Isaiah 13:19

Isaiah 13:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
• New International Version (NIV)Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Context of Isaiah 13:19

17Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold. 18Their bows will cut young men to pieces. They will have no compassion on offspring; they will not look with pity on children. And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; a nomad will not pitch his tent there, and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there. 21But desert creatures will lie down there, and owls will fill the houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

Isaiah 13:19 word by word

וְהָיְתָ֤ה בָבֶל֙ צְבִ֣י מַמְלָכ֔וֹת תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת גְּא֣וֹן כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים כְּמַהְפֵּכַ֣ת אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־סְדֹ֖ם וְאֶת־עֲמֹרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
• the gloryצְבִיtsebîy · beautyH6643
• of kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
• the beautyתִּפְאָרָהtiph'ârâh tiph'ereth · beautyH8597
• of the Chaldees’כַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
• excellencyגָּאוֹןgâ'ôn · prideH1347
• shall be as when Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• overthrewמַהְפֵּכָהmahpêkâh · overthrowH4114
• Sodomסְדֹםsedôm · SodomH5467
• and Gomorrahעֲמֹרָה‛ămôrâh · GomorrahH6017

Cross-references for Isaiah 13:19

• Isaiah 14:4you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon and say: How the oppressor has quieted down, and how the raging has become quiet!
• Jeremiah 51:41How Sheshak has been captured, the praise of the whole earth seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
• Daniel 2:37Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
• Daniel 4:30the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?”
• Genesis 19:24Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord demolished in his fierce anger.
• Jeremiah 49:18As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.
• Jeremiah 50:40Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns — this is the Lord’s declaration — so no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily as a temporary resident.
• Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as I live — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel — Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.

Commentaries on Isaiah 13:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19And Babylon - The great city of Babylon was at this time rising to its height of glory, while the Prophet Isaiah was repeatedly denouncing its utter destruction. From the first of Hezekiah to the first of Nebuchadnezzar, under whom it was brought to the highest degree of strength and splendor, are about one hundred and twenty years. I will here very briefly mention some particulars of the greatness of the place, and note the several steps by which this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms - That is, the capital or chief ornament of many nations. Appellations of this kind, applied to Babylon, abound in the Scriptures. In Daniel 4:30, it is called great Babylon;‘ in Isaiah 14:4, it is called the golden city;‘ in Isaiah 47:5, the lady of kingdoms;‘ in Jeremiah 51:13, it is, spoken of as abundant in treasures;‘ and, in Jeremiah 51:41, as the praise of the whole earth.‘ All these expressions are designed to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-22Verses 19-22 Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and of the church of God. The whole…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-22This image of Babylon as a forever haunted ruin contrasts with its greatness at its height (see Daniel 4:29–30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. glory of kingdoms--(Is 14:4; 47:5; Jr 51:41). beauty of ... excellency--Hebrew, "the glory of the pride" of the Chaldees; it was their glory and boast. as ... Gomorrah--as utterly (Jr 49:18; 50:40; Am 4:11). Taken by Cyrus, by clearing out the canal made for emptying the superfluous waters of the Euphrates, and directing the river into this new channel, so that he was able to enter the city by the old bed in the night.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 13:19

• Cyrus
• Gomorrah
• Sodom

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• God
• Gomorrah
• Sodom
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Chaldees
• Glory
• Haughtiness
• Howl

Commentaries on Isaiah 13

• 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