Isaiah 21

Watchman, What of the Night?

A watchman sees Babylon fall, a voice from Edom calls out in the dark, and desert caravans hide from the sword.

Visions of events from the late 700s to 539 BC Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Background

Chapter 21 contains three short, cryptic oracles, each with a riddle-like title: - “The desert of the sea” (verses 1–10) turns out to be Babylon.

Chapter 21 contains three short, cryptic oracles, each with a riddle-like title:

“The desert of the sea” (verses 1–10) turns out to be Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was a flat land of marshes and lagoons near the Persian Gulf, which the Assyrians called “the Sealand.”
“Dumah” (verses 11–12) means “silence.” It is probably a wordplay on Edom, since the speaker calls from Seir, Edom’s mountain.
“Arabia” (verses 13–17) concerns desert tribes: Dedan, Tema, and Kedar.

Unlike most oracles, the first one is intensely personal. Isaiah describes how the vision affected him physically. And the whole chapter is full of watching: watchmen, watchtowers, questions shouted into the night.

The thread through the chapter

The unifying image of Isaiah 21 is the watchman: someone who stands on the wall through the long night, peering into the dark, waiting to see what is coming.

The unifying image of Isaiah 21 is the watchman: someone who stands on the wall through the long night, peering into the dark, waiting to see what is coming.

In the first oracle, the Lord tells Isaiah to post a watchman (verse 6). The watchman stands “continually… in the daytime” and “whole nights” (verse 8). At last he sees riders approaching and cries out the news: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen” (verse 9). What looked invincible is gone, and its idols lie shattered on the ground.

In the second oracle, someone calls to the watchman from Edom, out of the darkness: “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” (verse 11). How much longer until morning? The answer is honest and haunting: “The morning cometh, and also the night.” Deliverance is coming, and so is more darkness. Then, an invitation: “if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come” (verse 12).

In the third oracle, desert caravans hide from the sword, and kind neighbors bring water and bread to refugees (verses 13–15).

Taken together, the chapter describes what it is like to live in a world of shifting empires and long nights. The prophet’s role is to watch, to tell the truth about what he sees, and to keep inviting people to return, come. Latter-day Saints know that role well. The Lord has set “watchmen upon the walls” in our day too (Isa. 62:6; D&C 101:44–54).

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–10

Babylon is fallen

In plain words

This is the oracle about the Desert by the Sea. Like whirlwinds sweeping through the south, an invader comes from the desert, from a terrifying land. I have been shown a harsh vision: the traitor betrays, the destroyer destroys. Attack, Elam! Besiege, Media! I will end all the groaning Babylon caused. The vision fills me with anguish, like a woman in labor. I am staggered by what I hear and terrified by what I see. My heart pounds; I shake with fear. The twilight I longed for has become a nightmare. They set the table, spread the rugs, and eat and drink. Get up, officers, and oil your shields! The Lord told me: “Go, post a watchman and have him report what he sees.” When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys and camels, let him watch carefully. Then the watchman cried like a lion: “My lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. Look! Here come riders, horsemen in pairs.” Then he called out: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!” My people, threshed and crushed on the threshing floor, I have told you what I heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.

1 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.

History & Setting #

The desert by the sea

The title is a riddle, and verse 9 solves it: this is Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia near the Persian Gulf was a flat region of marshes, lagoons, and desert; the Assyrians called…

The title is a riddle, and verse 9 solves it: this is Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia near the Persian Gulf was a flat region of marshes, lagoons, and desert; the Assyrians called the area near the Gulf mat tamti, “the Sealand.” Babylon sat on the Euphrates in that great alluvial plain.

Isaiah may have given the oracle a cryptic title on purpose. In Isaiah’s day Babylon repeatedly rebelled against Assyria (under Merodach-baladan). Many in Judah hoped Babylon would be a useful ally (Isa. 39:1–2). Isaiah saw that Babylon would fall too.

2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

Liken It #

A prophet shaken by his own vision

Verses 3–4 are remarkably personal. Isaiah describes his body reacting to the vision: cramping pain like labor, dizziness, a pounding heart, terror.

Verses 3–4 are remarkably personal. Isaiah describes his body reacting to the vision: cramping pain like labor, dizziness, a pounding heart, terror. “The night of my pleasure,” the cool of evening he usually enjoyed, has become a time of dread.

Revelation is not always comfortable. Daniel was sick for days after one vision (Dan. 8:27). After seeing the destruction of his people in vision, Nephi said his afflictions were “great above all” (1 Ne. 15:4–5). Prophets feel the weight of what they’re shown. That should make us more grateful, and more attentive, when they warn us.

4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

History & Setting #

Feasting as the enemy arrives

Verse 5 is a jarring snapshot: people are setting tables and eating and drinking, and suddenly the cry goes up, “arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield!”

Verse 5 is a jarring snapshot: people are setting tables and eating and drinking, and suddenly the cry goes up, “arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield!” Leather shields were oiled before battle so they wouldn’t crack and so blows would glance off.

Daniel records exactly this scene on the night Babylon fell. King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, drinking from the sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem’s temple, while the handwriting appeared on the wall. “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain” (Dan. 5:1–30). Isaiah saw the feast from a distance of nearly two centuries.

6 For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

Restoration Insight #

The watchman

A watchman’s whole job was to stay awake, look carefully, and report exactly what he saw, whether good news or bad.

A watchman’s whole job was to stay awake, look carefully, and report exactly what he saw, whether good news or bad. Isaiah’s watchman is tireless: “I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights” (verse 8).

The Lord told Ezekiel, “I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel” (Ezek. 3:17; Ezek. 33:1–9), and warned that a watchman who sees danger and says nothing is responsible for those lost. In the latter days the Lord gave a parable about a nobleman’s vineyard whose servants neglected to build the watchtower and set the watchman, so the enemy broke in (D&C 101:43–62). Prophets are watchmen on the tower, and we are wise to listen when they cry out.

7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:

8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:

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.

Restoration Insight #

“Babylon is fallen, is fallen”

This cry echoes across scripture. John heard an angel proclaim, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city” (Rev. 14:8; Rev. 18:2).

This cry echoes across scripture. John heard an angel proclaim, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city” (Rev. 14:8; Rev. 18:2). In modern revelation, the Lord says that an angel will one day sound his trump, saying of the great church of the devil, “she is fallen who made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; she is fallen, is fallen!” (D&C 88:105).

Isaiah adds a significant detail: “all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.” Babylon’s fall exposes its gods as powerless. That theme will become central in Isa. 46:1–2, where Babylon’s idols Bel and Nebo are carted off like baggage.

10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Verses 11–12

Watchman, what of the night?

In plain words

This is the oracle about Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir: “Watchman, how much of the night is left? Watchman, how much longer?” The watchman answers: “Morning is coming, but night is coming too. If you want to ask, then ask. Come back again.”

11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Liken It #

“Watchman, what of the night?”

This is one of the most haunting lines in Isaiah. A voice calls from Seir, Edom’s mountain, in the dark: How much of the night is left?

This is one of the most haunting lines in Isaiah. A voice calls from Seir, Edom’s mountain, in the dark: How much of the night is left? How long until morning? The question is repeated, as though the person has been waiting a long time.

The watchman’s reply is honest: “The morning cometh, and also the night.” Relief is coming, but so is more darkness. He doesn’t offer false comfort. Then he adds an invitation: “if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.” The word “return” (shuv) is the Hebrew word for repentance.

Many of us have asked the Lord, How much longer? The answer may not be a date. It is often an invitation to keep asking, and to return.

12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.

Verses 13–17

Refugees in the desert

In plain words

This is the oracle about Arabia. You caravans of Dedanites, you will camp among the desert thickets. People of Tema, bring water to the thirsty; meet the fugitives with bread. They are running from the sword, from the drawn sword, the bent bow, and the heat of battle. The Lord told me: “Within one year, counted exactly as a hired worker counts, all the splendor of Kedar will end. The few archers left, the warriors of Kedar, will be very few. The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.

14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.

Liken It #

Kindness in the desert

The third oracle concerns Arabian tribes. The trading caravans of Dedan have to leave the trade routes and hide in the scrub, fleeing war.

The third oracle concerns Arabian tribes. The trading caravans of Dedan have to leave the trade routes and hide in the scrub, fleeing war. The oasis town of Tema is urged to meet the refugees with water and bread. (“Prevented” in 1611 English means went out to meet.)

In the middle of an oracle of judgment is a small, bright picture of hospitality: meeting the thirsty and hungry with what they need. It is the gospel in miniature. “I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink” (Matt. 25:35). King Benjamin taught that we should “succor those that stand in need” and not turn away the beggar (Mosiah 4:16–19).

15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.

16 For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:

17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

Seeing Christ in Isaiah 21

The watchman on the tower, faithful day and night, reporting exactly what he sees, is an image of every true prophet, and ultimately of the Savior, the “faithful witness” (Rev. 1:5). He watches over His people through the night (Ps. 121:4).

And the answer to “Watchman, what of the night?” is finally Christ Himself, “the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16), whose coming ends the long night. Until then, His invitation is the watchman’s: “return, come.”

Liken it to yourself

Is there a question I keep asking the Lord in the dark, How much longer? How does the watchman’s answer in verse 12 speak to me?
The Lord has set watchmen on the towers in our day. What warnings have I heard recently from living prophets that I’m tempted to treat like the feasters in verse 5?
Who are the “thirsty” and the “fled” in my community (verses 14–15)? How can I meet them with water and bread?

Worth exploring next

The fall of Babylon. Read Isaiah 21:1–10 with Dan. 5 and Rev. 18. What details connect them?
Watchmen. Trace the watchman through Isa. 21:6–12, Isa. 52:8, Isa. 56:10, Isa. 62:6, Ezek. 33:1–9, and D&C 101:43–62.

Sources & further reading

“Babylon or Babel”, Bible Dictionary.
“Elam”, Bible Dictionary.
Chapter 14: A Voice of Warning to the Wicked (Isaiah 13–23), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986–1998.

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