Isaiah 21 · Verse 9

Isaiah 21:9

And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
Isaiah 21:9, King James Version

Isaiah 21:9 in other translations

BSBLook, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
WEBBehold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.
ASVand, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.
YLTAnd lo, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.' And he answereth and saith: ‘Fallen, fallen hath Babylon, And all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the earth.
DARBY— And behold, there cometh a chariot of men; horsemen by pairs. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of hergods he hath broken unto the ground.
BBESee, here come war-carriages with men, horsemen by twos: and in answer he said, Babylon is made low, is made low, and all her images are broken on the earth.
WebsterAnd behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken to the ground.

What does Isaiah 21:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. chariot of men--chariots with men in them; or rather, the same body of riders, horsemen two abreast, as in Is 21:7 [Maurer]. But Horsley, "The man drawn in a car with a pair of riders." The first half of this verse describes what the watchman sees; the second half, what the watchman says, in consequence of what he sees. In the interval between Is 21:7 and Is 21:9, the overthrow of Babylon by the horsemen, or man in the car, is accomplished. The overthrow needed to be announced to the prophet by the watchman, owing to the great extent of the city. Herodotus (1.131) says that one part of the city was captured some time before the other received the tidings of it. answered--not to something said previously, but in reference to the subject in the mind of the writer, to be collected from the preceding discourse: proclaimeth (Job 3:2, Margin; Da 2:26; Ac 5:8). fallen ... fallen--The repetition expresses emphasis and certainty (Psa 92:9; 93:3; compare Jr 51:8; Re 18:2). images--Bel, Merodach, &c. (Jr 50:2; 51:44, 52). The Persians had no images, temples, or altars, and charged the makers of such with madness [Herodotus 1.131]; therefore they dashed the Babylonian "images broken unto the ground."

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 Here cometh a chariot of men, etc. "A man, one of the two riders" - So the Syriac understands it, and Ephrem Syr.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 21:1-10

The taking of Babylon. (Is. 21:1-10) Of the Edomites. (Is. 21:11,12) Of the Arabs. (Is. 21:13-17) Verses 1-10 Babylon was a flat country, abundantly watered. The destruction of Babylon, so often prophesied of by Isaiah, was typical of the destruction of the great foe of the New Testament church, foretold in the Revelation. To the poor oppressed captives it would be welcome news; to the proud oppressors it would be…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 21:1-10 →

Isaiah 21:9 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.

וְהִנֵּה\־ve.hi.neh-and there!H2009
זֶ֥הzehthisH2088
בָא֙va'[is] comingH935
רֶ֣כֶבRe.kheva riderH7393
אִ֔ישׁ'Isha manH376
צֶ֖מֶדTze.meda pair ofH6776
פָּֽרָשִׁ֑יםpa.ra.ShimhorsesH6571
וַיַּ֣עַןvai.Ya.'anand he answeredH6030
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
נָפְלָ֤הna.fe.Lahit has fallenH5307
נָֽפְלָה֙na.fe.Lahit has fallenH5307
בָּבֶ֔לba.VelBabylonH894
וְכָל\־ve.kholand allH3605
פְּסִילֵ֥יpe.si.Lei[the] images ofH6456
אֱלֹהֶ֖יהָ'e.lo.Hei.hagods itsH430
שִׁבַּ֥רshi.Barsomeone has brokenH7665
לָאָֽרֶץ\׃la.'A.retzto the groundH776

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

Cross references for Isaiah 21:9

  • Revelation 18:2

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • Jeremiah 51:8

    Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

  • Revelation 14:8

    And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

  • Jeremiah 51:44

    And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

  • Isaiah 13:19

    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

  • Isaiah 46:1-2

    Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

  • Jeremiah 50:42

    They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

  • Isaiah 14:4

    That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

  • Jeremiah 50:29

    Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

  • Jeremiah 50:38

    A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

  • Jeremiah 51:64

    And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

  • Jeremiah 50:2-3

    Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
behold.
Jer 50:3,9,29,42; 51:27
Babylon.
13:19; 14:4; Jer 50:2; 51:8,64; Re 14:8; 18:2,21
all.
46:1,2; Jer 50:2,38; 51:44,47,52

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

Context

  • Isaiah 21:8

    And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:

  • Isaiah 21:9

    And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

  • 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.

Read all of Isaiah 21

Isaiah 21:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y he aquí este carro de hombres viene, un par de caballeros. Después habló, y dijo: Cayó, cayó Babilonia; y todos los ídolos de sus dioses quebrantó en tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et voici, il vient un char d’hommes, une paire de cavaliers! Et il répondit, et dit: Babylone est tombée, elle est tombée, et toutes les images de ses dieux sont brisées par terre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und siehe da, es kam ein Zug Männer, Reiter bei Paaren Und er hob an und sprach: Gefallen, gefallen ist Babel, und alle geschnitzten Bilder seiner Götzen hat er zu Boden geschmettert!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ecce iste venit ascensor vir bigæ equitum; et respondit, et dixit: Cecidit, cecidit Babylon, et omnia sculptilia deorum ejus contrita sunt in terram.