Isaiah 21:9 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 21:9

Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.

KJV

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.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

And, behold ... a chariot of men - This place shows that the word ‘chariot’ (רכב rekeb) may denote something else than a wagon or carriage, as a chariot drawn by men cannot be intended. The sense can be expressed, perhaps, by the word “riding,” ‘I see a riding of men approach;’ that is, I see “cavalry” drawing near, or men riding and hastening to the battle. With a couple of horsemen - The word ‘with’ is not in the Hebrew.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Notice is given to the people of God, who were then captives in Babylon, that this prophecy of the downfall of Babylon was particularly intended for their comfort and encouragement, and they might depend upon it that it should be accomplished in due season,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But HORSLEY, "The man drawn in a car with a pair of riders." The first half of this verse describes what the watchman sees; the second half, what the watchman says, in consequence of what he sees. In the interval between Isa 21:7 and Isa 21:9, the overthrow of Babylon by the horsemen, or man in the car, is accomplished.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

17 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְהִנֵּה־	ve.hi.neh-	and there!	H2009 →
זֶ֥ה	zeh	this	H2088 →
בָא֙	va'	[is] coming	H935 →
רֶ֣כֶב	Re.khev	a rider	H7393 →
אִ֔ישׁ	'Ish	a man	H376 →
צֶ֖מֶד	Tze.med	a pair of	H6776 →
פָּֽרָשִׁ֑ים	pa.ra.Shim	horses	H6571 →
וַיַּ֣עַן	vai.Ya.'an	and he answered	H6030 →
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
נָפְלָ֤ה	na.fe.Lah	it has fallen	H5307 →
נָֽפְלָה֙	na.fe.Lah	it has fallen	H5307 →
בָּבֶ֔ל	ba.Vel	Babylon	H894 →
וְכָל־	ve.khol	and all	H3605 →
פְּסִילֵ֥י	pe.si.Lei	[the] images of	H6456 →
אֱלֹהֶ֖יהָ	'e.lo.Hei.ha	gods its	H430 →
שִׁבַּ֥ר	shi.Bar	someone has broken	H7665 →
לָאָֽרֶץ׃	la.'A.retz	to the ground	H776 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
leads to
- Revelation 14:8
  Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:8
  Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
- Jeremiah 51:37
  Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 50:39–40
  So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
Through
Jeremiah 51:44
I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.
leads to
- Jeremiah 50:2
  “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
leads to
- Jeremiah 51:7–8
  Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.
- Revelation 18:2–3
  And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
Through
Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
leads to
- Daniel 4:30
  the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Isaiah 21

The Watchman

Open the study →

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 21 →The featured study →

PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.

Continue: Isaiah 21 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Isaiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Isaiah