Isaiah 21:9
in Isaiah 21Look, 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
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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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This verse in Isaiah 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
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.
This site's exposition
Fallen, fallen is Babylon
on Isaiah 21:9-10
The central cry is "Fallen, fallen is Babylon", which Revelation 14:8 and 18:2 take up of Babylon at the end. Delitzsch notes that the Hebrew perfect is used here of a future event, as in chapter 53. Verse 10 addresses Judah, "O my people, crushed on the threshing floor".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
[In the Gospels it is said,] "And he began to send them forth two by two." He sent them two by two that no one of them, being abandoned and alone, might fall into a denial, like Peter, or flee, like John. Human frailty quickly …
(Verse 9.) Behold, here comes a chariot rider, a man riding in a pair of horses, and he answered and said: Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and all the idols of its gods are shattered on the ground. LXX: And behold, here comes a chariot rider, and answering he said: Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and all its idols, and its manufactured things, are shattered on the ground. Behold, he says, he is coming, indicating that he has seen this, the Lord Savior coming seated on a chariot, and joining together two animals, a donkey and a camel. The Prophet responded and said: Babylon has fallen, the confusion of the whole world has fallen. And in my coming, in which I took on a human body, it will completely collapse at the end of the world. And all its sculptures have been crushed on the ground. For this reason, the seventy idols and artifacts have been interpreted, signifying the Scriptures of the heretics and the various errors of heresies, who are the fabricators of idols and worship what they have imagined in their own hearts.
(Verse 9.) Behold, here comes a rider of a chariot with horsemen, and he answered and said: Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all the carved images of its gods are shattered on the ground. Therefore, what did the lion call out? Behold, that man comes, the ascender of the chariot of the horsemen; no doubt, Cyrus is indicated. And he answered and said, the lion himself who had called out before: Babylon has fallen, fallen, and all the sculptures of its gods are shattered on the ground.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he declares what he has seen: behold this man comes, as above; third, the punishment of Babylon: Babylon is fallen: you are taken, O Babylon, and you were not aware of it (Jer 50:24). …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
Here cometh a chariot of men, etc. “A man, one of the two riders” - So the Syriac understands it, and Ephrem Syr.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
My threshed grain and the product of my threshing floor My hallowed grain, the stack of wheat which I was commanded by the Holy Spirit to rectify you and lead you on the straight path, like a man who threshes and winnows his grain on the threshing floor.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Kings who are skillful to wage war, shall come against her to plunder her, like a husbandman who is skillful to thrash the floor. The prophet said, The voice of the WORD of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, which I have heard, I have declared unto you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| זֶ֥ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בָא֙ | va' | [is] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| רֶ֣כֶב | rekhev | a rider | H7393 → | 119 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| צֶ֖מֶד | tzemed | a pair of | H6776 → | 15 times |
| פָּֽרָשִׁ֑ים | parashim | horses | H6571 → | 57 times |
| וַיַּ֣עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָפְלָ֤ה | nafelah | it has fallen | H5307 → | 435 times |
| נָֽפְלָה֙ | nafelah | it has fallen | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בָּבֶ֔ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| פְּסִילֵ֥י | pesilei | [the] images of | H6456 → | 23 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יהָ | ʾeloheiha | gods its | H430 → | 2601 times |
| שִׁבַּ֥ר | shibar | someone has broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| לָאָֽרֶץ׃ | laaretz | to the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
זֶ֥הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
בָא֙[is] coming
va'H935 →2568 times
רֶ֣כֶבa rider
rekhevH7393 →119 times
אִ֔ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
צֶ֖מֶדa pair of
tzemedH6776 →15 times
פָּֽרָשִׁ֑יםhorses
parashimH6571 →57 times
וַיַּ֣עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
נָפְלָ֤הit has fallen
nafelahH5307 →435 times
נָֽפְלָה֙it has fallen
nafelahH5307 →435 times
בָּבֶ֔לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
פְּסִילֵ֥י[the] images of
pesileiH6456 →23 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יהָgods its
ʾeloheihaH430 →2601 times
שִׁבַּ֥רsomeone has broken
shibarH7665 →147 times
לָאָֽרֶץ׃to the ground
laaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 18:2And 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…
it 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 separate 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.
- Revelation 14:8
Through
Jeremiah 51:44I 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.
it 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 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 50:2
Through
Revelation 14:8Then 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.”
it 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…
- Jeremiah 51:7–8
Through
Isaiah 13:19And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
it 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?”
- Daniel 4:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 170 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.