Yesaya 21:2-4

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ¹ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ² 

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ³ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ⁴  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4 My heart palpitates, ⁵ 

I shake in fear; ⁶ 

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

[21:2]  ¹ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ² sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[21:3]  ³ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[21:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”

[21:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”