Isaiah 13:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

13:1 ¹ This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: ² 

Isaiah 14:4

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ³ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ⁴  has ceased!

Isaiah 39:7

39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father ⁵  will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Isaiah 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ⁶  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ⁷ 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ⁸ 

Isaiah 21:9

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.” ⁹ 

When questioned, he replies, ¹⁰ 

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

Isaiah 39:1

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered.

Isaiah 39:6

39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors ¹¹  have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.

Isaiah 47:1

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,

O virgin ¹²  daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground, not on a throne,

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ¹³  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

[13:1]  ¹ sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”

[14:4]  ³ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ⁴ tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[39:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”

[13:19]  ⁷ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

[21:9]  ⁹ tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”

[21:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).

[39:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[47:1]  ¹³ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

[47:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).