New International Version
Isaiah 13:18
18Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children.
Isaiah 13:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.”
Context of Isaiah 13:18
16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. 17See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. 19Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. 20She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
Read all of Isaiah 13Isaiah 13:18 word by word
וּקְשָׁת֖וֹת נְעָרִ֣ים תְּרַטַּ֑שְׁנָה וּפְרִי־בֶ֙טֶן֙ לֹ֣א יְרַחֵ֔מוּ עַל־בָּנִ֖ים לֹֽא־תָח֥וּס עֵינָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- bowsקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
- also shall dashרָטַשׁrâţash · to dash in piecesH7376
- the young menנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
- and they shall have no pityרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355
- on the fruitפְּרִיperîy · fruitH6529
- of the wombבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
- their eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- shall not spareחוּסchûs · to pityH2347
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
Cross-references for Isaiah 13:18
- Isaiah 13:16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated.
- 2 Kings 8:12“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”
- Hosea 13:16The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.”
- Nahum 2:1An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength!
- Nahum 3:10Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at every street corner. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
- Ezekiel 9:5As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.
Commentaries on Isaiah 13:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Their bows also shall dash "Their bows shall dash" - Both Herodotus, 1:61, and Xenophon, Anab. iii., mention, that the Persians used large bows : and the latter says particularly that their bows were three cubits long, Anab. 4. They were celebrated for their archers, see Isaiah 22:6; Jeremiah 49:35. Probably their neighbours and allies, the Medes, dealt much in the same sort of arms. In Psalm 18:34, and Job 20:24, mention is made of a bow of steel; if the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Their bows also - Bows and arrows were the usual weapons of the ancients in war; and the Persians were particularly skilled in their use. According to Xenophon, Cyrus came to Babylon with a great number of archers and slingers (Cyrop. ii. 1). Shall dash the young men - That is, they shall dash the young men to pieces, or kill them by their bows and arrows. Vulgate, And with their arrows shall they slay the young.‘ The meaning of the word here rendered…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-18Verses 6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of governments. God…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. bows--in the use of which the Persians were particularly skilled.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 13:18
In the dictionaries
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
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