New Living Translation
Isaiah 13:17
17“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.
Isaiah 13:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
- New International Version (NIV)See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
Context of Isaiah 13:17
15Anyone who is captured will be cut down— run through with a sword. 16Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped. “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. 18The 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.” 19Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
Read all of Isaiah 13Isaiah 13:17 word by word
הִנְנִ֛י מֵעִ֥יר עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם אֶת־מָדָ֑י אֲשֶׁר־כֶּ֙סֶף֙ לֹ֣א יַחְשֹׁ֔בוּ וְזָהָ֖ב לֹ֥א יַחְפְּצוּ־בֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 13:17
- Isaiah 13:3I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”
- Isaiah 21:2I see a terrifying vision: I see the betrayer betraying, the destroyer destroying. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, attack and lay siege. I will make an end to all the groaning Babylon caused.
- Isaiah 41:25“But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north. From the east he will call on my name. I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.
- Jeremiah 50:9For I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. They will join forces to attack Babylon, and she will be captured. The enemies’ arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!
- Jeremiah 51:11Sharpen the arrows! Lift up the shields! For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes to march against Babylon and destroy her. This is his vengeance against those who desecrated his Temple.
- Daniel 5:28Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
- Proverbs 6:34For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
Commentaries on Isaiah 13:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Which shall not regard silver "Who shall hold silver of no account" - That is, who shall not be induced, by large offers of gold and silver for ransom, to spare the lives of those whom they have subdued in battle; their rage and cruelty will get the better of all such motives. We have many examples in the Iliad and in the Aeneid of addresses of the vanquished to the pity and avarice of the vanquishers, to induce them to spare their lives. Est domus alta…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Behold, I will stir up - I will cause them to engage in this enterprise. This is an instance of the control which God claims over the nations, and of his power to excite and direct them as he pleases. The Medes - This is one of the places in which the prophet specified, “by name,” the instrument of the wrath of God. Cyrus himself is subsequently mentioned Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1 as the agent by which God would accomplish his purposes. It is remarkable…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
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The Lord is sovereign and controls history. He can influence kingdoms to carry out his will. The Medes from northwestern Iran joined Persian King Cyrus to fight against Babylon in 539 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Medes--(Is 21:2; Jr 51:11, 28). At that time they were subject to Assyria; subsequently Arbaces, satrap of Media, revolted against the effeminate Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, destroyed Nineveh, and became king of Media, in the ninth century B.C. not regard silver--In vain will one try to buy his life from them for a ransom. The heathen Xenophon (Cyropædia, 5,1,10) represents Cyrus as attributing this characteristic to the Medes, disregard of riches…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 13:17
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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