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 will cause the Medes to come and attack Babylon. Their army has no interest in silver or gold, so nobody can pay them to stop. 18Their arrows will kill Babylon's young men. They will not let babies or children go free. Yes, God will destroy Babylon, as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Babylon has been a great and beautiful city. The people of the whole nation have been very proud of it. But God will still destroy it. 20The people and their descendants will never live there again. No Arab will put his tent there. No shepherds will take their sheep there to rest. 21Only wild animals will lie down there. Its old houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will live there and wild goats will jump in it.

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 14:4Then you will laugh at the king of Babylon. You will say to him, ‘Now you cannot be cruel to us any more! Your power to cause trouble has finished!
• Jeremiah 51:41‘Now an enemy will take power over Babylon! Everyone in the world praised it as a great nation. But now all the nations will see that it is a disgusting place.
• Daniel 2:37You are a great king who rules over other kings. The God of heaven has given you authority to rule. He has given you power, strength and honour.
• Daniel 4:30The king said, ‘Look how great Babylon is! It is the city that I have built to be my home as king. It shows that I am a great and powerful king!’
• Genesis 19:24Then the Lord poured sulphur that was on fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah. It fell from the sky like rain.
• Deuteronomy 29:23The whole land will become spoiled with salt and sulphur. No one will plant seed in it, because nothing will grow there. Even grass will not grow on it. The land will be useless, like the cities that the Lord destroyed when he was very angry with them. Those cities were Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim.
• Jeremiah 49:18Edom will become a heap of stones where nobody lives. The same thing happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and the towns that were near them. Edom will be as empty as a desert.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Jeremiah 50:40Babylonia will become a heap of stones where nobody lives. The same thing happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns near to them. Nobody will live there any more.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Zephaniah 2:9The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘You can be sure that I live. In the same way, you can also be sure that my people will take everything for themselves. God will destroy Moab as he destroyed Sodom. He will destroy Ammon as he destroyed Gomorrah. After this, the ground will have lots of salt on it. Weeds will grow there. Nobody will build anything there again. My people who are still alive will take for themselves the Ammonites' things and the Moabites' things.’

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