God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 23:13
13Look at the land of the Babylonians. These people will be gone. Assyria gave this land to the desert animals. Assyria set up battle towers, stripped palaces bare, and turned these places into ruins.
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 stretched his hand over the sea to shake kingdoms. He has commanded that Canaan’s fortifications be destroyed. 12He says, “You will no longer be joyful, my dear abused people Sidon.” Get up, and travel to Cyprus. Even there you will find no rest. Look at the land of the Babylonians. These people will be gone. Assyria gave this land to the desert animals. Assyria set up battle towers, stripped palaces bare, and turned these places into ruins. 14Cry loudly, you ships of Tarshish, because your fortress will be destroyed. 15When that day comes, Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of the 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
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 13:19Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the proud beauty of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
- Genesis 11:28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land.
- Job 1:17While he was still speaking, another ⌞messenger⌟ came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies and made a raid on the camels. They took the camels and massacred the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
- Habakkuk 1:6I am going to send the Babylonians, that fierce and reckless nation. They will march throughout the earth to take possession of lands that don’t belong to them.
- Acts 7:4“Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.
- Genesis 2:14The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one that flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
- Genesis 10:10The first ⌞cities⌟ in his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in Shinar [Babylonia].
- Genesis 11:9This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth.
- 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its cities.
- 2 Kings 20:12At that time Baladan’s son, King Merodach Baladan of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
- 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
- Ezra 4:9At that time, Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe were with the others of their group—the people from Denya, Partakka, Tarpel, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa, (that is, those of Elam),
- Deuteronomy 4:30When you’re in distress and all these things happen to you, then you will finally come back to the Lord your God and obey him.
- Psalms 72:9May the people of the desert kneel in front of him. May his enemies lick the dust.
- Ezekiel 26:7“This is what the Almighty Lord says: From the north I’m going to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against you, Tyre. He is the greatest king. He will bring horses, chariots, war horses, many people, and many troops.
- Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. Every soldier’s head was worn bald, and every soldier’s shoulder was rubbed raw. Yet, he and his army got no reward for their hard-fought battle against Tyre.
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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