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They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, you princes, anoint the shield.

Verse Takeaways

1

Babylon's Final Feast

Commentators unanimously identify this verse as a vivid, prophetic snapshot of the night Babylon fell. It depicts the leaders feasting in reckless revelry, as recorded in the book of Daniel and by secular historians. The scene shifts abruptly from partying ('prepare the table, eat, drink') to panic ('rise up... anoint the shield'), capturing the moment the surprise attack by Cyrus began.

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Book Overview

Isaiah

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Commentaries

5

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes

On Isaiah 21:5

18th Century

Theologian

Prepare the table - This verse is one of the most striking and remarkable that occurs in this prophecy, or indeed in any part of Isaiah. It …

Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott

On Isaiah 21:5

19th Century

Bishop

Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower.—These words (a historical infinitive) are better understood as indicative:

John Calvin

John Calvin

On Isaiah 21:5

16th Century

Theologian

Error: Completed but no modernized text found in DB

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John Gill

John Gill

On Isaiah 21:5

17th Century

Pastor

Prepare the table Set it, spread it, furnish it with all kind of provisions, as at a feast; and such an one Belshazzar ma…

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry

On Isaiah 21:1–10

17th Century

Minister

Babylon was a flat country, abundantly watered. The destruction of Babylon, so often prophesied by Isaiah, was typical of the destruction of the gr…