Bible Strands
Isaiah 21:2
A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers a divine oracle to Judah amid the approach of a desert invader.
The words — חָז֥וּת (cha.Zut) means a vision, and קָשָׁ֖ה (ka.Shah) modifies it to mean severe or dire.
The thread — The pattern of reciprocal judgment appears in Isaiah 33:1, and the specific pronouncement against Elam recurs in Jeremiah 49:34.
Why it lands — The text states that God will terminate the besieged nation's groaning through foreign armies, requiring the reader to accept that historical conquests execute divine authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 33:1 Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Jeremiah 49:34 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
- Psalms 60:3 You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
- Isaiah 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
- Daniel 5:28 PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
- Revelation 13:10 “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
- 1 Samuel 24:13 As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.
- Psalms 12:5 “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Psalms 79:11 May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.
- Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.