Isaiah 21:9

9 Here they come: charioteers, pairs of horsemen!" One spoke up and said, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground!"

Isaiah 21:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 21:9

And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men
Or "of a man" F24; 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": 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, ( Revelation 14:8 ) ( 18:2 ) . 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.
FOOTNOTES:

F24 (vya bkr) "currus viri", Pagninus, Montanus.

Isaiah 21:9 In-Context

7 When he sees chariots, pairs of horsemen, donkey riders, camel riders, he should listen carefully, carefully, very carefully."
8 Then the seer called out: "Upon a watchtower, Lord, I'm standing all day; and upon my observation post I'm stationed throughout the night.
9 Here they come: charioteers, pairs of horsemen!" One spoke up and said, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground!"
10 Oh, my downtrodden people, threshed on my threshing floor, what I heard from the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, I reported to you.
11 An oracle about Dumah. Someone is calling to me from Seir: "Guard, how long is the night? Guard, how long is the night?"
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