Isaiah 21 · Verse 11

Isaiah 21:11

The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Isaiah 21:11, King James Version

Isaiah 21:11 in other translations

BSB	This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
WEB	The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”
ASV	The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
YLT	The burden of Dumah. Unto me is one calling from Seir ‘Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?'
DARBY	The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
BBE	The word about Edom. A voice comes to me from Seir, Watchman, how far gone is the night? how far gone is the night?
Webster	The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

What does Isaiah 21:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. Dumah--a tribe and region of Ishmael in Arabia (Ge 25:14; 1Ch 1:30); now called Dumah the Stony, situated on the confines of Arabia and the Syrian desert; a part put for the whole of Edom. Vitringa thinks "Dumah," Hebrew, "silence," is here used for Idumea, to imply that it was soon to be reduced to silence or destruction. Seir--the principal mountain in Idumea, south of the Dead Sea, in Arabia-Petræa. "He calleth" ought to be rather, "There is a call from Seir." to me--Isaiah. So the heathen Balak and Ahaziah received oracles from a Hebrew prophet. Watchman--the prophet (Is 62:6; Jr 6:17), so called, because, like a watchman on the lookout from a tower, he announces future events which he sees in prophetic vision (Ha 2:1, 2). what of the night--What tidings have you to give as to the state of the night? Rather, "What remains of the night?" How much of it is past? [Maurer]. "Night" means calamity (Job 35:10; Mi 3:6), which, then, in the wars between Egypt and Assyria, pressed sore on Edom; or on Judah (if, as Barnes thinks, the question is asked in mockery of the suffering Jews in Babylon). The repetition of the question marks, in the former view, the anxiety of the Idumeans.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 The burden of Dumah "The oracle concerning Dumah" - Pro דומה Dumah, Codex R. Meiri habet אדום Edom; and so the Septuagint, Vid. Kimchi ad h. 50. Biblia Michaelis, Halae, 1720, not. ad 50. See also De Rossi. Bishop Lowth translates the prophecy thus: - 11. The Oracle Concerning Dumah. A voice crieth to me from Seir: Watchman, what from the night? Watchman, what from the night? 12. The watchman replieth: - The morning cometh, and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire ye: come again. This differs very little from our common Version. One of Kennicott's MSS., and one of my own, omit the repetition, "Watchman, what from the night?" This prophecy, from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, and from the brevity of the expression, is extremely obscure. The Edomites as well as the Jews were subdued by the Babylonians. They inquire of the prophet how long their subjection is to last: he intimates that the Jews should be delivered from their captivity; not so the Edomites. Thus far the interpretation seems to carry with it some degree of probability. What the meaning of the last line may be, I cannot pretend to divine. In this difficulty the Hebrew MSS. give no assistance. The MSS. of the Septuagint, and the fragments of the other Greek Versions, give some variations, but no light. This being the case, I thought it best to give an exact literal translation of the whole two verses, which may serve to enable the English reader to judge in some measure of the foundation of the various interpretations that have been given of them. The burden of Dumah. - R. D. Kimchi says, "His father understood this of the destruction of Dumah (one of the cities of the Ishmaelites) by the inhabitants of Seir; and that they inquired of the prophet to know the particular time in which God had given them a commission against it. The prophet answered: The morning - the time of success to you, cometh, is just at hand; and the night - the time of utter destruction to the inhabitants of Dumah, is also ready." I have heard the words applied in the way of general exhortation. 1. Every minister of God is a watchman. He is continually watching for the safety and interests of his people, and looking for the counsel of God that he may be properly qualified to warn and to comfort. 2. Such are often called to denounce heavy judgments; they have the burden of the word of the Lord to denounce against the impenitent, the backslider, the lukewarm, and the careless. 3. When the watchman threatens judgments, some are awakened, and some mock: Watchman, what of the night? "What are the judgments thou threatenest, and when are they to take place?" 4. To this question, whether seriously or tauntingly proposed, the watchman answers: 1. The morning cometh - there is a time of repentance granted; a morning of God's long-suffering kindness now appears: and also the night - the time in which God will no longer wait to be gracious, but will cut you off as cumberers of the ground. 2. But if you will inquire seriously how you are to escape God's judgments, inquire ye. 3. There is still a door of hope; continue to pray for mercy. 4. Return from your iniquities. 5. Come to God, through Christ, that ye may obtain salvation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

,12 God's prophets and ministers are as watchmen in the city in a time of peace, to see that all is safe. As watchmen in the camp in time of war, to warn of the motions of the enemy. After a long sleep in sin and security, it is time to rise, to awake out of sleep. We have a great deal of work to do, a long journey to go; it is time to be stirring. After a long dark night is there any hope of the day dawning? What tidings of the night? What happens to-night? We must never be secure. But many make curious inquiries of the watchmen. They would willingly have nice questions solved, or difficult prophecies interpreted; but they do not seek into the state of their own souls, about the way of salvation, and the path of duty. The watchman answers by way of prophecy. There comes first a morning of light, and peace, and opportunity; but afterward comes a night of trouble and calamity. If there be a morning of youth and health, there will come a night of sickness and old age; if a morning of prosperity in the family, in the public, yet we must look for changes. It is our wisdom to improve the present morning, in preparation for the night that is coming after it. Inquire, return, come. We are urged to do it quickly, for there is no time to trifle. Those that return and come to God, will find they have a great deal of work to do, and but little time to do it in.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 21:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מַשָּׂ֖אma.Sa'[the] oracle ofH4853

דּוּמָ֑הdu.MahDumahH1746

אֵלַי֙'e.Laito meH413

קֹרֵ֣אko.Re'[someone is] callingH7121

מִשֵּׂעִ֔ירmi.se.'Irfrom SeirH8165

שֹׁמֵר֙sho.MerO watchmanH8104

מַה\־mah-what?H4100

מִלַּ֔יְלָהmi.Lay.lah[is] from [the] nightH3915

שֹׁמֵ֖רsho.MerO watchmanH8104

מַה\־mah-what?H4100

מִלֵּֽיל\׃mi.Leil[is] from [the] nightH3915

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 21:11

Genesis 25:14
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Obadiah 1:1-16
The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. …
Amos 1:6
Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
Joel 3:19
Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
1 Chronicles 1:30
Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema,
Genesis 32:3
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Deuteronomy 2:5
Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
Jeremiah 49:7-22
Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. …
Numbers 24:18
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Isaiah 21:6
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
Ezekiel 35:1-15
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. …
Isaiah 34:1-17
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Dumah.Dumah is probably the same as Dumatha, a city of Arabia, mentioned by Stephanus, and the modern Dumah and Dumathalgandel, on the borders of Arabia and Syria, in a rocky valley. The Edomites, says Bp. Lowth, as well as Jews, were subdued by the Babylonians. They enquire of the prophet how long their subjection is to last; he intimates that the Jews should be delivered from their captivity; not so the Edomites. "The morning cometh, and also the night."
Ge 25:14; 1Ch 1:30
me out.
34:1-17; 63:1-6; Nu 24:18; De 2:5; Ps 137:7; Jer 49:7-22
Eze 35:1-15; Joe 3:19; Am 1:6,11,12; Ob 1:1-16; Mal 1:2-4
what.
6; Jer 37:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 21:10
O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
Isaiah 21:11
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isaiah 21:12
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.

Read all of Isaiah 21

Isaiah 21:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Carga de Duma. Danme voces de Seir: Guarda, ¿qué de la noche? Guarda, ¿qué de la noche?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	*L’oracle touchant Duma. Il me crie de Séhir: Sentinelle, à quoi en est la nuit? Sentinelle, à quoi en est la nuit?
German Elberfelder 1871	Ausspruch über Duma. Aus Seir ruft man mir zu: Wächter, wie weit ists in der Nacht? Wächter, wie weit in der Nacht?
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Onus Duma. Ad me clamat ex Seir: Custos, quid de nocte? custos, quid de nocte?