily into, when “he sought the
blessing with tears, and could not find it.”
II. RETURN from your sins by repentance.
III. COME home to God by obedience. (T. Adams.)
Destiny determined by conduct
For ourselves, what need we of oracles? Our future win be in all essential things exactly as we
make it. The sunshine or the shadow of our lives is less in our surroundings than ourselves. The
oracle of God to man is not silence; St. Paul gave it long ago, God win render to every man
according to his works, etc. Rom_2:6-11). (Dean Farrar, D. D.)
12
The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
1.BARNES, “The watchman said - Or rather “saith;” indicating that this is the answer
which the prophet returned to the inquiry from Idumea.
The morning cometh - There are signs of approaching day. The ‘morning’ here is an
emblem of prosperity; as the light of the morning succeeds to the darkness of the night. This
refers to the deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and is to be supposed as having been
spoken near the time when that captivity was at an end - or nearly at break of day after the long
night of their bondage. This declaration is to be understood as referring to a different people
from those referred to in the expression which immediately follows - ‘and also the night.’ ‘The

73. morning cometh’ - to the captive Jews; ‘and also the night’ - to some other people - to wit, the
Idumeans. It “might” mean that the morning was to be succeeded by a time of darkness to the
same people; but the connection seems to demand that we understand it of others.
And also the night - A time of calamity and affliction. This is emphatic. It refers to the
Idumeans. ‘The morning cometh to the captive Jews; it shall be closely succeeded by a night - a
time of calamity - to the taunting Idumeans.’ During the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the
Idumeans invaded and took possession of the southern part of Judea. The prophet here refers to
the fact, perhaps, that on the return of the Jews to their native land, they would revenge this by
expelling them, and by inflicting punishment on the land of Edom. For a full proof that
calamities came upon the land of Idumea, see Keith “On the Prophecies.” Art. “Idumea,” and the
notes at Isa. 34)
If ye will inquire, inquire ye - If you choose to ask anything further in regard to this, you
can. The sense is probably this: ‘You Idumeans have asked respecting the night in derision and
reproach. An answer has been given somewhat agreeably to that inquiry. But if you seriously
wish to know anything further respecting the destiny of your land, you can ask me (Isaiah) or
any other prophet, and it will be known. But ask it in seriousness and earnestness, and with a
suitable regard for the prophetic character and for God. And especially if you wish a more
favorable answer to your inquiries, it is to be obtained only by forsaking sin and turning to God,
and then you may come with the hope of a brighter prospect for the future.’ The design of this is,
therefore:
(1) to “reprove” them for the manner in which they had asked the question;
(2) to assure them that God was willing to direct humble and serious inquirers; and
(3) to show in what way a favorable answer could be obtained - to wit, by repentance. And this
is as true of sinners now as it was then. “They” often evince the reproachful and taunting
spirit which the Idumeans did. “They” hear only a similar response - that prosperity and
happiness await the Christian, though now in darkness and affliction; and that calamity
and destruction are before the guilty. They “might” have the same answer - an answer that
God would bless them and save them, if they would inquire in a humble, serious, and
docile manner.
Return - Turn from your sins; come back to God, and show respect for him and his
declarations.
Come - “Then” come and you shall be accepted, and the watch man will also announce
“morning” as about to dawn on you. This seems to be the sense of this very dark and difficult
prophecy. It is brief, enigmatical, and obscure. Yet it is beautiful; and if the sense above given be
correct, it contains most weighty and important truth - alike for the afflicted and persecuted
friends, and the persecuting and taunting foes of God. With reference to the interpretation here
proposed, which supposes, as will have been seen:
(1) a state of excited feeling on the part of the Jews toward the Idumeans, for the part which
they took in the destruction of their city;
(2) the prospect of speedy deliverance to the Jews in Babylon; and
(3) a consequent desolation and vengeance on the Idumeans for the feelings which they had
manifested in the destruction of Jerusalem, see the prophecy of Obadiah, Oba_1:8-21 :
Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord,
Even destroy the wise men out of Edom,
And understanding out of the mount of Esau?
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that every one of the mount of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.

74. For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee,
And thou shalt be cut off for ever.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side;
In the day that the stranger carried away captive his forces;
And foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem;
Even thou wast as one of them.
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother
In the day that he became a stranger;
Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen;
As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee;
Thy reward shall return upon thine own head, etc.
In this prophecy these circumstances are all to be found;
(1) the hostility of the Edomites against Jerusalem, and the part which they took in the
destruction of the city, in Isa_21:10-14;
(2) the fact of the deliverance of the Jews from captivity, in Isa_22:17;
(3) the consequent vengeance upon the Idumeans Isa_34:5-6.
This remarkable coincidence in an independent prophecy is a strong circumstance to prove
that the interpretation above proposed is correct. In regard to the general reasons for the
interpretation here proposed, and the lessons which the prophecy is suited to convey, I may be
permitted to refer to my “Practical Sermons,” pp. 325-341.
2. PULPIT, “The watchman.
I. THE CALL FROM SEIR. The Edomites are asking, "Will the light soon dawn? What hour is it?" Like the
sick man tossing on his bed, they long for the first tidings that the night of tribulation is past.
II. THE ENIGMATIC ANSWER. "Morning cometh, and also night." There were "wise men" in Edom, and
probably the answer is couched in the style they loved. What does it mean? We can but conjecture. It
may mean that the coming light of prosperity and joy is soon to be quenched in the night of calamity
again. Or, the dawn of joy to some will be the night of despair to others. "When the morning comes, it will
still be night" (Luther). Even if morning dawns, it will be swallowed up again immediately by night. And in
what follows, also obscure, seems to be a hint that only in case of Edom's conversion can there be an
answer of consolation and of hope. The design may be—
(1) "to reprove them for the manner in which they had asked the question;
(2) to assure them that God was willing to direct humble and serious inquiries;
(3) to show in what way a favorable answer could be obtained, viz. by repentance."
III. APPLICATION.
1. Historical. "History was quite in accord with such an answer. The Assyrian period of judgment was
followed by the Chaldean, the Chaldean by the Persian, the Persian by the Grecian, and the Grecian by
the Roman. Again and again there was a glimmer of morning dawn for Edom (and what a glimmer in the

75. Herodian age!); but it was swallowed up directly by another night, until Edom became an utter Dumah,
and disappeared from the history of nations." Herod the Great, "King of the Jews," was son of Autipater of
Edom, who became procurator of Judaea. Under the Mussulman rule in the seventh century A.D; the
cities of Edom fell into ruin, and the laud became a desolation
(comp. Eze_35:3, Eze_35:4, Eze_35:7, Eze_35:9, Eze_35:14). The famed rock-built city of Petra was
brought to light in our own time by Burckhardt, 1812.
2. General. The prophetic outlook upon the world at any epoch is of the same general character. Night
struggles with morning in the conflicts and changes of nations, in the controversies of truth with error. In
the closing chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel we do not find a prospect of unmingled brightness, very far
from it. Christianity will call into existence vast organized hypocrisies; the shadow attends closely upon
the light. At the conversion of the empire under Constantine, at the Reformation, etc; "the morning came,
and also night." History pursues a spiral line; old errors return, decayed superstitions revive; then again
the day breaks. And so with the individual; the light we gain at happy epochs must yield to fresh doubts or
fears, again to be dispelled by redawning faith. Such is the condition of our life; we dwell in
the chiaroscuro, the twilight of intuition; we "see as in a glass, enigmatically." But hope and endeavor
remain to us; and the looking forward to the everlasting light of Jehovah, the glory of God, the rising of the
sun that shall no more go down; the end of mourning; the "one day" that shall be neither day nor night;
the evening time when it shall be light (Isa_60:19, Isa_60:20; Zec_14:7).—J.
3. GILL, “The watchman said, the morning cometh, and also the night,.... Not only a
morning, but a night; and as sure as the morning comes, so shall the night; there wilt be a
constant succession of morning and night; as a morning of prosperity, so a night of adversity:
the morning of the Gospel dispensation was coming on, or of Christ's coming in the flesh, which
was attended with joy and cheerfulness; like the morning, it dispersed the shadows of the law,
introduced light, which gradually and irresistibly spread itself over the Gentile world; but then
followed a night of darkness to the Jews, blindness happened to them, which still continues; and
to the Arabians, Saracens, and Turks, when the bottomless pit was opened by Mahomet, which
let out smoke and locusts in the eastern part of the world; and to the western part, when the
Romish antichrist established himself as universal bishop: a morning came on again at the
Reformation, and a night will follow, which is now begun; it is already a time of darkness,
coldness, sleepiness, and of error and heresy, which will issue in an eventide, in a dark night: if it
be asked what time it is with us, or how far we are gone toward the night? the answer is, we are
in and toward the close of the Sardian church state; we are in the twilight, or in that part of time
which is neither day nor night, Zec_14:6 the slaying of the witnesses is yet to come, which, with
the general spread of Popery all over Christendom, will make it entire night; after which will
come on the morning of the spiritual reign of Christ, when the light of the Gospel will be spread
everywhere, and joy and gladness will attend the saints in all places; and it will be a time of great
prosperity, both spiritual and temporal; which will be succeeded by another night of coldness,
deadness, and carnal security, and will last till the second and personal coming of Christ; which
will bring on the morning of a glorious resurrection to the saints, after which there will be no
more night to them, though there will be an eternal one to the wicked. The Targum is,
"the prophet said, there is a reward for the righteous, and punishment for the wicked;''
and so the Jews elsewhere (d) interpret it of the morning of redemption to the righteous, and of
the night of darkness to the wicked; or, as they sometimes express it (e), the morning is for the
righteous, and the night for the wicked; the morning for Israel, and the night for the nations of
the world. Dumah they sometimes (f) make to be the angel appointed over spirits, who they
suppose gather together, and say to him, "watchman", &c.

76. if ye will inquire, inquire ye; seriously and in good earnest, diligently and constantly, with
all humility and reverence, by prayer to God and by searching the Scriptures, and by application
to the watchmen, the ministers of the word, who make it their business to study it, and have the
mind of Christ:
return, come; return by repentance, and come to God, who receives backsliders, heals their
backslidings, and loves them freely; or, "come again", to the watchman, and to the Lord, and
renew your inquiries till you get satisfaction.
4. PULPIT, “The morning cometh, and also the night. An oracular reply, but probably meaning
(1) that a brighter time would soon dawn upon the Edomite people; and
(2) that this brighter time would be followed by a return of misery and affliction. We may (conjecturally)
understand the "morning" of the earlier part of Sennacherib's reign, when Edom was at peace with
Assyria, merely paying a moderate tribute, and the "night" of the later period in the same king's reign,
when the country suffered from another Assyrian invasion, in which the king's treasures and his gods
were carried off to Nineveh. If ye will inquire, inquire ye; return, come. Some take this very literally, as
meaning, "If ye would inquire further into the meaning of this answer, do so; return to me; come again."
But this implies that the Edomites had sent an actual messenger to make the inquiry of Isa_21:5, which is
improbable. Others understand a reproach to Edom: "If ye will have recourse to God in the time of
trouble, do so; but then do more—return to him altogether; come, and be one with Judah."
5. JAMISON, “Reply of the prophet, The morning (prosperity) cometh, and (soon after
follows) the night (adversity). Though you, Idumeans, may have a gleam of prosperity, it will
soon be followed by adversity again. Otherwise, as Barnes, “Prosperity cometh (to the Jews) to
be quickly followed by adversity (to you, Idumeans, who exult in the fall of Jerusalem, have
seized on the southern part of their land in their absence during the captivity, and now deride
them by your question)” (Isa_34:5-7). This view is favored by Oba_1:10-21.
if ye will inquire, inquire — If ye choose to consult me again, do so (similar phrases occur
in Gen_43:14; 2Ki_7:4; Est_4:16).
return, come — “Be converted to God (and then), come” [Gesenius]; you will then receive a
more favorable answer.
6. K&D, ““Watchman says, Morning cometh, and also night. Will ye inquire, inquire! Turn,
come!!” The answer is intentionally and pathetically expressed in an Aramaean form of Hebrew.
‫א‬ ָ‫ת‬ፎ (written even with ‫א‬ at the end, cf., Deu_33:2) is the Aramaean word for ‫וֹא‬ ; and ‫ה‬ ָ‫ע‬ ָ ‫א‬ ָ‫ע‬ ְ )
the Aramaean word for ‫ל‬ፍ ָ‫,שׁ‬ from the primary form of which (‫י‬ ַ‫ע‬ ָ ) the future tib‛ayun is taken

77. here (as in Isa_33:7), and the imperative be
'ay (Ges. §75, Anm. 4). ‫יוּ‬ ָ‫ת‬ ֱ‫,א‬ which is here pointed in
the Syriac style, ‫יוּ‬ ָ‫ת‬ ֵ‫,א‬ as in Isa_56:9, Isa_56:12, would be similarly traceable to ‫אתי‬ (cf., Ges. §75,
Anm. 4, with §23, Anm. 2). But what is the meaning? Luther seems to me to have hit upon it:
“When the morning comes, it will still be night.” But v'gam (and also) is not equivalent to “and
yet,” as Schröring explains it, with a reference to Ewald, §354, a. With the simple connection in
the clauses, the meaning cannot possibly be, that a morning is coming, and that it will
nevertheless continue night, but that a morning is coming, and at the same time a night, i.e.,
that even if the morning dawns, it will be swallowed up again directly by night. And the history
was quite in accordance with such an answer. The Assyrian period of judgment was followed by
the Chaldean, and the Chaldean by the Persian, and the Persian by the Grecian, and the Grecian
by the Roman. Again and again there was a glimmer of morning dawn for Edom (and what a
glimmer in the Herodian age!), but it was swallowed up directly by another night, until Edom
became an utter Dumah, and disappeared from the history of the nations. The prophet does not
see to the utmost end of these Edomitish nights, but he has also no consolation for Edom. It is
altogether different with Edom from what it is with Israel, the nocturnal portion of whose
history has a morning dawn, according to promise, as its irrevocable close. The prophet
therefore sends the inquirers home. Would they ask any further questions, they might do so,
might turn and come. In shubu (turn back) there lies a significant though ambiguous hint. It is
only in the case of their turning, coming, i.e., coming back converted, that the prophet has any
consolatory answer for them. So long as they are not so, there is suspended over their future an
interminable night, to the prophet as much as to themselves. The way to salvation for every
other people is just the same as for Israel - namely, the way of repentance.
7.CALVIN, “12.The morning cometh. This means that the anxiety will not last merely for a single day,
or for a short time, as if the watchman had replied, “ I tell you to-day, I will tell you again to-morrow; if you
are afraid now, you will also be afraid to-morrow.” It is a most wretched condition when men are tortured
with anxiety, in such a manner that they hang in a state of doubt between death and life; and it is that
dismal curse which the Lord threatens against wicked men by Moses,
“ that I lived till the evening; and in the evening, would that I saw the dawn!” (Deu_28:67.)
The godly indeed are beset with many dangers, but they know that they and their life are committed to the
hand of God, and even in the jaws of death they see life, or at least soothe their uneasy fears by hope
and patience. But the wicked always tremble, and not only are tormented by alarm, but waste away in
their sorrows.
Return, come. These words may be explained in two ways; either that if they run continually, they will lose
their pains, or in this way, “ any among you be more careful, let them go to Dumah, and there let them

78. tremble more than in their native country, for nowhere will they be safe.” But since God always takes care
of his Church, nowhere shall we find a safer retreat, even though we shall compass sea and land.
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13
A prophecy against Arabia:
You caravans of Dedanites,
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
1.BARNES, “Analysis of Isa_21:13-17. - Vision 18. “Arabia.”
The remainder of this chapter is occupied with a single prophecy respecting Arabia. It was
“probably” delivered about the time that the former was uttered - during the reign of Hezekiah,
and before the invasion of Sennacherib. It had reference, I suppose, to Sennacherib; and was
designed to foretell the fact that, either in his march to attack Judea, or on his return from
Egypt, he would pass through Arabia, and perhaps oppress and overthrow some of their clans.
At all events, it was to be fulfilled within a year after it was uttered Isa_21:16, and refers to
“some” foreign invasion that was to conic upon their land. Rosenmuller supposes that it relates
to the same period as the prophecy in Jer_49:28, following, and refers to the time when
Nebuchadnezzar sent Nebuzaradan to overran the lands of the Ammonites, the Moabites, the
Philistines, the Arabians, the Idumeans, and others who had revolted from him, and who had
formed an alliance with Zedekiah.
The sentiment of the prophecy is simple - that within a year the country of Arabia would be
overrun by a foreign enemy. The form and manner of the prophecy is highly poetic and
beautiful. The images are drawn from customs and habits which pertain to the Arabians, and
which characterize them to this day. In Isa_21:13, the prophecy opens with a declaration that
the caravans that were accustomed to pass peacefully through Arabia would be arrested by the
apprehension of war. They would seek a place of refuge in the forests and fastnesses of the land.
Thither also the prophet sees the Arabians flocking, as if to exercise the rites of hospitality, and
to minister to the needs of the oppressed and weary travelers. But the reasons why “they” are
there, the prophet sees to be that “they” are oppressed and driven out of their land by a foreign
invader, and “they” also seek the same places of security and of refuge Isa_21:14-15. All this
would be accomplished within a year Isa_21:16; and the result would be, that the inhabitants of
Arabia would be greatly diminished Isa_21:17.
Isa_21:13
The burden - (see the note at Isa_13:1).
Upon Arabia - (‫בערב‬ ba‛arab). This is an unusual form. The title of the prophecies is usually
without the ‫ב‬ (b) rendered ‘upon.’ Lowth supposes this whole title to be of doubtful authority,
chiefly because it is missing in most MSS. of the Septuagint. The Septuagint connects it with the
preceding prophecy respecting Dumab, and makes this a continuance of that. The preposition ‫ב‬

79. (b) - ‘upon,’ means here “respecting, concerning,” and is used instead of ‫על‬ ‛al as in Zec_9:1.
Arabia is a well-known country of western Asia, lying south and southeast of Judea. It was
divided into three parts, Arabia Deserta, on the east; Arabia Petrea, lying south of Judea; and
Arabia Felix, lying still further south. What part of Arabia is here denoted it may not be easy to
determine. It is probable that it was Arabia Petrea, because this lay between Judea and Egypt,
and would be exposed to invasion by the Assyrians should they invade Egypt; and because this
part of Arabia furnished, more than the others, such retreats and fastnesses as are mentioned in
Isa_21:13-15.
In the forest - (‫ביער‬ baya‛ar). The word (‫יער‬ ya‛ar) ‘forest’ usually denotes a grove, a
collection of trees. But it may mean here, any place of refuge from a pursuing foe; a region of
thick underwood; an uncultivated, inaccessible place, where they would be concealed from an
invading enemy. The word rendered ‘forest’ is commonly supposed to mean a forest in the sense
in which that word is now used by us, meaning an extensive wood - large tract of land covered
with trees. It is doubtful, however, whether the word is so used in the Bible. The Rev. Eli Smith
stated to me that he had visited several of the places in Palestine to which the word (‫יער‬ ya‛ar)
‘forest’ or ‘grove’ is given, and that he was satisfied that there never was a forest there in our use
of the word. The same word ‫יער‬ ya‛ar - the ‫י‬ (y) not being used to begin a word in Arabic, but the
‫ו‬ (v) being used instead of it - occurs often in Arabic. It means, as used by the Arabs, a rough,
stony, impassable place; a place where there are no roads; which is inaccessible; and which is a
safe retreat for robbers - and it is not improbable that the word is so used here.
In Arabia - (‫בערב‬ ba‛arab). The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Chaldee, understand this of
the “evening” - ‘In the evening.’ The word ‫ערב‬ ‛ereb, with different points from those which the
Masorites have used here, means “evening,” but there is no necessity of departing from the
translation in our English version. The sense would not be materially affected whichever
rendering should be preferred.
Shall ye lodge - Shall you pass the night. This is the usual signification of the word. But here
it may be taken in a larger sense, as denoting that they would pitch their tents there, or that they
would seek a refuge there. The sense I suppose to be this: ‘O ye traveling caravans of Dedan! Ye
were accustomed to pass through Arabia, and to find a safe and hospitable entertainment there.
But now, the Arabians shall be overrun by a foreign enemy; they shall be unable to show you
hospitality, and to insure your safety in their tents, and for fear of the enemy still in the land you
will be obliged to seek a lodging in the inaccessible thickets of the forests.’ The passage is
intended to denote the “change” that had taken place, and to show the “insecurity” for caravans.
O ye traveling companies - Ye “caravans” (‫ארחות‬ 'ore
chot). This word usually signifies
“ways, paths, cross roads.” But it is used here evidently to denote those who “traveled” in such
ways or paths; that is, caravans of merchants. So it is used in Job_6:19 : ‘The caravans of Tema.’
It is well known that in the East it is usual for large companies to travel together, called
“caravans.” Arabia Petrea was a great thoroughfare for such companies.
Of Dedanim - Descendants of “Dedan.” There are two men of this name mentioned in the
Old Testament - the son of Raamah, the son of Cush, mentioned in Gen_10:7; and the son of
Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah Gen_25:3. The descendants of the latter settled in
Arabia Petrea, and the descendants of the former near the Persian Gulf. It is not easy to
determine which is here intended, though most probably those who dwelt near the Persian Gulf,
because they are often mentioned as merchants. They dealt in ivory, ebony, etc., and traded
much with Tyre Eze_27:21, and doubtless also with Egypt. They are here represented as passing

80. through Arabia Petrea on their way to Egypt, and as compelled by the calamities in the country
to find a refuge in its fastnesses and inaccessible places.
2. CLARKE, “The burden upon Arabia “The oracle concerning Arabia” - This title
is of doubtful authority. In the first place, because it is not in many of the MSS. of the
Septuagint; it is in MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2. only, as far as I can find with certainty. Secondly,
from the singularity of the phraseology; for ‫משא‬ massa is generally prefixed to its object without
a preposition, as ‫משא‬‫בבל‬ massa babel; and never but in this place with the preposition ‫ב‬ beth.
Besides, as the word ‫בערב‬ baarab occurs at the very beginning of the prophecy itself, the first
word but one, it is much to be suspected that some one, taking it for a proper name and the
object of the prophecy, might note it as such by the words ‫משא‬‫בערב‬ massa baarab written in the
margin, which he might easily transfer to the text. The Septuagint did not take it for a proper
name, but render it εν τሩ δρυµሩ ᅛσπερας, “in the forest, in the evening,” and so the Chaldee,
which I follow; for otherwise, the forest in Arabia is so indeterminate and vague a description,
that in effect it means nothing at all. This observation might have been of good use in clearing
up the foregoing very obscure prophecy, if any light had arisen from joining the two together by
removing the separating title; but I see no connection between them. The Arabic Version has,
“The prophecy concerning the Arabians, and the children of Chedar.”
This prophecy was to have been fulfilled within a year of the time of its delivery, see Isa_21:16;
and it was probably delivered about the same time with the rest in this part of the book, that is,
soon before or after the 14th of Hezekiah, the year of Sennacherib’s invasion. In his first march
into Judea, or in his return from the Egyptian expedition, he might perhaps overrun these
several clans of Arabians; their distress on some such occasion is the subject of this prophecy. -
L.
3. GILL, “The burden upon Arabia,.... Which lay heavy upon it, as a burden upon a beast;
or "concerning" it, or "against" it, as Kimchi notes; which Arabia, or what part thereof, is meant,
may be gathered from the names after mentioned. The Targum is,
"the burden of the cup of cursing, to give the Arabians to drink.''
Ben Melech says, these are the Arabians that dwell in the wilderness:
in the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge; not in their tents and huts, which they had used to
carry with them, and set up where they pleased; since now in their fright and flight they would
leave them behind them, and so be obliged to take up their lodging in woods and forests;
perhaps the desert of Arabia Petraea is meant:
O ye travelling companies of Dedanim; or Dedanites; these were Arabians that descended
from Jokshan, a son of Abraham by Keturah, Gen_25:3 who were either shepherds, who went in
companies together with their flocks, and moved from place to place for the sake of pasture; or
rather were merchants, who went in caravans and troops with their merchandise from one

81. country to another; see Eze_27:15 and who, because of the ravages of the enemy, would be glad
of a lodging in the woods for security.
4. HENRY, “Arabia was a large country, that lay eastward and southward of the land of
Canaan. Much of it was possessed by the posterity of Abraham. The Dedanim, here mentioned
(Isa_21:13), descended from Dedan, Abraham's son by Keturah; the inhabitants of Tema and
Kedar descended from Ishmael, Gen_25:3, Gen_25:13, Gen_25:15. The Arabians generally lived
in tents, and kept cattle, were a hardy people, inured to labour; probably the Jews depended
upon them as a sort of a wall between them and the more warlike eastern nations; and therefore,
to alarm them, they shall hear the burden of Arabia, and see it sinking under its own burden.
5. JAMISON, “Isa_21:13-17. Prophecy that Arabia would be overrun by a foreign foe within
a year.
Probably in the wars between Assyria and Egypt; Idumea and Arabia lay somewhat on the
intermediate line of march.
upon — that is, respecting.
forest — not a grove of trees, but a region of thick underwood, rugged and inaccessible; for
Arabia has no forest of trees.
travelling companies — caravans: ye shall be driven through fear of the foe to
unfrequented routes (Isa_33:8; Jdg_5:6; Jer_49:8 is parallel to this passage).
Dedanim — In North Arabia (Gen_25:3; Jer_25:23; Eze_25:13; Eze_27:20; a different
“Dedan” occurs Gen_10:7).
6. K&D, “The heading ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ ‫א‬ ָ ַ‫מ‬ (the ‫ע‬ written according to the best codd. with a simple
sheva), when pointed as we have it, signifies, according to Zec_9:1 (cf., Isa_9:7), “oracle against
Arabia.” But why not massa ‛Arab, since massa is followed by a simple genitive in the other three
headings? Or again, is this the only heading in the tetralogy that is not symbolical? We must
assume that the Beth by which this is distinguished is introduced for the express purpose of
rendering it symbolical, and that the prophet pointed it first of all ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ע‬ ָ , but had at the same time
‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ in his mind. The earlier translators (lxx, Targum, Syr., Vulg., Ar.) read the second ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ like
the first, but without any reason. The oracle commences with an evening scene, even without
our altering the second ‫ב‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ . And the massa has a symbolical title founded upon this evening
scene. Just as 'Edom becomes Dumah, inasmuch as a night without a morning dawn falls upon
the mountain land of Seir, so will ‫ב‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ soon be ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ע‬ ָ , inasmuch as the sun of Arabia is setting.
Evening darkness is settling upon Arabia, and the morning-land is becoming an evening-land.
“In the wilderness in Arabia ye must pass the night, caravans of the Dedanians. Bring water to
meet thirsty ones! The inhabitants of the land of Tema are coming with its bread before the
fugitive. For they are flying before swords, before drawn swords, and before a bent bow, and
before oppressive war.” There is all the less ground for making any alteration in ‫ב‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ע‬ַ‫י‬ ַ ,
inasmuch as the second Beth (wilderness in Arabia for of Arabia) is favoured by Isaiah's

82. common usage (Isa_28:21; Isa_9:2; compare 2Sa_1:21; Amo_3:9). ‛Arab, written with pathach,
is Arabia (Eze_27:21; ‛arab in pause, Jer_25:24); and ya‛ar here is the solitary barren desert, as
distinguished from the cultivated land with its cities and villages. Wetzstein rejects the meaning
nemus, sylva, with ya‛ar has been assumed to have, because it would be rather a promise than a
threat to be told that they would have to flee from the steppe into the wood, since a shady tree is
the most delicious dream of the Beduins, who not only find shade in the forest, but a constant
supply of green pasture, and fuel for their hospitable hearths. He therefore renders it, “Ye will
take refuge in the V‛ar of Arabia,” i.e., the open steppe will no longer afford you any shelter, so
that ye will be obliged to hide yourselves in the V‛ar. Arab. wa‛ur for example, is the name
applied to the trachytic rayon of the Syro-Hauranitic volcanoes which is covered with a layer of
stones. But as the V‛ar in this sense is also planted with trees, and furnishes firewood, this
epithet must rest upon some peculiar distinction in the radical meaning of the word ya‛ar, which
really does mean a forest in Hebrew, though not necessarily a forest of lofty trees, but also a
wilderness overgrown with brushwood and thorn-bushes. The meaning of the passage before us
we therefore take to be this: the trading caravans ('archoth, like hailı̄coth in Job_6:19) of the
Dedanians, that mixed tribe of Cushites and Abrahamides dwelling in the neighbourhood of the
Edomites (Gen_10:7; Gen_25:3), when on their way from east to west, possibly to Tyre
(Eze_27:20), would be obliged to encamp in the wilderness, being driven out of the caravan
road in consequence of the war that was spreading from north to south. The prophet, whose
sympathy mingles with the revelation in this instance also, asks for water for the panting
fugitives (‫יוּ‬ ָ‫ת‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ as in Jer_12:9, an imperative equivalent to ‫יוּ‬ ָ‫את‬ ֵ‫ה‬ = ‫יוּ‬ ָ‫ת‬ ֱ‫א‬ ֶ‫;ה‬ compare 2Ki_2:3 : there
is no necessity to read ‫מוּ‬ ְ‫ד‬ ַ‫,ק‬ as the Targum, Döderlein, and Ewald do). They are driven back with
fright towards the south-east as far as Tema, on the border of Negd and the Syrian desert. The
Tema referred to is not the trans-Hauranian Têmâ, which is three-quarters of an hour from
Dumah, although there is a good deal that seems to favour this,
(Note: See Wetzstein, ut supra, p. 202; compare Job, ii. 425.)
but the Tema on the pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca, between Tebuk and Wadi el-Kora,
which is about the same distance (four days' journey) from both these places, and also from
Chaibar (it is to be distinguished, however, from Tihama, the coast land of Yemen, the
antithesis of which is ne'gd, the mountain district of Yemen).
(Note: See Sprenger, Post und Reise-routen des Orients, Heft i. (1864), pp. 118, 119.))
But even here in the land of Tema they do not feel themselves safe. The inhabitants of Tema are
obliged to bring them water and bread (“its bread,” lachmo, referring to noded: the bread
necessary in order to save them), into the hiding-places in which they have concealed
themselves. “How humiliating,” as Drechsler well observes, “to be obliged to practise their
hospitality, the pride of Arabian customs, in so restricted a manner, and with such unbecoming
secrecy!” But it could not possibly be done in any other way, since the weapons of the foe were
driving them incessantly before them, and the war itself was rolling incessantly forward like an
overwhelming colossus, as the repetition of the word “before” (mippe
ne) no less than four times
clearly implies.

83. 7.CALVIN, “13.The burden upon Arabia. He now passes on to the Arabians, and foretells that they
too, in their own turn, will be dragged to the judgment-seat of God; so that he does not leave unnoticed
any of the nations which were known to the Jews. He declares that they will be seized with such fear that
they will leave their houses and flee into the woods; and he states the direction in which they will flee, that
is, to “”
8. PULPIT, “The burden upon Arabia; rather, in Arabia. The phrase is varied from its usual form, probably
because it is not Arabia generally, but only certain of the more northern tribes, on whom calamity is about
to fall. In the forest shall ye lodge. The word used is commonly translated "forest;" but Arabia has no
forests, and the meaning hero must be "brushwood." Thorny bushes and shrubs are common in all parts
of Arabia. The general meaning is that the caravans will have to leave the beaten track, and obtain such
shelter and concealment as the scanty brushwood of the desert could afford. Ye traveling companies of
Dedanim. The Dedanim, or Dedanites, were among the chief traders of the Arabian peninsula. They had
commercial dealings with Tyre, which they supplied with ivory, ebony, and "precious clothes for chariots"
(Eze_27:15, Eze_27:20). This trade they carried on by means of large caravans—the "travelling
companies" of the present passage. They are thought to have had their chief settlements on the shores of
the Persian Gulf, where the island of Dadan may be an echo of their name.
9. PULPIT, “The tribes of Arabia.
I. THE FATE OF THE DEDANITES. Their caravans must hide in the thorn-bushes away from the beaten
track. These Dedanites belong to Edom (Jer_49:8; Eze_25:13). They were merchants, and among others
traded with wealthy Tyre (Eze_27:15). And probably the meaning is that when on their way from Tyre
they would be compelled to camp in the desert, because of the wide spreading war from north to south.
II. THE SYMPATHY OF THE PROPHET. He calls the people of Tema to supply the thirsty and hungry
fugitives with water and with bread. Tema lay on the route between Palmyra and Petra. The tribe was
among the descendants of Ishmael. In these sad scenes the light of human kindness in the heart of the
prophet, reflected in the picture of Temanite hospitality, shines forth.
"These are the precious balsam-drops
That woeful wars distil."
Hospitality is still found in generous flow among the Arabs of these regions, and reminds the wayfarer
how near God is to man in the most desolate places. Wherever there is a loving human heart, there
indeed is a fount and an oasis in life's desert. And this scene reminds us how good comes out of evil,

84. even the bitterest; the sight of the flying warriors, showing the bent bow and the wave of war, touches the
spring of sympathy and mercy in yonder wild hearts.
III. THE PROPHECY OF DOOM. In a year, "as the years of a hireling," i.e. swiftly, certainly, without delay,
and without time of grace, Kedar's glory shall be at an end, the powerful tribes of nomad archers will be
reduced to a remnant. Those tents, "black but comely," of which the bard of the Canticles sang (Son_1:5),
those splendid flocks, and the famed "rams of Nebaioth," shall disappear, or melt down to a fraction of the
former numbers. So again the night sets on Edom, after a brief dawn.
IV. THE WORD OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL.
1. These events were to happen by Divine appointment.
2. The God of Israel is the true God.
Let us take the saying to heart, amidst all that is most saddening in the fates of nations and institutions,
"God hath done it, God hath said it." The true God who revealed himself to the fathers, and manifested
himself to men in Christ, is the Being whose will is made known in the course of history. And amidst his
heaviest punishments we have this consolation, that he chastises gently, and does not "give men over to
death" (Psa_118:18 ). ‾ J
14
bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,
bring food for the fugitives.
1.BARNES, “Of the land of Tema - Tema was one of the sons of Ishmael Gen_25:15, and
is supposed to have populated the city of Thema in Arabia Deserta. The word denotes hero one
of the tribes of Ishmael, or of the Arabians. Job speaks Job_6:19 of ‘the troops of Tema,’ and
Jeremiah Jer_25:23 connects Tema and Dedan together. Jerome and Eusebius say that the
village of Theman (Θαιµάν Thaiman) existed in their time. It was, according to Jerome, five, and
according to Eusebius, fifteen miles from Petra, and was then occupied as a Roman garrison
(Onomas Urb. et Locor). Ptolemy speaks of a city called Themme (Θαιµάν Themme) in Arabia

85. Deserta. This city lies, according to D’Anville, in longitude 57 degrees East, and in latitude 27
degrees North. According to Seetsen, it is on the road usually pursued by caravans from Mecca
to Damascus. Lowth renders it ‘The southern country,’ but without authority. The Septuagint
renders it, Θαιµάν Thaiman - ‘Thaiman.’
Brought water - Margin, ‘Bring ye.’ This might be rendered in the imperative, but the
connection seems rather to require that it be read as a declaration that they did so. To bring
water to the thirsty was an act of hospitality, and especially in eastern countries, where water
was so scarce, and where it was of so much consequence to the traveler in the burning sands and
deserts. The idea is, that the inhabitants of the land would be oppressed and pursued by an
enemy; and that the Arabians, referred to by the prophet Isa_21:13, would be driven from their
homes; and be dependent on others; that they would wander through the vast deserts, deprived
of the necessaries of life; and that they would be dependent on the charity of the people of Tema
for the supply of their needs. The following illustration of this passage has been kindly furnished
me by the Rev. Eli Smith, missionary to Syria, showing that Isaiah, in mentioning “hospitality”
as one of the virtues of the inhabitants of Tema, drew from the life. ‘Even in Hebrew prophecy
hospitality is distinctly recognized as a trait in the Arab character. Isaiah says, “the inhabitants
of Tema,” etc. Tema is known as an oasis in the heart of Arabia, between Syria and Mecca. And
among the scraps of ante-Mahometan poetry that have reached us, is one by Samaciel, a prince
of this same Tema. In extolling the virtues of his tribe he says -
“No fire of ours was ever extinguished at night without a guest, and of our
guests never did one disparage us.”
‘In the passage quoted from Isaiah, it is to the thirsty and hungry in flight, that the inhabitants
of Tema are represented as bringing water and bread, as if hastening to afford them protection.
The extent to which this protection is sometimes carried, is finely illustrated by a traditionary
anecdote in the life of Samaciel, the prince and poet of Tema just mentioned. In some feud
among the tribes in his neighborhood, a prince (Amru el-Keis) fled to Samaciel, left with him his
treasures, and was conducted by him beyond the reach of his enemies. They assembled their
forces, and marched upon Tema. On their way Samaciel’s son fell into their hands. Presenting
the young man before his castle, they proposed to the father the dreadful alternative, of
delivering up to them what his guest had left, or seeing his son massacred. Samaciel’s sense of
honor dictated the reply -
“He honored me, and I’ll honor him ... Treachery is a chain to the neck that
never wears out.” So he defended the rights of his guest, and his son was slain.’
They prevented - Our word ‘prevent’ usually means at present, to hinder, to obstruct. But in
the Scriptures, and in the Old English sense of the word, it means to anticipate, to go before.
That is the sense of the word ‫קדמוּ‬ qide
mu here. They “anticipated” their needs by bread; that is,
they supplied them. This was an ancient and an honorable rite of hospitality. Thus Melchizedek
Gen_14:17-18 is said to have come out and met Abraham, when returning victorious from the
slaughter of Chedorlaomer, with bread and wine.
Him that fled - The inhabitant of the land of Arabia that fled before the invader, perhaps the
inhabitants of Kedar Isa_21:16, or of some other part of Arabia. It is not meant that the “whole”
land of Arabia would be desolate, but that the invasion would come upon certain parts of it; and
the inhabitants of other portions - as of Tema - would supply the needs of the fugitives.

86. 2. CLARKE, “The land of Tema “The southern country” - Θαιµαν, Sept.; Austri, Vulg.
They read ‫תימן‬ teiman, which seems to be right; for probably the inhabitants of Tema might be
involved in the same calamity with their brethren and neighbors of Kedar, and not in a condition
to give them assistance, and to relieve them, in their flight before the enemy, with bread and
water. To bring forth bread and water is an instance of common humanity in such cases of
distress; especially in those desert countries in which the common necessaries of life, more
particularly water, are not easily to be met with or procured. Moses forbids the Ammonite and
Moabite to be admitted into the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation. One reason
which he gives for this reprobation is their omission of the common offices of humanity towards
the Israelites; “because they met them not with bread and water in the way, when they came
forth out of Egypt,” Deu_23:4.
3. GILL, “The inhabitants of the land of Tema,.... This country had its name from Tema,
one of the sons of Ishmael, Gen_25:15. The Targum calls it the land of the south, as if it was
Teman. These people were Arabians, and are here said to assist their countrymen, the
Dedanites, in distress:
brought water to him that was thirsty; as travellers are wont to be, especially in a desert
land, and when fleeing from an enemy; in which circumstances the travelling companies of
Dedanim now were:
they prevented with their bread him that fled; gave it to him, being hungry and
necessitous, without asking for it. Now all this seems to show what calamities should come upon
the inhabitants of some parts of Arabia; that they should lodge in a forest, be hungry and thirsty,
and flee before their enemy, as follows.
4. PULPIT, “The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water; rather, bring? water, O
inhabitants. Tema is reasonably identified with the modern Taima, a village of the Hauran, on the caravan
route between Palmyra and Peira. Its inhabitants are exhorted to bring water to the thirsty Dedanites, as
they pass along this route with their "travelling companies." (For other mentions of Tome, which must not
be confounded with Teman, see Job_6:19 and Jer_25:23.) They prevented with their bread him that
fled. Several commentators take this clause as imperative, like the last, and render, "With his bread meet
the fugitive;" but the existing Hebrew text seems to require the rendering of the Authorized Version. Dr.
Kay understands the prophet to mean that the men of Tema did not need exhortation; already of their
own accord had they given of their bread to the fugitive Dedanites.
5. JAMISON, “Tema — a kindred tribe: an oasis in that region (Jer_25:23). The Temeans
give water to the faint and thirsting Dedanites; the greatest act of hospitality in the burning
lands of the East, where water is so scarce.
prevented — that is, anticipated the wants of the fugitive Dedanites by supplying bread
(Gen_14:18).
their bread — rather, “his (the fugitive’s) bread”; the bread due to him, necessary for his
support; so “thy grave” (Isa_14:19), [Maurer].

87. 6. BI, “Arabia
The term “Arabia,” in the Old Testament, is not used in such a wide sense as in modern English,
and denotes merely a particular, tribe, having its home in the northern part of what is now
known as the Arabian peninsula, and mentioned in Eze_27:20-21, by the side of Dedan and
Kedar as engaged in commerce with Tyre.
Isaiah lines a tide of invasion about to overflow the region inhabited by these tribes, and
addresses the Dedanite caravans, warning them that they will have to turn aside from their
customary routes and seek concealment in the forest. In verse 14, he sees in imagination the
natives of Tema bringing food and water, to the fugitive traders. Tema was the name of a tribe
settled in the same neighbourhood, about 250 miles S.E. of Edom, on the route between
Damascus and Mecca, in a locality in which some interesting inscriptions have recently been
discovered. Within a year, the prophet concludes, the glory of the wealthy pastoral (Isa_9:7)
tribe of Kedar—here used so as to include by implication its less influential neighbours—will be
past, and of its warriors only an insignificant remnant will survive. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
The Bedawin
These were the carriers of the world’s commerce in the days before railways were introduced. As
country after, country was feeling the consequences of the advance of Nineveh, these
merchantmen would be the first to hear the news wire rearm, and in many cases to give timely
assistance. But these weakly defended caravans would not stand long before the armies of
Sargon. (B. Blake, B. D.)
7.CALVIN, “14.To meet the thirsty bring waters. (72) He heightens the description of that trembling with
which the Lord had determined to strike the Arabians in such a manner that they thought of nothing but
flight, and did not take time even to collect those things which were necessary for the journey. Isaiah
therefore declares that the Arabians will come into the country of Dedanim, empty and destitute of all
things, and that they will not be provided with any food. On this account he exhorts the inhabitants to go
out and meet them with bread and water, because otherwise they will faint through the want of the
necessaries of life.
I am aware that this passage is explained differently by some commentators, who think that the Prophet
mocks at the Arabians, who had been cruel and barbarous towards the Jews; as if he had said, “ gladly
you would now bring water to the thirsty!” But that exposition is too constrained. And yet I do not deny that
they received the reward of their cruelty, when they ran hither and thither in a state of hunger. But the
meaning which I have given is twofold, (73) that the Arabians in their flight will be so wretched that they
will not even have the necessary supply of water, and they will therefore faint with thirst, if they do not

88. quickly receive assistance; and he intimates that there will be a scarcity both of food and of drink. He calls
on the neighbors to render assistance; not to exhort them to do their duty, but to state the fact more
clearly; and he enjoins them to give their bread to them, not because it is deserved, but because they are
suffering extreme want. Yet as it is founded on the common law of nature and humanity, the Prophet
indirectly insinuates that the hungry and thirsty are defrauded of their bread, when food is denied to
them.
15
They flee from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
1.BARNES, “For they fled - The inhabitants of one part of the land.
The grievousness of war - Hebrew, ‫כבד‬ kobed - “the weight, the heaviness, the oppression”
of war; probably from the calamities that would result from the march of the Assyrian through
their land, either on his way to Judea or to Egypt.
2.GILL, “For they fled from the swords,.... Of their enemy, whom they could not
withstand; perhaps the Assyrian army:
from the drawn sword; just ready to be sheathed in them:
and from the bent bow; just going to let the arrow fly at them:
and from the grievousness of war: too heavy for them to bear.
3. HENRY, “A destroying army shall be brought upon them, with a sword, with a drawn
sword, with a bow ready bent, and with all the grievousness of war, Isa_21:15. It is probable
that the king of Assyria, in some of the marches of his formidable and victorious army, took
Arabia in his way, and, meeting with little resistance, made an easy prey of them. The
consideration of the grievousness of war should make us thankful for the blessings of peace.
5. JAMISON, “they — the fugitive Dedanites and other Arabs.

89. 6. PULPIT, “For they fled; rather, they have fled. The Dedanites have been attacked with sword and
bow, and have fled from their assailants. Probably the enemy was Assyria, but no trace of the war has
been found on the Assyrian monuments.
6B. PULPIT, “The grievousness of war.
The grievousness of war is especially felt in defeat. Kedar was the most turbulent of the sons of Ishmael
(Gen_25:13). "His hand" like that of his father, "was against every man, and every man's hand against
him" (Gen_16:12). So long as his "mighty men," armed with their formidable bows, could ravage and
plunder the inhabitants of more peaceable districts at their pleasure, and carry off plenty of spoil to their
fastnesses in the rocky parts of the desert (Isa_42:11), the "grievousness of war" was not felt. Rather,
"the inhabitants of the rock sang, and shouted from the top of the mountain" (Isa_42:11). But at length the
tide of battle had turned. Kedar was itself attacked, invaded, plundered. The "drawn sword" and the "bent
bow" of the men of Asshur were seen in the recesses of Arabia itself, and the assailants, becoming the
assailed, discovered, apparently to their surprise, that war was a "grievous" thing. Does not history
"repeat itself?" Have we not heard in our own day aggressive nations, that have carried the flames of war
over half Europe or half Asia, complain bitterly, when their turn to be attacked came, of the "grievousness"
of invasion? The Greeks said, "To suffer that which one has done, is strictest, straitest right;" but this is
not often distinctly perceived by the sufferers. It is only "God's ways" that are "equal;" man's are apt
always to be "unequal" (Eze_18:25).
7. CALVIN, “15.For they flee from the face of the swords. (74) He means that the calamity will be
dreadful, and that the Arabians will have good reason for betaking themselves to flight, because the
enemies will pursue them with arms and with swords, so that they will have no other way of providing for
their safety than by flight. The reason why he foretells this defeat is plain enough; for it was necessary
that the Jews should obtain early information of that which should happen long after, that they might learn
that the world is governed by the providence of God and not by chance, and likewise that they should be
taught by the example of others to behold God as the judge of all nations, wherever they turned their
eyes. We do not know, and history does not inform us, whether or not the Arabians were enemies of the
Jews. However that may be, it is certain that these things are spoken for the consolation of the godly, that
they may behold the justice of God towards all nations, and may acknowledge that his judgment-seat is at
Jerusalem, from which he will pronounce judgment on the whole world.

90. 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.
1.BARNES, “Within a year - What has been said before was figurative. Here the prophet
speaks without a metaphor, and fixes the time when this should be accomplished. It is not usual
for the prophets to designate the exact “time” of the fulfillment of their prophecies in this
manner.
According to the years of an hireling - Exactly; observing the precise time specified
Job_7:1. See the phrase explained on Isa_16:14.
All the glory - The beauty, pride, strength, wealth, etc.
Of Kedar - Kedar was a son of Ishmael Gen_25:15. He was the father of the Kedareneans or
“Cedrai,” mentioned by Pithy (“Nat. Hist.” v. 11). They dwelt in the neighborhood of the
Nabatheans, in Arabia Deserta. These people lived in tents, and were a wandering tribe, and it is
not possible to fix the precise place of their habitation. They resided, it is supposed, in the south
part of Arabia Deserts, and the north part of Arabia Petrea. The name ‘Kedar’ seems to be used
sometimes to denote Arabia in general, or Arabia Deserts particularly (see Psa_120:5; Son_1:5;
Isa_42:11; Isa_60:7; Jer_2:10; Jer_49:28; Eze_26:21).
Shall fail - Shall be consumed, destroyed (‫כלה‬ kalah).
2. GILL, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me,.... The prophet; which confirms what is
before said, as well as assures the accomplishment of what follows:
within a year, according to the years of an hireling; that is, exactly and precisely, as soon
as ever the year is come to an end; for the hireling, when his year is up, instantly demands
dismissal from his service, or his wages, or both. The time is to be reckoned from the delivery of
this prophecy; and so the calamity predicted was brought upon them by the Assyrians, perhaps
under Sennacherib, when he invaded the cities of Judah, and might take Arabia in his way; less
time is allowed than was the Moabites, who suffered by the same hand; see Isa_16:14,
and all the glory of Kedar shall fail; these were another sort of Arabians, as the Targum
calls them: they descended from Kedar, a son of Ishmael, Gen_25:13 their "glory" were their
multitude, their riches and substance, and which chiefly lay in their flocks; for the sake of which
they moved from place to place for pasture, and dwelled in tents, which they carried with them,
and pitched where it was most convenient for them; hence they were called Scenites; see
Psa_120:5.
3. HENRY, “All that which is the glory of Kedar shall vanish away and fail. Did they glory in
their numerous herds and flocks? They shall all be driven away by the enemy. It seems they were
famous about other nations for the use of the bow in battle; but their archers, instead of foiling

91. the enemy, shall fall themselves; and the residue of their number, when they are reduced to a
small number, shall be diminished (Isa_21:17); their mighty able-bodied men, and men of spirit
too, shall become very few; for they, being most forward in the defence of their country, were
most exposed, and fell first, either by the enemies' sword or into the enemies' hand. Note,
Neither the skill of archers (though they be ever so good marksmen) nor the courage of mighty
men can protect a people from the judgments of God, when they come with commission; they
rather expose the undertakers. That is poor glory which will thus quickly come to nothing.
V. All this shall be done in a little time: “Within one year according to the years of a hireling
(within one year precisely reckoned) this judgment shall come upon Kedar.” If this fixing of the
time be of no great use to us now (because we find not either when the prophecy was delivered
or when it was accomplished), yet it might be of great use to the Arabians then, to awaken them
to repentance, that, like the men of Nineveh, they might prevent the judgment when they were
thus told it was just at the door. Or, when it begins to be fulfilled, the business shall be done, be
begun and ended in one year's time. God, when he please, can do a great work in a little time.
5. JAMISON, “years of ... hireling — (See on Isa_16:14).
Kedar — a wandering tribe (Psa_120:5). North of Arabia-Petraea, and south of Arabia-
Deserta; put for Arabia in general.
6. K&D, “Thus does the approaching fate of Arabia present itself in picture before the
prophet's eye, whilst it is more distinctly revealed in Isa_21:16, Isa_21:17 : “For thus hath the
Lord spoken to me, Within a year, as the years of a hired labourer, it is over with all the glory
of Kedar. And the remnant of the number of bows of heroes of the Kedarenes will be small: for
Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken.” The name Kedar is here the collective name of the
Arabic tribes generally. In the stricter sense, Kedar, like Nebaioth, which is associated with it, as
a nomadic tribe of Ishmaelites, which wandered as far as the Elanitic Gulf. Within the space of a
year, measured as exactly as is generally the case where employers and labourers are concerned,
Kedar's freedom, military strength, numbers, and wealth (all these together constituting its
glory), would all have disappeared. Nothing but a small remnant would be left of the heroic sons
of Kedar and their bows. They are numbered here by their bows (in distinction from the
numbering by heads), showing that the righting men are referred to - a mode of numbering
which is customary among the Indian tribes of America, for example.
(Note: See the work of V. Martius on the Indians of Brazil, i. 395, 411, etc.)
The noun she'ar (remnant) is followed by five genitives here (just as peri is by four in Isa_10:12);
and the predicate ‫טוּ‬ ָ‫ע‬ ְ‫מ‬ִ‫י‬ is in the plural because of the copiousness of the subject. The period of
the fulfilment of the prophecy keeps us still within the Assyrian era. In Herodotus (2, 141),
Sennacherib is actually called “king of Arabians and Assyrians” (compare Josephus, Ant. x. 1, 4);
and both Sargon and Sennacherib, in their annalistic inscriptions, take credit to themselves for
the subjugation of Arabian tribes. But in the Chaldean era Jeremiah predicted the same things
against Kedar (chapter 49) as against Edom; and Jer_49:30-31 was evidently written with a
retrospective allusion to this oracle of Isaiah. When the period fixed by Isaiah for the fulfilment
arrived, a second period grew out of it, and one still more remote, inasmuch as a second empire,
viz., the Chaldean, grew out of the Assyrian, and inaugurated a second period of judgment for

92. the nations. After a short glimmer of morning, the night set in a second time upon Edom, and a
second time upon Arabia.
7.PULPIT, “Within a year, according to the years of an hireling (see the comment on Isa_16:14). All
the glory of Kedar shall fail. "Kedar" is a name of greater note than either Dedan or Tome. It seems to
be used here as inclusive of Dedan, perhaps as a designation of the northern Arabians generally. The
people of Kedar, like those of Dedan, carried on trade with Tyro (Eze_27:21). They dwelt partly in tents
(Psa_120:5; Jer_49:29), partly in villages (Isa_42:11), and were rich in flocks and herds and in camels.
Though not mentioned in the inscriptions of Sargon, Sennacherib, or Esarhaddon, the contemporaries of
Isaiah, they hold a prominent place in those of Esarhaddon's son and successor, Asshurbanipal, with
whom they carried on a war of some considerable duration in conjunction with the Nabathaeans.
8. CALVIN, “16.For thus hath the Lord said to me. He adds that this defeat of the Arabians, of which
he prophesied, is close at hand; which tended greatly to comfort the godly. We are naturally fiery, and do
not willingly allow the object of our desire to be delayed; and the Lord takes into account our weakness in
this respect, when he says that he hastens his work. He therefore declares that he prophesies of things
which shall happen, not after many ages, but immediately, that the Jews may bear more patiently their
afflictions, from which they know that they will be delivered in a short time.
Yet a year according to the years of the hireling. Of the metaphor of “ year of the hireling,” which he adds
for the purpose of stating the matter more fully, we have already spoken. (75) It means that the time will
not be delayed. The same comparison is used by heathen authors, where they intend to describe a day
appointed and desired; as appears from that passage in Horace, “ day appears long to those who must
render an account of their work.” (76)
17
The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar,
will be few.” The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
1.BARNES, “And the residue of the number - That is, those who shall be left in the
invasion. Or perhaps it may be read, ‘There shall be a renmant of the number of bowmen; the
mighty people of Kedar shall be diminished.’

93. Of archers - Hebrew, ‘Of the bow;’ that is, of those who use bows in war. The bow was the
common instrument in hunting and in war among the ancients.
Shall be diminished - Hebrew, ‘Shall be made small;’ they shall be reduced to a very small
number. We cannot indeed determine the precise historical event to which this refers, but the
whole connection and circumstances seem to make it probable that it referred to the invasion by
the Assyrian when he went up against Judah, or when he was on his way to Egypt.
2. CLARKE, “The archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar “The mighty
bowmen of the sons of Kedar” - Sagittariorum fortium, Vulg.; transposing the two words,
and reading ‫גבורי‬‫קשה‬ gibborey kesheth; which seems to be right. The strong men of the bow, the
most excellent archers.
For the Lord - hath spoken it “For Jehovah hath spoken it” - The prophetic Carmina
of Marcius, foretelling the battle of Cannae, lib. 25:12, conclude with the same kind of solemn
form: Nam mihi ita Jupiter fatus est; “Thus hath Jupiter spoken to me.” Observe that the word
‫נאם‬ naam, to pronounce, to declare, is the solemn word appropriated to the delivering of
prophecies: “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith (‫נאם‬ naam, pronounceth) Jehovah, who
use their tongues, ‫וינאמו‬‫נאם‬ vaiyinamu neum, and solemnly pronounce, He hath pronounced it;”
Jer_23:31. What God says shall most assuredly come to pass; he cannot be deceived.
3. GILL, “And the residue of the number of archers,.... Or of "bow" (g), for "bows": that
is, of men that use the bow, or are expert at it, as the Kedarenes were, both for taking wild
beasts, and fighting with men, in which they followed their original ancestor Ishmael,
Gen_21:20 the number of these archers it seems had been great, but would be lessened by the
calamity threatened; and those that would escape that, and be preserved from it, should be
lessened still, as follows:
the mighty men of the children of Kedar shall be diminished; their military men, the
most expert at the use of the bow, and the most valiant and courageous; the few of those that
were left, and did not fall by the sword of the Assyrians, should gradually diminish, and be fewer
and fewer:
for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it; who cannot lie, nor will repent, and whose word
never fails, what he has said he will do, nor will he alter the thing that is gone out of his lips; and
he is spoken of as the God of Israel, because it was to the Israelites that this was said, and for
their sakes; either because these Arabians some way or other were injurious to them, or they had
put some confidence in them. The Targum is,
"because by the word of the Lord God of Israel it is so decreed.''
4. HENRY, “It is all ratified by the truth of God (Isa_21:16); “Thus hath the Lord said to me;
you may take my word for it that it is his word;” and we may be sure no word of his shall fall to
the ground. And again (Isa_21:17): The Lord God of Israel hath spoken it, as the God of Israel,

94. in pursuance of his gracious designs concerning them; and we may be sure the strength of Israel
will not lie.
5. JAMISON, “residue ... diminished — The remnant of Arab warriors, famous in the bow,
left after the invasion, shall be small.
6. CALVIN, “17.And the residue of the archers. He threatens that this slaughter will not be the end of
their evils, because if there be any residue in Arabia, they will gradually decrease; as if he had said, “
Lord will not merely impoverish the Arabians by a single battle, but will pursue to the very utmost, till all
hope of relief is taken away, and they are utterly exterminated.” Such is the vengeance which he
executes against the ungodly, while he moderates the punishment which he inflicts on the godly, that they
may not be entirely destroyed.
Of the mighty men. He means warlike men and those who were fit to carry arms, and says, that although
they escaped that slaughter, still they will be cut off at their own time. He formerly threatened similar
chastisements against the Jews, but always accompanied by a promise which was fitted to alleviate their
grief or at least to guard them against despair. It frequently happens that the children of God are afflicted
as severely as the reprobate, or even with greater severity; but the hope of favor which is held out
distinguishes them from the whole world. Again, when we learn that God visits on the wicked deadly
vengeance, this is no reason why we should be immoderately grieved even at the heaviest punishments;
but, on the contrary, we ought to draw from it this consolation, that he chastises them gently, and “ not
give them over to death.” (Psa_118:18.)
The God of Israel hath spoken it. The Prophet shews, as we have frequently remarked on former
occasions, that we ought not only to acknowledge that these things happened by divine appointment, but
that they were appointed by that God whom Israel adores. All men are sometimes constrained to rise to
the acknowledgment of God, though they are disposed to believe in chance, because the thought that
there is a God in heaven comes into their minds, whether they will or not, and that both in prosperity and
in adversity; but then they imagine a Deity according to their own fancy, either in heaven or on earth.
Since therefore irreligious men idly and foolishly imagine a God according to their own pleasure, the
Prophet directs the Jews to that God whom they adore, that they may know the distinguished privilege
which they enjoy in being placed under his guardianship and protection. Nor is it enough that we adore
some God as governor of the world, but we must acknowledge the true God, who revealed himself to the
fathers, and hath manifested himself to us in Christ. And this ought to be earnestly maintained, in

95. opposition to the profane thoughts of many persons who contrive some strange and confused notion of a
Deity, because they dare not openly deny God.
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
b. Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
New International Version (NIV)
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