Isaiah 13:2

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 13:1-22

13:1-23:18 MESSAGES FOR VARIOUS NATIONSAll the nations are under the rule of God, who controls their rise to power and their final destruction according to his purposes. This is the truth that the prophet teaches in the collection of prophecies against various nations in Chapters 13 to 23. The first message is for Babylon, which in Isaiah’s day had not yet risen to a position of international power. The fall of Babylon that is pictured in these chapters would not take place for more than one... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 13:2-3

Isaiah 13:2-3. Lift ye up a banner— In this beginning of the discourse we have, first, a figurative declaration of the causes, principal as well as instrumental, of the judgment to be brought upon Babylon; wherein God is introduced as a supreme general, delivering his commands to his ministers to collect a strong and numerous army, which would serve as an instrument of executing that severe judgment which he had decreed against the Babylonians. We have this command in the present verses, and... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 13:2

2. Lift . . . banner— (Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10). the high mountain—rather, "a bare (literally, "bald," that is, without trees) mountain"; from it the banner could be seen afar off, so as to rally together the peoples against Babylon. unto them—unto the Medes (Isaiah 13:17), the assailants of Babylon. It is remarkable that Isaiah does not foretell here the Jews' captivity in Babylon, but presupposes that event, and throws himself beyond, predicting another event still more future, 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 13:2

(2) Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain . . .—Strictly speaking, a bare mountain. where there were no trees to hide the standard round which the forces that the prophet sees were to rally. The word and thought are the same as in Isaiah 5:26; but there the summons lies for the invaders of Israel, here for its avengers. The voice that summons is, as the next verse shows, that of Jehovah. The “shaking the hand” is, as in Isaiah 10:32, the act of the generals pointing with emphatic gesture... 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

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