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Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 13:13-16

Isaiah 13:13-16. Therefore I will shake the heavens— Every one who reads and compares these words with those preceding, must observe, that they contain an explanation of what the prophet had said concerning the mighty storm to be raised against the Babylonians; so that here the same subject is continued and amplified. The same figure is employed in the 13th verse, setting forth the manifestation of the divine justice as the cause of the calamity, the effects of which are related in the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 13:1-22

B. God’s sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35This major section of the book emphasizes the folly of trusting in the nations rather than in Yahweh. The section preceding it shows how King Ahaz trusted in Assyria and experienced destruction (chs. 7-12). The section following it shows how King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and experienced deliverance (chs. 36-39). In this present section, the prophet expanded his perspective from Israel to include the world. The God of Israel is also Lord of the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 13:1-27

The first oracle against Babylon 13:1-14:27The reader would expect that Isaiah would inveigh against Assyria, since it was the most threatening enemy in his day, and since he referred to it many times in earlier chapters. However, he did not mention Assyria in this section but Babylon, an empire that came into its own about a century after Isaiah’s time. Babylon was a symbol of self-exalting pride, and its glory, dating back to the tower of Babel (cf. Isaiah 13:5; Isaiah 13:10-11). Thus what he... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 13:2-16

This section is an introduction to all 10 oracles that follow in chapters 13-23, as well as to the first oracle against Babylon. It explains why God will judge Gentile nations: they refuse to acknowledge Yahweh’s sovereignty and instead exalt and glorify themselves. The story of the building of the tower of Babel is the classic expression of this hubris (overweening pride; Genesis 11:1-9).Isaiah related a message from God, summoning His warriors to assemble, so they could carry out His will in... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 13:1-22

1. Burden] The corresponding verb means ’to lift up’ (a) a load, (b) the voice (cp. Isaiah 3:7; Isaiah 42:2, Isaiah 42:11), used of Balaam lifting up his voice in oracular utterance (Numbers 24:3, Numbers 24:15, Numbers 24:23). Hence the noun signifies an utterance, or oracle (e.g. 2 Kings 9:25), and is often prefixed, as here, to prophetic utterances (Zechariah 9:1; Zechariah 12:1; Proverbs 31:1). Since it is often applied to threatening utterances, the meaning of ’burden’ is also suitable. In... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 13:1-23

The Judgment of Babylon and its KingThis is the first of a series of prophecies dealing mainly with foreign nations. Its subject is Babylon, where the Jews are represented as undergoing exile, from which they are about to be delivered (Isaiah 14:1-3) owing to the capture of Babylon by the Medes (Isaiah 13:17). The historical setting of the prophecy is thus much later than the age of Isaiah, in whose time the Assyrians were the great-enemies of God’s people. On this ground most modern scholars... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 13:16

(16) Their children also shall be dashed.—Better, their sucklings. The words of the prediction seem to have been in the minds of the exiles in Babylon when they uttered their dread beatitude on those who were to be the ministers of a righteous vengeance (Psalms 137:9). Outrages such as these were then, as they have been ever since, the inevitable accompaniments of the capture of a besieged city. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Isaiah 13:1-22

CHAPTER XXVIIBABYLON AND LUCIFERDATE UNCERTAINIsaiah 13:1-22; Isaiah 14:1-23THIS double oracle is against the City {Isaiah 13:2-22; Isaiah 14:1-2} and the Tyrant {Isaiah 14:3-23} of Babylon.I. THE WICKED CITY{Isaiah 13:2-22; Isaiah 14:1-23}The first part is a series of hurried and vanishing scenes-glimpses of ruin and deliverance caught through the smoke and turmoil of a Divine war. The drama opens with the erection of a gathering "standard upon a bare mountain" (Isaiah 13:2). He who gives the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Isaiah 13:1-22

2. The judgment of the Nations and the Future Day of Jehovah (13-27) CHAPTER 13 The Burden of Babylon 1. Jehovah’s call to the judgment of Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-5 ) 2. The day of Jehovah: When Babylon falls (Isaiah 13:6-16 ) 3. Babylon overthrown (Isaiah 13:17-22 ) The great judgments announced in this part of Isaiah were only partially fulfilled in the past. The great Babylon which came into existence as the mistress of the world after this prophecy had been given, fell by the Medes... read more

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