• “Babylon Has Fallen!”
    Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind I

    • b Many Bible commentators think that the words “anoint the shield” refer to the ancient military practice of oiling leather shields before battle so that most blows will glance off. While this is a possible interpretation, it should be noted that on the night the city fell, the Babylonians barely had time to put up a fight, let alone prepare for battle by greasing their shields!

  • “Babylon Has Fallen!”
    Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind I

    • 9. Why does it become necessary to “anoint the shield”?

      9 “Get up, you princes, anoint the shield.” (Isaiah 21:5b) Suddenly, the party is over. The princes have to rouse themselves! The aged prophet Daniel has been called to the scene, and he sees how Jehovah throws Babylonian King Belshazzar into a state of terror similar to that described by Isaiah. The king’s grandees are plunged into confusion as the combined forces of Medes, Persians, and Elamites breach the city’s defenses. Babylon falls quickly! What, though, does it mean to “anoint the shield”? The Bible sometimes refers to a nation’s king as its shield because he is the defender and protector of the land.b (Psalm 89:18) So this verse in Isaiah is likely foretelling the need for a new king. Why? Because Belshazzar is killed that “very night.” Thus, there is a need to “anoint the shield,” or appoint a new king.​—Daniel 5:1-9, 30.