Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 23:13
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans — a people who no longer exist. Assyria destined it for desert creatures. They set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They made it a ruin.
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 stretched out his hand over the sea; he made kingdoms tremble. The Lord has commanded that the Canaanite fortresses be destroyed. 12He said, “You will not celebrate anymore, ravished young woman, daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus — even there you will have no rest!” Look at the land of the Chaldeans — a people who no longer exist. Assyria destined it for desert creatures. They set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They made it a ruin. 14Wail, ships of Tarshish, because your fortress is destroyed! 15On that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years — the life span of one king. At the end of seventy years, what the song says about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:
Read all of Isaiah 23Isaiah 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 jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
- Genesis 11:28Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime.
- Job 1:17That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Habakkuk 1:6Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own.
- Acts 7:4“Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land in which you are now living.
- Genesis 2:14The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
- Genesis 10:10His kingdom started with Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 11:9Therefore it is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
- 2 Kings 17:24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
- 2 Kings 20:12At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick.
- 2 Chronicles 33:11So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
- Ezra 4:9From Rehum the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues — the judges and magistrates from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa (that is, the people of Elam),
- Deuteronomy 4:30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, in the future you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.
- Psalms 72:9May desert tribes kneel before him and his enemies lick the dust.
- Ezekiel 26:7For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge assembly of troops.
- Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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