The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
Parallel translations
- WEB The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.
- KJV The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
- BSB This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
- NASB The pronouncement concerning the wilderness of the sea: As windstorms in the Negev come in turns, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
- NLT This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea: Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An oracle against Babylon, pictured as a desert storm sweeping in from a terrible land. It matters because it announces the certain fall of a mighty power.
Overview
The 'wilderness of the sea' is widely understood as a reference to Babylon, whose flat lands near the great waters fit the imagery. The onrushing whirlwinds depict the sudden, overwhelming approach of judgment from a fearsome quarter. Isaiah's burden announces that even Babylon's might will be broken. It sets the tone for a vision the prophet finds deeply distressing to bear.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 14:23“I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Isa 13:1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:
- Jer 51:42The sea has come up on Babylon. She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
- Zech 9:14Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.
- Isa 13:20–22It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
- Isa 17:1The burden of Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.
- Job 37:9Out of its room comes the storm, and cold out of the north.
- Dan 11:40At the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.
- Isa 13:4–5The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle.
- Ezek 31:12Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
- Ezek 30:11He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
- Isa 13:17–18Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 21:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.