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In this chapter we have a prophecy of sad times coming, and heavy burdens, I. Upon Babylon, here called "the desert of the sea," that it should be destroyed by the Medes and Persians with a terrible destruction, which yet God's people should have advantage by (Isa 21:1-10). II. Upon Dumah, or Idumea (Isa 21:11, Isa 21:12). III. Upon Arabia, or Kedar, the desolation of which country was very near (Isa 21:13-17). These and other nations which the princes and people of Israel had so much to do with the prophets of Israel could not but have something to say to. Foreign affairs must be taken notice of as well as domestic ones, and news from abroad enquired after as well as news at home.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 21 This chapter contains prophecies against Babylon, Idumea, and Arabia. The prophecy against Babylon is called "the burden of the desert of the sea"; whose enemies are described by the fierce manner of their coming, and by the land from whence they came, Isa 21:1 which vision being declared to the prophet, is called a grievous one; what made it so was treachery among themselves; and the Medes and Persians are invited to besiege them, Isa 21:2 their terror and distress upon it are represented by the pains of a woman in travail, whom the prophet personates, Isa 21:3 and by the methods they took to defend themselves, to which they were alarmed, when in the greatest security and jollity, Isa 21:5 all which is illustrated by the vision of the watchman, who saw the Medes and Persians on the march, signified by a chariot and a couple of horsemen, who declares the fall of Babylon, and the destruction of its gods, Isa 21:6 which would issue in the good and comfort of the church and people of God, Isa 21:10 then follows the prophecy against Idumea, which consists of a question put to the watchman, and his answer to it; to which an exhortation is added, Isa 21:11 and the chapter concludes with another prophecy against Arabia: the calamities threatened are lodging in a forest, thirst, famine, and fleeing from the sword Isa 21:13, and the time is fixed when all this should be, by which their glory would fail, and the number of their archers and mighty men be lessened; for the confirmation of which the divine testimony is annexed, Isa 21:16.

For they fled from the swords,.... Of their enemy, whom they could not withstand; perhaps the Assyrian army: from the drawn sword; just ready to be sheathed in them: and from the bent bow; just going to let the arrow fly at them: and from the grievousness of war: too heavy for them to bear.

(Verse 13 onwards) Burden in Arabia. In the evening you will sleep in the thicket, in the paths of Dodanim. Bring water to the thirsty ones you encounter: you who live in the land of the South, offer bread to the ones fleeing. Because they have fled from the swords, from the menacing sword, from the drawn bow, from the severity of battle. For this is what the Lord says to me: In yet one year, like the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end, and the remaining number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken. To me, who was searching and pondering for a long time about what Arabia was, to which the prophetic speech is directed, whether it should be understood as the Moabites, or the Ammonites, and the Edomites, and all the other regions which are now called Arabia, an opportunity is given in this Vision that follows: All the glory of Cedar will be taken away, and the remaining number of mighty archers from the sons of Cedar will be diminished (Isaiah 21:16, 17), to be understood as the Ishmaelites. The book of Genesis teaches that Ishmael, Cedar, and the Hagarites, who are called Saracens by a perverse name, were born. They inhabit the whole wilderness, about whom I think even the poet says: 'And the wandering Barcaeans far and wide' (Virg. Aeneid. IV); and the aforementioned volume, 'He shall dwell against the face of all his brothers' (Gen. XVI, 12): because the very wide desert stretches from India to Mauritania, and the Atlantic Ocean, which I believe sounds the title of Jeremiah: 'Against Cedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck' (Jer. XLIX, 28); and immediately follows: 'Thus says the Lord, Arise, and ascend to Cedar, and devastate the sons of the East: their tents, and their flocks shall they take, their skins and all their vessels, and they shall take camels for themselves' (Ibid., 29); and again: 'For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has thought a thought against you, and has deliberated against you.' Arise and go up to a quiet and confidently dwelling nation, says the Lord: there are no gates, no bars for them: they dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil. And I will scatter them to every wind, them that are clipped on the sides: and I will bring destruction upon them from all their borders, says the Lord: and Achor shall be a habitation of dragons, desolate for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor son of man inhabit it. I have placed the entire prophecy and testimony of Jeremiah so that you may understand clearly what Cedar is. And consider how he specifically describes the people of the Ishmaelites, that they dwell in tents: they occupy the dwellings that night brings, they possess herds and flocks of camels: they do not have doors or bolts: for they do not live in cities, but dwell in the wilderness. And so, they were destroyed by the Babylonians, because they completely destroyed the city of Hazor, which was the metropolis of their people, even down to the ground: and yet, their herds of camels and flocks of sheep were captured, and their skins and tents were divided by lot: not all of their people were annihilated, for dromedary camels, numbering over a hundred thousand, are accustomed to flee through the vast wilderness in a single day. The glory of Cedar will be taken away, it says, and with the number of archers diminished, as they excel greatly in the art of war: the rest who have fled will remain. Because we have understood what Cedar is, and what Arabia is, and what Asor is, let us see what the prophet Isaiah says: 'You will sleep in the forest, at evening, on the paths of Dodanim.' The word Arab (), as we have often said, is used for evening, and Arabia, and raven, and plain, and the West. And because we translated it according to the LXX, 'you will sleep,' it can be interpreted as 'you will stay' or 'you will dwell,' which is called αὐλιθήσεσθε in Greek, and in Hebrew it is said 'Thalinu'. Moreover, he also turns to his close relatives and kinsmen. Thus, it is prophesied that now to the Jews, who were able to escape the siege of Babylon, they will cross over to the neighboring wilderness and settle in the solitude of Arabia on the journey that leads to their brothers. And again the conversation turns to the Ishmaelites, and he exhorts them to mercy: run, and bring water to your tired and endangered brothers, for they are thirsty with great fervor of the sun, and unless you help them, they will perish in the wilderness. And not only water, but also bring bread to the fugitives, so that your kindness may relieve those whom the siege has exhausted. At the same time, he explains the reason why he is giving these orders, saying: the Babylonians have fled, the bows of the Elamites have fled, a fierce battle has fled. Do not despise the unfortunate: your captivity will come quickly. For just as the year of a hired worker is swift and considers all labor to be short until he receives the desired wage, so all the glory of the sons of Cedar will be taken from you, and your arrows will be worn out, and only a small number of warriors will remain. Some people want to be taken from what is said, that even in one year, and every glory of Cedar will be taken away, not Babylonian captivity being proclaimed, about which Jeremiah also speaks, but of the Assyrians, who after one year of the devastation of Judah, have widely persecuted the Saracens. Moreover, that place which we have transferred: You who inhabit the land of the South, meet the fugitive with bread: and as if we read in the imperative mode on behalf of the Lord, they affirm that in Hebrew it can be read like this: You who inhabit the land of the South, met the fugitive with bread; just as when God said to them, when they met the thirsty, bring water, they would take away the bread with a hostile mind without water, in order to increase their thirst with food.

(Verse 14, 15.) Bring water to the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of the South; meet the one fleeing with bread. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the severity of battle. LXX: Bring water to the thirsty, O inhabitants of the region of Theman; meet the fleeing ones with bread because of the multitude of the slain, because of the multitude of the wanderers, because of the multitude of the sword, and because of the multitude of the bows drawn, and because of the multitude of those falling in battle. You who are in Theman, which is interpreted as Auster and perfection, and you turn in that place of which it is written: God will come from the south wind (Habakkuk III, 4), and you who are consummated and perfected, and have within you the light of the knowledge of the Scriptures, when those fleeing from Arabia and the thicket come to you, meet them with water and bread, and do not wait until they come to you; but imitate the father in the Gospel parable, who reached out to his returning son. And indeed he gave a robe, and presented a ring (Luke XV): but you offer water and bread to the fleeing, so that those who are weary and exhausted may be sustained by your mercy, and quickly reach your seats. For they have fled the swords of heretics, the doctrine of the pagans, and the blasphemies of the Jews. And because they have seen many of them killed by spears and many fallen in battle, they themselves desire to be freed by your help. This place can properly be understood as being against those who surrender themselves to idleness and laziness, content with their own well-being, and do not reach out a helping hand to those who are repentant and converted.

And he places the cause of mercy: for they are fled from before the swords, that they might be moved to mercy: at the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away (Jer 4:29).

Nebuchadnezzar being come up against Jerusalem, Zedekiah sends Pashur and Zephaniah to the prophet to request him to intercede with God in behalf of his people, Jer 21:1, Jer 21:2. But he is declared to be against Jerusalem, and the whole land of Judah; and the only mitigation of their punishment must proceed from their surrendering to the king of Babylon, Jer 21:3-10. Prophecy concerning the house of the king of Judah, Jer 21:11, Jer 21:12. Notwithstanding the amazing fortifications round about Jerusalem, in which the people vainly trust, the Lord will most assuredly visit them for their iniquities; the city shall be taken by the Chaldeans, Jer 21:13, Jer 21:14.

REPETITION OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS TO THE JEWS ABOUT TO BE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, THAT THEIR ENEMY SHOULD BE DESTROYED AND THEY BE DELIVERED. (Isa 21:1-10) desert--the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again. of the sea--The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sea" (Jer 51:13, Jer 51:36; so Isa 11:15, the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed these dykes, and so converted the whole country again into a vast desert marsh. whirlwinds in the south-- (Job 37:9; Zac 9:14). The south wind comes upon Babylon from the deserts of Arabia, and its violence is the greater from its course being unbroken along the plain (Job 1:19). desert--the plain between Babylon and Persia. terrible land--Media; to guard against which was the object of Nitocris' great works [HERODOTUS, 1.185]. Compare as to "terrible" applied to a wilderness, as being full of unknown dangers, Deu 1:29.

they--the fugitive Dedanites and other Arabs.