New Living Translation
Isaiah 23:13
13Look at the land of Babylonia— the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild animals of the desert. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it to a heap of rubble.
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 held out his hand over the sea and shook the kingdoms of the earth. He has spoken out against Phoenicia, ordering that her fortresses be destroyed. 12He says, “Never again will you rejoice, O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed. Even if you flee to Cyprus, you will find no rest.” Look at the land of Babylonia— the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild animals of the desert. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it to a heap of rubble. 14Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your harbor is destroyed! 15For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute:
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 most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
- Genesis 11:28But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living.
- Job 1:17While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
- Habakkuk 1:6I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.
- Acts 7:4So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.
- Genesis 2:14The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.
- Genesis 10:10He built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.
- Genesis 11:9That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
- 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
- 2 Kings 20:12Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick.
- 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
- Ezra 4:9They greeted the king for all their colleagues—the judges and local leaders, the people of Tarpel, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the people of Erech and Susa (that is, Elam).
- Deuteronomy 4:30“In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you.
- Psalms 72:9Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust.
- Ezekiel 26:7“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army.
- Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work.
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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