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The Bible · 692 of 1189

Isaiah 13

1.The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 2. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. 3. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. 4. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 5. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

6.Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8. And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. 15. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. 16. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. 17. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 18. 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.

19.And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. 21. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 22. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Asked of Guide

Why does Isaiah call Babylon a 'burden' and pronounce its total destruction?

Isaiah calls Babylon a “burden” because the chapter presents God’s heavy, revealed judgment against a proud imperial power; the prophet opens with a vision announcing divine action and then describes an assembled host and cosmic signs that signal the LORD’s intervention. The language—“Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand” and images of sun and moon darkened—frames Babylon’s fall as an act of God punishing arrogance and violence.

The chapter names concrete causes: oppression, cruelty, and haughtiness—Isaiah says he will “cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease”—and predicts total desolation so the city will be “as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” Readers who know Jeremiah will see a similar theme: Jeremiah 50–51 also announces Babylon’s judgment for exile and violence.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.