Isaiah 13

Isaiah opens a long series of messages about the nations with a word against Babylon, the great power that would one day crush Judah. The prophet describes God raising up an army, a terrifying Day of the LORD, and a total, lasting ruin of the proud city. Babylon’s fall also stands as a picture of God’s judgment on all human pride.

Isaiah 13:1

This opens a series of messages about foreign nations. The word “burden” means a heavy load, a weighty message from God that the prophet must carry and deliver. Babylon is named, though in Isaiah’s day Assyria was the great power. God sees far ahead.

BSA: burden (“message from God, prophecy”): The word is a weighty, solemn word from God, not a casual opinion.

Hebrew: מַשָּׂא (massa, H4853) — “a load, a lifted-up utterance.” The word pictures something lifted and carried. The prophet bears God’s heavy word, and the nation hearing it bears its weight.

Isaiah 13:2

God calls for a signal flag on a bare hilltop, where everyone can see it. A raised hand and a shout summon an invading army to march through the gates of Babylon’s nobles. God is directing the whole event, even the movements of foreign soldiers.

BSA: banner (“on a high mountain”): The signal is set high so that distant peoples see it and gather.

See also: Isaiah 5:26.

Isaiah 13:3

God calls the invaders “My sanctified ones,” meaning set apart for His purpose, not that they are holy in character. They are His warriors, sent to carry out His anger against sin. Even nations that do not know Him serve His plans.

BSA: sanctified ones (“consecrated, set apart ones”): They are set apart for one task, God’s judgment, whether or not they know it.

See also: Isaiah 10:5-6.

Isaiah 13:4

Isaiah hears the noise of many peoples gathering in the mountains, like a vast crowd on the march. The LORD of Hosts, the commander of armies, is the one who musters them. The battle is not chance; it is God’s own muster.

BSA: Hosts (“armies, heavenly forces”): The title shows God as the supreme commander over every army, earthly and heavenly.

Isaiah 13:5

The army comes from the far edge of the world. Yet the true power behind it is the LORD Himself, and the soldiers are only the weapons in His hand. The target is not one city only but the whole land under Babylon’s rule.

BSA: weapons (“instruments, utensils”): The invaders are merely tools, and God is the one who wields them.

Isaiah 13:6

The prophet tells people to wail, because the Day of the LORD is close. This is a time when God steps in to judge openly. It comes as ruin from the Almighty, the One no power can resist.

BSA: Almighty (“Shadday, the all-powerful One, having great strength”): The name stresses that no one can stand against the One who is judging.

Hebrew: שַׁדַּי (Shadday, H7706) — “Almighty.” This is an ancient name of God used since the patriarchs. Here it stresses overwhelming strength, with a pun in Hebrew on the word for destruction.

See also: Joel 1:15.

Isaiah 13:7

When the day arrives, strong men lose all strength. Hands hang limp, and hearts melt like water. The fear is so deep that no courage, weapon, or wall gives any help.

BSA: melt (“be turned to water, waste away, lose courage”): Their courage drains away completely, leaving nothing firm inside.

Isaiah 13:8

The terror comes like labor pains: sudden, gripping, and impossible to escape. People stare at one another in horror, faces burning with dread. Nobody has any answer, and everyone sees the same fear in the next person.

BSA: writhe (“twist, be in agony”): The word shows the body twisting in pain that cannot be stopped.

See also: 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Isaiah 13:9

The Day of the LORD is not mild. It is severe, with fury and burning anger. It ends sin’s rule by laying the land waste and removing the guilty. God’s judgment is real, and it falls on actual wrongdoing.

BSA: desolation (“waste, ruin, horror”): What was once full and busy becomes empty and appalling.

Isaiah 13:10

The sky itself goes dark: stars, sun, and moon fail. The prophets often use such language to show that God’s judgment shakes everything. The light that people trust is taken away, and God alone remains.

See also: Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29.

Isaiah 13:11

God’s judgment reaches beyond Babylon to the whole world’s evil. Its target is pride above all: the arrogant and ruthless who trust in their own power. Whatever exalts itself against God will be brought low.

BSA: haughtiness (“pride, majesty, arrogance”): This is pride that puffs itself up as if no one were above it.

See also: Isaiah 2:11-12.

Isaiah 13:12

So many will die that people will be harder to find than the finest gold. Ophir was famous for very pure gold. The picture shows how severe the judgment is, and how little human numbers or wealth can protect anyone.

BSA: Ophir (“in southern Arabia, a region known for its gold”): Ophir stood for the very best gold, so people become rarer than the rarest treasure.

Isaiah 13:13

Even creation trembles at God’s anger. The heavens shake and the earth is moved from its place. The Day of the LORD of Hosts is a day when all that seems fixed is shown to be fragile before Him.

BSA: tremble (“to shake with fear or excitement”): The very sky reacts to God’s presence, showing how great the moment is.

See also: Haggai 2:6; Hebrews 12:26-27.

Isaiah 13:14

The foreign people living in Babylon will scatter like a hunted gazelle or a flock with no shepherd. Each will race for his homeland. The mighty city’s crowd of traders and subjects will dissolve and leave.

BSA: shepherd (“without guidance”): With no leader to guide them, the people simply scatter in panic.

Isaiah 13:15-16

These verses describe the cruelty of ancient war: killing, plunder, and violence against families. Isaiah does not soften it. The terrible scenes show what sin and judgment cost, and echo what Babylon itself had done to others.

BSA: dashed (“broken, smashed”): The word shows how violent and merciless the attack will be.

See also: Psalm 137:8-9.

Isaiah 13:17

God now names the instrument: the Medes. They are not driven by money, so no bribe or treasure can buy them off. Babylon cannot pay its way out of this judgment. Isaiah names them long before they conquered the city.

BSA: stir up (“rouse, awaken”): God Himself wakes the Medes and sets them in motion.

See also: Daniel 5:30-31; Jeremiah 51:11.

Isaiah 13:18

The Medes were famous archers, and their bows will cut down the young. They will show no pity even to children. The verse stresses how thorough and pitiless the fall of Babylon will be.

BSA: mercy (“pity, compassion”): These invaders will feel none of the usual tenderness toward the helpless.

Isaiah 13:19

Babylon was the shining jewel of the nations and the pride of the Chaldeans. God will overturn it as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, cities wiped out for their sin. The most glorious human city cannot stand against God.

BSA: overthrown (“completely destroyed, devastated”): The city is not merely defeated but turned upside down, as Sodom was.

Hebrew: כְּמַהְפֵּכַת (kemahpekhat, H4114) — “like the overthrow.” The word comes from a root meaning to turn over. It is the very word used for what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, which recalls an utter upheaval.

See also: Genesis 19:24-25; Revelation 18:2.

Isaiah 13:20

Babylon will become so empty that not even a wandering herdsman will camp there. A place once crowded with life will be abandoned from age to age. Its ruin will be lasting, a standing witness to pride brought low.

BSA: nomad (“Arab, desert traveler”): Even the roaming desert dweller, who goes almost anywhere, will avoid the place.

See also: Jeremiah 50:39-40.

Isaiah 13:21

Wild animals will take the place of people. Desert creatures, ostriches, and wild goats will fill the ruined houses. Many Bible readers see these as creatures of the wilderness, and the picture is of a city returned to wild emptiness.

BSA: howling creatures (“doleful creatures, jackals”): Their mournful cries will sound where laughter and trade once filled the city.

Isaiah 13:22

Hyenas and jackals will cry out among the fortresses and fine palaces. The grand buildings will stand as haunts for wild beasts. Babylon’s end is close, and nothing will delay it. God’s word on the proud will stand.

BSA: prolonged (“extended, drawn out”): God’s judgment will not be put off; the appointed time will arrive.

See also: Isaiah 14:22-23.