Isaiah 21:9

9 Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs." Then he said, "Babylon has fallen! It has fallen! All the idols they worship lie 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Isaiah 21:9 In-Context

7 He will see chariots, pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, and riders on camels. Let him watch carefully, very carefully.

8 The watchman called, "Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post.

9 Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs." Then he said, "Babylon has fallen! It has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground."

10 You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel.

11 This is the divine revelation about Dumah. Someone is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, how much of the night is left? Watchman, how much of the night is left?"