Isaiah 21:1
The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
The verse stands among a series of prophetic burdens directed against Babylon, Philistia, Moab, and other nations. It belongs to the prophecy concerning the wilderness, described as the wilderness of the South. Within that setting it is counted among the judgments pronounced upon nations and peoples.
The title desert of the sea names Babylon while announcing its calamities under Cyrus. Sea points to the city's abundant waters, supplied by canals fed from the Euphrates and by an interior lake or reservoir, so the city is named for the waters that once filled it even as it faces desolation. The winds and whirlwind in the verse signify strife and commotion among nations and peoples.
The verse presents Babylon's fall as a sudden attack coming from a distant, fearsome land, like a whirlwind sweeping through the south. That was fulfilled when the Persians entered through the riverbed and through undefended gates, taking the city by surprise while its people feasted and failed to heed the danger.