Isaiah 21:6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

We had one burden of Babylon before (Isa. 13:1-22); here we have another prediction of its fall. God saw fit thus to possess his people with the belief of this event by line upon line, because Babylon sometimes pretended to be a friend to them (as Isa. 39:1), and God would hereby warn them not to trust to that friendship, and sometimes was really an enemy to them, and God would hereby warn them not to be afraid of that enmity. Babylon is marked for ruin; and all that believe God's prophets... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 21:6

For thus hath the Lord said unto me ,.... This is a confirmation of the above prophecy from the Lord himself, he showing to the prophet, in a visionary way, the ruin of Babylon, and the means and instruments of it: go, set a watchman ; not Habakkuk, as Jarchi; nor Urias, as the Septuagint; nor Jeremiah, as others; but himself, who, in a way of vision, represented a watchman on the walls of Babylon; and which was no way unsuitable to his character and office as a prophet: let him... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-9

The effect of God's judgments on the good and on the guilty. We gather, preliminarily: 1. That God uses not only elemental forces but human agents for the accomplishment of his righteous purposes. The winds and the waves are his ministers; but sometimes, as here, the whirlwinds he invokes are not the airs of heaven but the passions and agitations of human minds. 2. That the greatest human power is nothing in his mighty hand. Babylon was a "great power" indeed in human estimation at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

THE BURDEN OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA . This is a short and somewhat vague, but highly poetic, "burden of Babylon" It is probably an earlier prophecy than Isaiah 13:1-22 . and 14; and perhaps the first revelation made to Isaiah with respect to the fall of the great Chaldean capital. It exhibits no consciousness of the fact that Babylon is Judah's predestined destroyer, and is expressive rather of sympathy (verses 3, 4) than of triumph. Among recent critics, some suppose it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

Fall of Babylon. It is thought, by some recent commentators, that the description refers to the siege of Babylon in B.C. 710 by Sargon the Assyrian. The King of Babylon at that time was Merodach-Baladan, who sent letters and a present to Hezekiah when he was sick ( Isaiah 39:1 ; 2 Kings 20:12 ). The prophet may well grieve over the fall of Babylon, as likely to drag down with it weaker kingdoms. I. THE SOUND OF THE TEMPEST . What sublime poesy have the prophets found in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:6

Go, set a watchman . The event is not to be immediate, it is to be watched for; and Isaiah is not to watch himself, but to set the watchman. Moreover, the watchman waits long before he sees anything (verse 8). These unusual features of the narrative seem to mark a remote, not a near, accomplishment of the prophecy. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 21:6

Go, set a watchman - This was said to Isaiah in the vision. He represents himself as in Babylon, and as hearing God command him to set a watchman on the watch-tower who would announce what was to come to pass. All this is designed merely to bring the manner of the destruction of the city more vividly before the eye. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 21:6

Isaiah 21:6. For thus hath the Lord said unto me I speak only what God hath caused me to see and hear in a vision, the particulars whereof are related in the following verses. “The Holy Spirit, to make Isaiah, and, by him, the church, most certain of this memorable event, confirms the preceding revelation by an elegant emblem, offered to the prophet in vision. This emblem exhibits to us the prophet commanded by God to set a watchman, in this verse; and, in what follows, the consequence of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

Vision of the fall of Babylon (21:1-10)The next message of judgment concerns ‘the wilderness of the sea’ (RSV), which we soon learn is another name for mighty Babylon. The prophet has a vision of its destruction, which occurred in 539 BC when the combined forces of Persia (Elam) and Media conquered the city (21:1-2). (Daniel 5:1-31 records the story of Babylon’s capture while the king was feasting with his mighty men.)Although the prophet always longed for the destruction of Judah’s oppressors,... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Isaiah 21:6

"For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed."All are agreed that Isaiah himself was the "watchman" set to announce the coming destruction. Hailey believes this to be indicated by the expression, "O Lord" in Isaiah 21:8.[13]The mention of asses and camels as participating in the overthrow has been used to bolster the false... read more

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