Isaiah 23:13

Isaiah 23:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
• New International Version (NIV)Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, This people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, They raised up its palaces, And brought it to ruin.

Context of Isaiah 23:13

11He has stretched out His hand over the sea, He has shaken the kingdoms; The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon]. 12He has said, “You shall never again exult [in triumph], O crushed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.” Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin. 14Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For your stronghold [of Tyre] is destroyed. 15Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the prostitute’s song:

Isaiah 23:13 word by word

הֵ֣ן׀ אֶ֣רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים זֶ֤ה הָעָם֙ לֹ֣א הָיָ֔ה אַשּׁ֖וּר יְסָדָ֣הּ לְצִיִּ֑ים הֵקִ֣ימוּ בַחוּנָ֗יו עֹרְרוּ֙ אַרְמְנוֹתֶ֔יהָ שָׂמָ֖הּ לְמַפֵּלָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of the Chaldeansכַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
• this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• the Assyrianאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• foundedיָסַדyâsad · to foundH3245
• it for them that dwell in the wildernessצִיtsîyîy · wild beastH6728
• they set upקוּםqûm · to arise: raiseH6965
• the towersבַחוּןbachîyn · towerH971
• thereof, they raised upעָרַר‛ârar · to stripH6209
• the palacesאַרְמוֹן'armôn · citadel: palaceH759
• he broughtשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• it to ruinמַפֵּלָהmappâlâh mappêlâh · ruinH4654

Cross-references for Isaiah 23:13

• Isaiah 13:19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
• Genesis 11:28Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
• Job 1:17While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and have taken them away and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
• Habakkuk 1:6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon], That fierce and impetuous nation Who march throughout the earth To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.
• Acts 7:4Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God sent him to this country in which you now live.
• Genesis 2:14The third river is named Hiddekel (Tigris); it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
• Genesis 10:10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar [in Babylonia].
• Genesis 11:9Therefore the name of the city was Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the entire earth; and from that place the Lord scattered and dispersed them over the surface of all the earth.
• 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons (people) of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
• 2 Kings 20:12At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks [through his nose or cheeks] and bound him with bronze [chains] and took him to Babylon.
• Ezra 4:9then wrote Rehum the [Persian] commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
• Deuteronomy 4:30When you are in distress and tribulation and all these things come on you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.
• Psalms 72:9The nomads of the desert will bow before him, And his enemies will lick the dust.
• Ezekiel 26:7For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army.
• Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”

Commentaries on Isaiah 23:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Behold the land of the Chaldeans - This verse is extremely obscure; the obscurity arises from the ambiguity of the agents, which belong to the verbs, and of the objects expressed by the pronouns; from the change of number of the verbs, and of gender in the pronouns. The MSS. give us no assistance, and the ancient Versions very little. The Chaldee and Vulgate read שמוה samoah, in the plural number. I have followed the interpretation which, among many…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Behold the land of the Chaldeans - This is a very important verse, as it expresses the source from where these calamities were coming upon Tyre; and as it states some historical facts of great interest respecting the rise of Babylon. In the previous verses the prophet had foretold the certain destruction of Tyre, and had said that whoever was the agent, it was to be traced to the overruling providence of God. He here states distinctly that the agent in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13The Assyrians, led by Sennacherib, stripped and looted Babylonia in 689 BC. Eventually, Babylonia rose to become a mighty empire again.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Behold--Calling attention to the fact, so humiliating to Tyre, that a people of yesterday, like the Chaldees, should destroy the most ancient of cities, Tyre. was not--had no existence as a recognized nation; the Chaldees were previously but a rude, predatory people (Job 1:17). Assyrian founded it--The Chaldees ("them that dwell in the wilderness") lived a nomadic life in the mountains of Armenia originally (Arphaxad, in Ge 10:22, refers to such a…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 23:13

• Babylon
• Chaldea
• Tarshish

In the dictionaries

• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Chaldees
• Commerce
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Jackal
• Ruin
• Trade
• Wild Beast
• ruin, ruins, ruined

Commentaries on Isaiah 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings