Isaiah 21:9

9 Look, I see a man coming in a chariot with a team of horses." The man gives back the answer, "Babylon has fallen. It has fallen! All the statues of her gods lie broken 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 If he sees chariots and teams of horses, donkeys, or camels, he should pay very close attention."

8 Then the lookout called out, "My master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching; every night I have been on guard.

9 Look, I see a man coming in a chariot with a team of horses." The man gives back the answer, "Babylon has fallen. It has fallen! All the statues of her gods lie broken on the ground."

10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor. My people, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord All-Powerful, from the God of Israel.

11 This is a message about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Edom, "Watchman, how much of the night is left? Watchman, how much longer will it be night?"