ISAIAH 13 THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON

                                                                            Isaiah 13

God’s judgement against Babylon

 

Isa 13:1  The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 

A mournful and solemn prophecy concerning the kingdom of Babylon was revealed to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz — a vision so weighty that it lay heavy upon his heart and mind.

Isa 13:2  Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. 

The prophet hears the command of God to raise a banner of war upon a high mountain, so it may be seen from afar and serve as a rallying point for mighty armies. He is told to lift his voice like a trumpet and beckon the distant forces of the Medes and Persians with a wave of the hand, summoning them to advance toward the gates of the proud city of Babylon, the dwelling place of princes and nobles.

Isa 13:3  I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. 

God claims command over these armies, calling them His sanctified ones — not because they were holy, but because they were set apart by His sovereign will to accomplish His judgment against Babylon. He calls these mighty warriors His own, for they serve to fulfil His justice, manifest His dominion among the nations, and quench His righteous wrath. While the Medes and Persians would exult in their conquest as though it were their own victory, it would ultimately be the unfolding of God’s glorious plan and the outworking of His fierce anger against Babylon’s pride and sin.

Isa 13:4  The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 

The prophet hears the confused tumult of a great multitude of nations assembling to the standard reared on the mountains, making active preparations for the mighty war. Yahweh puts these mighty hosts of war in military array while they are unconscious of the hand that directs them, and of the God that presides over them, moving as He wills, and accomplishing His plans.

Isa 13:5  They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. 

The armies seemed to come from far, from the farthest reaches of the horizon where the earth seems to meet the heavens. The prophet envisions Yahweh Himself leading the host of Medes and Persians, ‘the weapons of His indignation,’ by them He will execute vengeance upon the land of Babylon.

Isa 13:6  Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 

Wail and lament, for the day of the LORD draws near — a day of destruction from the Almighty. It will not be a calamity brought by men, that could be resisted, but a final and irresistible judgment sent from the Sovereign of heaven and earth.

Isa 13:7  Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 

The people would be so terrified and alarmed that they would have no courage, no hope, and no power to make resistance and will give themselves up to despair

Isa 13:8  And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 

The suddenness of the calamity shall make the people alarmed and tremble. They shall experience deepest possible pain as of a woman in labour about to deliver. Overwhelmed with sorrow, distress and grief at the doom descending upon them, they shall look helplessly at one another, with their faces flushed and burning with anguish, terror, and fury against their invaders.

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 

The day of the vengeance of the Lord is to come upon them and God was going to be merciless exhibiting His indignation by laying the land completely devastated and the sinners in Babylon will meet their end. This prophecy foreshadows not only Babylon’s downfall but reaches forward to the final judgment upon the earth, when those found in rebellion within spiritual Babylon, the system of false worship, shall perish.

Isa 13:10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 

This verse presents a figurative description of overwhelming calamity and intense distress — as though the very lights of heaven, the stars, constellations, sun, and moon, were extinguished, leaving the world in utter darkness. While symbolic of desolation here, these very signs were later prophesied by Jesus Christ as literal portents heralding the approach of the end of time (Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25).

Isa 13:11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 

The Lord would punish Babylon, which largely occupied the then known world for all their wickedness and evil. The prevailing sin of Babylon was pride and arrogance — displayed most blasphemously when its last king defiled the sacred vessels from God’s temple for a common feast. God would abase their conceit and execute judgment for their haughty rebellion.

Isa 13:12  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 

The Lord declares that He will bring such destruction upon Babylon that finding a single man will be as rare and precious as fine gold. A man will be more valuable than the pure gold from Ophir, renowned for its high quality. This expression vividly portrays the immense slaughter and devastation that would leave the city nearly empty of its inhabitants.

(wedge only means a piece or bar of gold; It doesn’t mean some ceremonial item or mystical object — just a chunk of valuable yellow gold.)

Isa 13:13  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 

A poetic and prophetic description of horror and confusion, denoting the great effects of God’s wrath — revolutions and commotions in the sky, as though the heavens were shaken and the earth trembled and fled from the dread of His anger. Hills, mountains, trees, and streams are thrown into consternation at the presence of God, and the earth seems to lose its very form.

Isa 13:14  And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. 

In the confusion that follows, Babylon, once proud, lofty, and secure, shall be like a trembling deer panting for safety as when pursued by the hunter, and like a stray sheep with no shepherd to care for. The vast and magnificent city — a centre for many nations — shall see its foreigners and residents deserting her, each fleeing to their own land and people for safety.

Isa 13:15  Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. 

Anyone and everyone found to be fleeing either alone or in organised groups shall be killed. None shall escape the slaughter.

Isa 13:16  Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. 

Age shall not be hindrance. Even children shall not be spared but shall be horrifically and barbarically treated — dashed against rocks or trees before the eyes of the afflicted and heartbroken parents. Their houses shall be plundered and the women shall be physically abused.

Isa 13:17  Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 

The Lord in his unquenched anger declares with certainty that He shall bring the Medes against Babylon. The Medes and Persians will not be satisfied with the spoils of the Babylonians for they will not be swayed by silver nor delighted by gold; they will not accept ransom for the lives of the captives whom they have subdued.

Isa 13:18  Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. 

Famed for their archery, the Medes with their huge bows made of metal shall dash and slay the young men breaking them to pieces. They will show no mercy either to the pregnant women and their unborn children or to children. They shall spare none in their fury.

Isa 13:19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 

At its height of glory, Babylon was famed for its beauty and magnificence. Yet it shall be overthrown completely and laid desolate — just as Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown by God.

Isa 13:20  It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. 

Babylon shall bear the curse of never again being inhabited by people, remaining utterly desolate for generations to come. The Arabians — a nomadic people who travel in caravans and dwell in tents — would find the land so forsaken, barren, and unsuitable for habitation that they would not even stop there for a night. What a remarkable change from its former splendour! How different from the days when strangers flocked to it, and people from every nation gathered within its walls. Though Babylon was once set amidst a rich and fertile region, it might have been supposed that, in ruin, it could serve as pastureland. Yet the prophecy declares that shepherds too would forsake it, unwilling to lead their flocks there. This adds yet another powerful image of complete and enduring desolation.

Isa 13:21  But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 

Babylon shall become a habitation for the wild desert creatures. Its ruined houses and dungeons will be filled with howling creatures, and the owls. Wild, rough-haired and shaggy, goat-like creatures — described as satyrs — shall ‘cry to each other’ amidst the ruins. These images intensify the sense of eerie desolation.

Isa 13:22  And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. 

The wild beasts found living among the desolations would howl to one another. They appeared to be wild species of wolves, jackals, and other predatory creatures occupying the dens, holes and the ruined remains of once splendid houses and palaces. The prophet concludes this vision by affirming that all these predictions were to come to pass soon, without delay.

It is worth noting that this prophecy concerning Babylon’s judgment was given nearly 170 years before its fulfilment — long before Babylon had risen to prominence as a great kingdom. Today, the prophecy stands fulfilled down to its very details. The animal names mentioned in the prophecy likely referred to species that are now extinct, and modern interpretations rely on comparisons with animals familiar to us today in order to convey the meaning of these verses.

  

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