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

11The Lord has lifted his hand up over the sea. He has made kingdoms shake with fear. He has given his command against Canaan, to destroy all its strong places. 12He says to Sidon's people, ‘Your parties have finished! Now it will be a time of pain for you. Move away, if you can! Travel to Cyprus. But you will still not be safe there.’ Look at what happened in Babylonia. Its people have disappeared! The Assyrian army has made it a place for wild animals to live in. Their soldiers built hills of earth against the city's walls. They climbed over and they destroyed its strong buildings. Babylon's buildings became heaps of stones. 14So weep aloud, you great ships of Tarshish. Enemies have destroyed your strong place. 15At that time people will forget Tyre for 70 years. That is how long one king lives. At the end of 70 years, there will be a change in Tyre. It will happen to them like the song about the prostitute:

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 13:19Yes, 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.
• Genesis 11:28While Terah was still alive, his son, Haran, died. Haran died in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. That was where Haran had been born.
• Job 1:17Before that servant had finished speaking, a third servant arrived. He said to Job, ‘Some robbers from Chaldea suddenly attacked us. They took away all your camels and they killed your servants. I was the only one who escaped. I ran here to tell you what has happened.’
• Habakkuk 1:6I will give more power to the Babylonians. They are a cruel nation with brave soldiers. They march across the whole earth. They take cities that do not belong to them.
• Acts 7:4So Abraham left his country where the Chaldean people lived. He went to Haran and he stayed there. While he was there, his father died. Then God said to him, “Leave this place.” God then sent him to live in Canaan. This is where we are living now.
• Genesis 2:14The third river is called the Tigris. It goes along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is called the Euphrates.
• Genesis 10:10The first of Nimrod's lands were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar.
• Genesis 11:9That is why people called the city Babel. It was because the Lord confused all the people of the world and he gave them different languages to speak. From that time, the Lord separated the people from each other so that they lived in different places all over the earth.
• 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria brought foreign people to live in the towns of Samaria. They came from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. They lived in places in Samaria where the Israelites had lived. They took Samaria for themselves and they lived in its towns.
• 2 Kings 20:12At that time, Baladan's son, Merodach-Baladan, was the king of Babylon. Merodach-Baladan sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He had heard the news that Hezekiah had been ill.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord brought the officers of the king of Assyria's army to attack them. They took hold of Manasseh. They put metal hooks in his nose and they tied bronze chains around him. Then they took him away to Babylon.
• Ezra 4:9Rehum, your ruler, and Shimshai, his officer, write this letter to you. The other officers who work with us also send this letter to you. They are the judges and other officers and leaders, together with the people who came here from Erech, Babylon and Susa (the Elamites).
• Deuteronomy 4:30When trouble happens to you in the future, you will turn back to him. When all these bad things happen to you, you will obey God again.
• Psalms 72:9Then people who live in the desert will bend down to respect him. His enemies will fall down with their faces in the dust.
• Ezekiel 26:7This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to attack Tyre from the north. He is a powerful king. He will bring his great army with soldiers on horses and chariots.
• Ezekiel 29:18‘Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked the city of Tyre with his army. His soldiers had to work very hard. They carried heavy loads so that it hurt their heads and their shoulders. They had a lot of pain. But they did not get anything valuable from Tyre, even though they worked so hard.

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