Thy Strong Word

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon, LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain.

With guest Rev. Dan Wing of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sweet Springs, MO.

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Isaiah 21

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
²A stern vision is told to me;
    the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
    lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
³Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    pangs have seized me,
    like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
⁴My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs,^[a]
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    oil the shield!
⁶For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
⁷When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
⁸Then he who saw cried out:^[b]
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
⁹And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
And he answered,
    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
¹⁰O my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

¹¹The oracle concerning Dumah.

One is calling to me from Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
¹²The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also the night.
    If you will inquire, inquire;
    come back again.”

¹³The oracle concerning Arabia.

In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,
    O caravans of Dedanites.
¹⁴To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

¹⁶For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Footnotes:

Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.