Isaiah 21:9

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!’ ”

Isaiah 21:9 in Other Translations

9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

9 And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground."

9 Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”

9 I watched them come, the horses and wagons in battle formation. I heard them call out the war news in headlines: 'Babylon fallen! Fallen! And all its precious god-idols smashed to pieces on the ground.'"

9 Look, riders come- horsemen in pairs." And he answered, saying, "Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the idols of her gods have been 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 When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”

8 And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.

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!’ ”

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.

11 A prophecy against Dumah : Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”

Cross References

• 1. ver 7
• 2. S Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 47:1,5; S Revelation 14:8
• 3. Isaiah 47:11; Jeremiah 51:8; Daniel 5:30; Revelation 18:2
• 4. S Leviticus 26:30; Isaiah 46:1; Jeremiah 50:2; Jeremiah 51:44
• 5. S Isaiah 2:18