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 stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook kingdoms; he gave the order to destroy Canaan’s fortresses. 12He said, “You will no longer celebrate, oppressed virgin daughter Sidon! Get up, travel to Cyprus, but you will find no relief there.” Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, demolished its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins. 14Wail, you large ships, for your fortress is destroyed! 15At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the typical life span of a king. At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song:

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 13:19Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms, the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were.
• Genesis 11:28Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, while his father Terah was still alive.
• Job 1:17While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”
• Habakkuk 1:6Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
• Acts 7:4Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this country where you now live.
• Genesis 2:14The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
• Genesis 10:10The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar.
• Genesis 11:9That is why its name was called Babel – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
• 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria brought foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They 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, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria. They seized Manasseh, put hooks in his nose, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.
• Ezra 4:9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues – the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites),
• Deuteronomy 4:30In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him
• Psalms 72:9Before him the coastlands will bow down, and his enemies will lick the dust.
• Ezekiel 26:7“For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note that I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people.
• Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out 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

• 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