Isaiah 13:1-22

Isaiah 13:1-22

Isaiah Chapter 13:1-22

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

1. Onus Babylonis, quod vidit Isaias, filius Amoz.

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.

2. Super montem excelsum levate signum; attollite vocem ad eos; agitate manum, ut ingrediantur portas munificorum.

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

3. Ego praecepi sanctificatis meis; adeoque vocavi fortes meos ad iram meam, laetantes gloria mea.

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.

4. Vox multitudinis in montibus instar populi multi. Vox sonitus regnorum, gentium congregatarum; Iehova exercituum recenset exercitum belli.

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.

5. Venientes e terra longinqua, ab extremo coelorum, Iehova et vasa furoris ejus, ad vastandam universam terram.

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

6. Ululate; quoniam propinquus est dies Iehovae; quasi vastitas a robusto (vel, a vastatore robusto) veniet.

7. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:

7. Propterea omnes manus dissolventur, et omne cor hominis liquefiet.

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.

8. Et terrebuntur; angustiae et dolores apprehendent; instar parturientis dolebunt; quisque ad proximum suum obstupescet; facies flammarum, facies eorum.

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.

9. Ecce dies Iehovae veniet saevus; et indignatio, et aestus irae, ut redigat terram in solitudinem, et sceleratos ejus deleat ex ea.

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.

10. Itaque stellae coelorum et sidera non expandent lumen suum; obtenebratus erit Sol in egressu suo, et Luna non emittet fulgorem suum.

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.

11. Et visitabo super orbem malitiam, et super impios iniquitatem eorum; et cessare faciam arrogantiam superborum, et altitudinem tyrannorum dejiciam.

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

12. Pretiosiorem reddam mortalem auro puro, et hominem massa auri ex Ophir.

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.

13. Propterea concutiam coelos, et movebitur terra loco suo, in indignatione Iehovae exercituum, et in die aestus irae ejus.

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.

14. Eritque quasi damula impulsa, et ovis quam nemo colligit; quisque ad populum suum respiciet, et quisque ad terram suam confugiet.

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

15. Quisque deprehensus fuerit confodietur; et omnis aggregatus cadet in gladio.

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

16. Parvuli eorum allidentur coram ipsis, diripientur domus ipsorum, et uxores eorum violabuntur.

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.

17. Ecce, ego contra vos suscito Medos, qui de argento non cogitabunt, nec aurum ipsum appetent.

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.

18. Et arcubus pueros allident, fructus ventris non miserebuntur, nec parcet filiis oculus eorum.

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

19. Et erit Babel, decor regnorum et ornamentum splendoris Chaldaeorum, instar subversionis Dei in Sodoma et Gomorrha.

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:

20. Nunquam amplius sedebit, neque habitabit in generationem et generationem; neque figet illic tabernaculum Arabs, neque pastores illic accubare facient gregem.

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.

21. Sed ibi cubabunt Ziim, et domus eorum implebunt Ohim; illic habitabunt filiae Struthionis, et illic Satyri saltabunt.

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.

22. Et clamabunt Iim in magnificis aedibus eorum, et dracones in palatiis voluptuosis; ac tempus quidem ejus prope est, neque protrahentur dies ejus.

1. The burden of Babylon From this chapter down to the twenty-fourth, the Prophet foretells what dreadful and shocking calamities awaited the Gentiles and those countries which were best known to the Jews, either on account of their being contiguous to them, or on account of the transactions of commerce and alliances; and he does so not without weighty reasons. When various changes are taking place, some think that God sports with the affairs of men, and others, that everything is directed by the blind violence of fortune, as profane history sufficiently testifies; very few are aware that these things are appointed and regulated by the purpose of God. There is nothing of which it is more difficult to convince men than that the providence of God governs this world. Many indeed acknowledge it in words, but very few have it actually engraven on their heart. We tremble and shudder at the very smallest change, and we inquire into the causes, as if it depended on the decision of men. What then shall be done, when the whole world is thrown into commotion, and the face of affairs is so completely changed in various places, that it appears as if everything were going to ruin?

It was therefore highly useful that Isaiah and other prophets should discourse about calamities of this nature, that all might understand that those calamities did not take place but by the secret and wonderful purpose of God. If they had uttered no prediction on those subjects, such a disordered state of affairs might have shaken and disturbed the minds of the godly; but when they knew long beforehand that this would happen, they had in the event itself a mirror of the providence of God. When Babylon was taken, which they had previously learned from the mouth of the Prophet, their own experience taught them that the prediction had not been made in vain, or without solid grounds.

But there was also another reason why the Lord commanded that the destruction of Babylon and other nations should be foretold. These predictions were of no advantage to Babylon or the other nations, and these writings did not reach them; but by this consolation he intended to alleviate the grief of the godly, that they might not be discouraged, as if their condition were worse than that of the Gentiles; which they would have had good reason to conclude, if they had seen them unpunished escape the hand of God. If the monarchy of Babylon had remained unshaken, the Jews would not only have thought that it was in vain for them to worship God, and that his covenant which he had made with Abraham had not been fulfilled, since it fared better with strangers and wicked men than with the elect people; but a worse suspicion might have crept into their minds, that God showed favor to accursed robbers, who gave themselves up to deeds of dishonesty and violence, and despised all law both human and divine. Indeed, they might soon have come to think that God did not care for his people, or could not assist them, or that everything was directed by the blind violence of fortune. Accordingly, that they might not faint or be thrown into despair, the Prophet meets them with the consoling influence of this prediction, showing that the Babylonians also will be punished.

Besides, the comparison taught them how severe was the punishment that awaited them, which they had knowingly and willingly brought upon themselves. For if God pronounces such dreadful threatenings against the unbelieving and irreligious Gentiles, who wandered in darkness, how much greater will be his rigour and severity against a rebellious people who have intentionally sinned against him!

The servant who knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, is justly beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47.)

Thus when God threatened such dreadful punishment against the blind Gentiles, the Jews, who had been instructed in the law, might behold as in a mirror what they had deserved.

But the chief design which Isaiah had in view in these predictions was, to point out to the Jews how dear and valuable their salvation was in the sight of God, when they saw that he undertook their cause and revenged the injuries which had been done to them. He spoke first of the desolation and ruin that would befall the kingdom of Judah and of Israel, because judgment must begin at the house of God. (1 Peter 4:17.) God takes a peculiar care of his own people, and gives his chief attention to them. Whenever therefore we read these predictions, let us learn to apply them to our use. The Lord does not indeed, at the present day, foretell the precise nature of those events which shall befall kingdoms and nations; but yet the government of the world, which he undertook, is not abandoned by him. Whenever therefore we behold the destruction of cities, the calamities of nations, and the overturning of kingdoms, let us call those predictions to remembrance, that we may be humbled under God’s chastisements, may learn to gather wisdom from the affliction of others, and may pray for an alleviation of our own grief.

The burden. As to the word burden, which frequently occurs, I shall state briefly in what sense it ought to be understood. It was generally employed by the prophets of God, whenever they threatened any afflictive event, in order to inform the people that no afflictive event happened which the Lord himself did not lay as a burden on men’s shoulders. The wickedness and obstinacy of the people having constrained the prophets to preach incessantly about God’s chastisements, the consequence was, that as a matter of ordinary jesting they called all the prophecies by the name of a burden; as is evident from Jeremiah 23:36, where the Lord kindles into fierce indignation, because they not only spoke of his word contemptuously, but also held it up to dislike. This word makes known to the godly, that the Lord appoints all calamities and afflictions, that every one may suffer the punishment of his own sin.

Which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw. He expressly states that what he is about to utter was revealed to him by a heavenly vision, that the weight which is thus given to it may render it victorious over all the judgments pronounced by the flesh. It was difficult to believe that a monarchy so flourishing, and so prodigiously rich, could be overturned in any way. Their eyes being dazzled by beholding such vast power, the Prophet draws away their attention from it to believe the heavenly revelation, that they may expect by faith the judgment of God which they could not comprehend by the unaided exercise of their own minds.

2. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain. The word mountain contains a metaphor; for the discourse relates to Babylon, which, we know, was situated on a plain; but with a view to its extensive dominion, he has assigned to it an elevated situation, like a fortress set on high above all nations. But perhaps it will be thought better to take the word mountain as used indefinitely; as if he had said, “When a signal is given there will be a vast assemblage from very distant countries, because all men will be attracted towards it by the wide and extensive influence of the sight;” and, indeed, I consider this opinion to be more probable, but I chose to mention at first the opinion which had been commonly received. Yet it might be thought absurd that the Prophet here enjoins the creatures to yield, as it were, obedience to him, if God had not fortified the Prophet by his instructions and authority. A private man here commands the Medes and Persians, assembles armies, orders a banner to be lifted up, and sounds the trumpet for battle.

This should therefore lead us to consider the majesty of God, in whose name he spoke, and likewise the power and efficacy which is always joined with the word. Such modes of expression are frequently found in the Prophets, that, by placing the events as it were before our eyes, he may enable us to see that God threatens nothing by his servants which he is not ready immediately to execute. Isaiah might indeed have threatened in plain and direct terms, “The Persians and Medes will come, and will burst through the gates of Babylon, notwithstanding the prodigious strength of its fortifications.” But those exclamations are far more energetic, when he not only assumes the character of a herald and proclaims war, but, as if he exercised the highest authority, orders the Medes and Persians to assemble like hired soldiers. Not only does he show that they will be ready at the bidding of God, because they are moved by his secret influence; but, having been sent by God to announce the ruin of Babylon, he claims for his own voice the accomplishment of what appeared to be beyond belief. It amounts to this, “When God hath spoken about what shall happen, we ought to entertain no doubt concerning it.” It deserves our notice also, that he describes the Persians and Medes, without mentioning their names; for that threatening is more emphatic, when he points them out, as it were, with the finger, as when we say, “This and that man.” This contributes to the certainty of the prophecy, when he points out such distant events as if they were at hand.

Shake the hand, that they may enter within the gates of the nobles. When he says, Shake the hand, and they shall enter, he means that the Persians and Medes shall no sooner begin to advance at the command of God than their road shall be plain and easy in spite of every obstruction. Though the Hebrews call Princes נדיבים, (Nedibim,) that is, generous and bountiful, on which is also founded that saying of Christ, εὐεργέται καλοῦνται, they are called benefactors, (Luke 22:25,) yet I think that the Prophet draws our attention to the splendor of power in which the Babylonians gloried. They were furnished above others with forces and warlike armaments, so that it appeared to be incredible that they could ever be vanquished. But the Prophet threatens that nothing shall hinder God from opening up a way and entrance to the enemies.

3. I have commanded my sanctified ones. Here the Prophet introduces the Lord as speaking and issuing his commands. He calls the Medes and Persians sanctified ones, that is, those whom he has prepared. The verb קדש (kadash) is used in various senses; for sometimes it refers to the spirit of regeneration, and this belongs peculiarly to the elect of God. But sometimes it means to wish or prepare, and that meaning is more appropriate to this passage. All who are created by the Lord are likewise appointed by him for a fixed purpose. He does not throw down men at random on the earth, to go wherever they please, but guides all by his secret purpose, and regulates and controls the violent passions of the reprobate, so as to drive them in whatever manner he thinks fit, and to check and restrain them according to his pleasure. He therefore calls them sanctified ones, “set apart and prepared to execute his will,” though they had no such intention. Hence also we are taught to ascribe to the secret judgment of God all violent commotions, and this yields wonderful consolation; for whatever attempts may be made by wicked men, yet they will accomplish nothing but what the Lord has decreed.

Note 198. “My appointed ones.” קדש (kadash) is to select and set apart for a work, particularly for one of God’s appointment. See Jeremiah 22:7, Zephaniah 1:7. — Stock FT190 The LORD and the weapons of his indignation. — Eng. Ver. FT191 From the Almighty. — Eng. Ver. FT192 “שד משדי (shod mishshaddai). This title of God is here employed for the sake of the alliteration, destruction from the destroyer, from him who is all-powerful to destroy (שדד) (shadad) as well as to save.” — Rosenmuller FT193 By a happy coincidence, the English word panic conveys exactly the meaning of the Latin adjective Panicus, which is here said to be derived from the name of the heathen God Pan, the god of the mountains, cattle, &c. — Ed FT194 Their faces shall be as flames. (Heb. faces of the flames.) — Eng. Ver. “Faces of flames shall be their faces.” — Stock FT195 See Xen. Cyr., book 7, chapter 5. FT196 Jarchi quotes the words, to add the drunken to the thirsty, (Deuteronomy 29:19,) add year to year, (Isaiah 29:1,) and add burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, (Jeremiah 7:21,) and his annotator Breithaupt translates the verb ספה (saphah) by a word in his native French, accueillir, which means to gather, or flock together. — Ed FT197 Which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. — Eng. Ver. FT198 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces. — Eng. Ver. FT199 Shall be as when God overthrew. (Heb. as the overthrowing.)--Eng. Ver. FT200 But wild beasts of the desert (Heb. Ziim) shall lie there. — Eng. Ver. FT201 It is a gratifying proof of the progress of knowledge and of the decay of superstition, that such words as Hobgoblins, Hob-thrushes, Robin-goodfellows, and even Fairies, answering to the grotesque names which Calvin has brought from his own vernacular, have grown antiquated, and are not likely to be replaced by terms of modern date. Howell’s definition of Loup-garou is a curious record of superstitious belief. “A mankind Wolfe, such a one as once being flesht on men, and children, will rather starve than feed on any thing else; also, one that, possessed with an extream and strange melancholy, beleeves he is turned Wolfe, and as a Wolfe behaves himselfe,” etc. — Ed FT202 And the wild beasts of the islands (Heb. Iim) shall cry. — Eng. Ver. FT203 And hyoenas shall cry in their palaces, and jackals in their tabernacles of delight. — Stock

I have also called my mighty ones. The phrase, I have called, conveys more than the phrase, I have commanded, which he had used in the former clause. It means that they will be roused to action, not only at the bidding of God, but by the very sound of his voice; as if I were to call a person to me, and he were immediately to follow. He threatens, therefore, that Babylon shall be destroyed by the Medes and Persians, in the same manner as if they obeyed the call of God; for though they were prompted to battle by their own ambition, pride, and cruelty, yet God directed them, without knowing it, to execute his judgment.

4. The noise of a multitude in the mountains. He adds a still more lively representation, (ὑποτύπωσιν,) that is, a description by which he places the event as it were before our eyes. The prophets are not satisfied with speaking, without also giving a bold picture of the events themselves. Words uttered plainly, and in the ordinary manner, do not strike us so powerfully or move our hearts so much as those figures which delineate a lively resemblance of the events. As if he had said, “Now, indeed, you hear a man speaking, but know that this voice will be so powerful that at the sound of it nations shall be roused, peoples shall make a noise, and in vast crowds shall shout and roar to bring destruction on the inhabitants of Babylon. This proclamation, therefore, will be as efficacious, even after that I am dead, as if you now saw what I foretell to you.”

In this event, therefore, we see how great is the efficacy of the word, which all the creatures both in heaven and in earth obey. We ought to be more strongly confirmed in the belief of this doctrine, by perceiving that every one of the events which had been predicted many centuries before has taken place. For this reason he declares that the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle, that the various nations are moved by God’s direction, and that, although nothing was farther from their intention than to inflict the punishment which he had appointed, still they do nothing but according to his command, as if some earthly general were to draw up his forces.

5. Coming from a distant country. He repeats and confirms more fully what I stated a little before, that the operations of war do not spring up at random from the earth; for though everything disorderly is vomited out by the passions of men, yet God rules on high; and therefore Isaiah justly ascribes sovereignty to God. Next, he adds, that armed men are nothing else than the weapons of his indignation. He says that they will come from a distant country, to overturn the monarchy of Babylon, because we are not afraid of dangers unless when they are close at hand. Babylon was so strongly fortified, and was surrounded by so many kingdoms and provinces which were subject to it, that it seemed as if there were no way by which an enemy could approach. In short, as if she had been situated in the clouds, she dreaded no danger.

From the end of heaven. There being no trouble all around that threatened them, he gives warning that the calamity will come from a distance. Though everything appears to be calm and peaceful, and though we are not at variance with our neighbors, God can bring enemies from the end of heaven. There is no reason, therefore, why we should promise to ourselves a lasting and prosperous condition, though we are not threatened with any immediate danger. If this prediction had reached the inhabitants of Babylon, they would undoubtedly have laughed at it as a fable. Even if we should suppose that they paid some respect to the Prophet, yet, having so strong a conviction of their safety, they would have despised those threatenings as idle and groundless. An example may be easily found. When we preach at the present day about the Turk, all think that it is a fable, because they think that he is still at a great distance from us. But we see how quickly he overtook those who were at a greater distance and more powerful. So great is the insensibility of men that they cannot be aroused, unless they are chastised and made to feel the blows. Let the inhabitants of Babylon, therefore, be a warning to us, to dread, before it is too late, the threatenings which the prophets utter, that the same thing may not happen to us as happens to those wicked men, who, relying on their prosperous condition, are so terrified when the hand of God attacks and strikes them, that they can no longer stand, but sink down bewildered.