Isaiah 13:19

Isaiah 13:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
• New International Version (NIV)Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Context of Isaiah 13:19

17“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.” Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. 20Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep. 21Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance.

Isaiah 13:19 word by word

וְהָיְתָ֤ה בָבֶל֙ צְבִ֣י מַמְלָכ֔וֹת תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת גְּא֣וֹן כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים כְּמַהְפֵּכַ֣ת אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־סְדֹ֖ם וְאֶת־עֲמֹרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
• the gloryצְבִיtsebîy · beautyH6643
• of kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
• the beautyתִּפְאָרָהtiph'ârâh tiph'ereth · beautyH8597
• of the Chaldees’כַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
• excellencyגָּאוֹןgâ'ôn · prideH1347
• shall be as when Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• overthrewמַהְפֵּכָהmahpêkâh · overthrowH4114
• Sodomסְדֹםsedôm · SodomH5467
• and Gomorrahעֲמֹרָה‛ămôrâh · GomorrahH6017

Cross-references for Isaiah 13:19

• Isaiah 14:4you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, “The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended.
• Jeremiah 51:41“How Babylon is fallen— great Babylon, praised throughout the earth! Now she has become an object of horror among the nations.
• Daniel 2:37Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
• Daniel 4:30As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
• Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Deuteronomy 29:23They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.’
• Jeremiah 49:18It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the Lord. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.
• Jeremiah 50:40I will destroy it as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the Lord. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.
• Zephaniah 2:9Now, as surely as I live,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, “Moab and Ammon will be destroyed— destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 13:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19And Babylon - The great city of Babylon was at this time rising to its height of glory, while the Prophet Isaiah was repeatedly denouncing its utter destruction. From the first of Hezekiah to the first of Nebuchadnezzar, under whom it was brought to the highest degree of strength and splendor, are about one hundred and twenty years. I will here very briefly mention some particulars of the greatness of the place, and note the several steps by which this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms - That is, the capital or chief ornament of many nations. Appellations of this kind, applied to Babylon, abound in the Scriptures. In Daniel 4:30, it is called great Babylon;‘ in Isaiah 14:4, it is called the golden city;‘ in Isaiah 47:5, the lady of kingdoms;‘ in Jeremiah 51:13, it is, spoken of as abundant in treasures;‘ and, in Jeremiah 51:41, as the praise of the whole earth.‘ All these expressions are designed to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-22Verses 19-22 Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and of the church of God. The whole…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-22This image of Babylon as a forever haunted ruin contrasts with its greatness at its height (see Daniel 4:29–30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. glory of kingdoms--(Is 14:4; 47:5; Jr 51:41). beauty of ... excellency--Hebrew, "the glory of the pride" of the Chaldees; it was their glory and boast. as ... Gomorrah--as utterly (Jr 49:18; 50:40; Am 4:11). Taken by Cyrus, by clearing out the canal made for emptying the superfluous waters of the Euphrates, and directing the river into this new channel, so that he was able to enter the city by the old bed in the night.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 13:19

• Cyrus
• Gomorrah
• Sodom

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• God
• Gomorrah
• Sodom
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Chaldees
• Glory
• Haughtiness
• Howl

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