Isaiah 21:11

Here is a message about Dumah: ¹  Someone calls to me from Seir, ²  “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” ³ 

An oracle concerning Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?"

The oracle concerning Edom. One keeps calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, how far gone is the night? Watchman, how far gone is the night?"

This message came to me concerning Edom: Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, "Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?"

A Message concerning Edom: A voice calls to me from the Seir mountains in Edom, "Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last?"

The word about Edom. A voice comes to me from Seir, Watchman, how far gone is the night? how far gone is the night?

The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Sentinel, what of the night? Sentinel, what of the night?"

The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?"

Here is a message about Dumah: ¹  Someone calls to me from Seir, ²  “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” ³ 

¹ tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

² sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

³ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.