Isaiah 21:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.

NIV: A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,

NASB: The pronouncement about Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night, You caravans of Dedanites.

CSB: A pronouncement concerning Arabia: In the desert brush you will camp for the night, you caravans of Dedanites.

NLT: This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia.

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

NKJV: The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites.

This chapter records another oracle following prophecies against Babylon (Isaiah 21:1–10) and Dumah (Isaiah 21:11–12). Dumah was an oasis town in northern Arabia. This oracle from the Lord is against the larger region of Arabia itself. Arabia was made up of a collection of towns and scattered tribes in the wilderness territory between Babylon and Judah.

This prophecy appears to describe the refugees of the various conflicts with the Assyrians. It seems to especially focus on those fleeing the Assyrian defeats of Babylon to the south. Dedan was in an area of northwestern Arabia called Kedar. The Dedanites (Genesis 25:3) were known as merchants who moved goods through the region to trade with others.

Now the prophet says caravans of Dedan will be forced to spend nights off the main roads. They will need to hide in underbrush to avoid the conflict surging in the region. Apparently unable to travel to any nearby oasis, the following verse reveals the Dedanites as desperately thirsty and calls on others to help them (Isaiah 21:14).

Chapter 21:13–17 contains Isaiah's oracle from the Lord various tribes of Arabia (Jeremiah 24:23–24). Due to conflicts in the region, the descendants of Dedan (Genesis 25:3) will become refugees. They will be forced to move their caravans off the main roads and hide in the thickets. Isaiah calls for the people of wealthy Tema to bring them food and water in their distress. Within a year, the glory of the people of Kedar will be ended and most of their warriors wiped out. Isaiah is certain this will happen because the Lord has spoken. What the Lord says will happen, will happen.

This chapter delivers oracles against three people groups. Isaiah is terrified to the point of physical pain by the vision he sees. God reveals the terrible things coming for Babylon. Isaiah answers the Lord's call to be a watchman. When he sees the arrival of riders approaching the city, he announces that Babylon has fallen. The oracle against Dumah presents a question from an Edomite with an unsatisfying answer. The oracle against Arabia pictures starving refugees that must be fed and declares that the warriors of Kedar will be nearly wiped out within a year.

Earlier chapters included prophecies about nations such as Aram, Egypt, and Cush. Chapter 21 presents three more oracles against Israel's regional neighbors. What Isaiah sees is so horrific that he suffers intense physical pain just from watching. He answers the call to be a watchman, eventually announcing that Babylon has fallen. An oracle against Dumah provides no real answer to the question of how long the night of suffering will continue for Edom. Arabia, too, will suffer at the hand of powerful regional forces. Next is a prophecy about Jerusalem.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 4/28/2024 5:38:25 PM