Isaiah 21:1

Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ¹  Like strong winds blowing in the south, ²  one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared.

An oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As windstorms in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.

This message came to me concerning the land of Babylonia: Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.

A Message concerning the desert at the sea: As tempests drive through the Negev Desert, coming out of the desert, that terror-filled place,

The word about the waste land. As storm-winds in the South go rushing through, it comes from the waste land, from the land greatly to be feared.

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ¹  Like strong winds blowing in the south, ²  one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared.

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

² tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).