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Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 13:20

20. Literally fulfilled. neither . . . Arabian pitch tent—Not only shall it not be a permanent residence, but not even a temporary resting-place. The Arabs, through dread of evil spirits, and believing the ghost of Nimrod to haunt it, will not pass the night there (compare :-). neither . . . shepherds—The region was once most fertile; but owing to the Euphrates being now no longer kept within its former channels, it has become a stagnant marsh, unfit for flocks; and on the wastes of its ruins... 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 13:17-22

This pericope foretells the destruction of Babylon. Prophecies of the day of the Lord may describe the eschatological judgment coming (Isaiah 13:2-16), or a more recent, limited judgment coming (Isaiah 13:17-22). Each soon-coming judgment on a particular segment of humanity foreshadows the great eschatological judgment that will fall on the whole human race in the Tribulation. This destruction of Babylon was a judgment of the Lord in a day that would be closer to Isaiah’s own time, a near and... 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 13:19

(19) And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms.—The words paint the impression which the great city, even in Isaiah’s time, made upon all who saw it. So Nebuchadnezzar, though his work was mainly that of a restorer, exulted in his pride in the greatness of the city of which he claimed to be the builder (Daniel 4:30). So Herodotus (i. 178) describes it as the most famous and the strongest of all the cities of Assyria, adorned beyond any other city on which his eyes had ever looked. (Compare the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 13:20

(20) Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there . . .—The word “Arabian” is used in its widest extent, as including all the nomadic tribes of the Bedouin type east and north of Palestine as far as Babylon (2 Chronicles 21:16; Strabo, xvi., p. 743). Here, again, we note a literal fulfilment. The Bedouins themselves, partly because the place is desolate, partly from a superstitious horror, shrink from encamping on the site of the ancient temples and palaces, and they are left to lions and other... 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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