Isaiah now begins a new prophecy. Motyer argues that this prophecy runs through chapter 27 in three divisions, chapters 13-20, chapters 21-23 and chapters 24-27. The first set, chapters 13-20, deals with five kingdoms: Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Damascus-Samaria, and Egypt. The passage on Babylon runs through 14:23 and describes Babylon's use as a punishment for Israel's apostasy. But Babylon too will pay for its evil.
Isaiah 13:1-3, Invitation to Babylon
A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
The first Hebrew word in this passage is massa', translated "prophecy" by the NIV is literally "burden." For this reason, this passage has been called "the burden of Babylon." In this introduction, soldiers are being mustered for battle, called to a banner on a hilltop.
Isaiah 13:4-5, Listen, listen!
Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty is mustering
an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
Warriors come from faraway lands to destroy the country. As Grogan points out, there is a poetic rhythm, an urgency to the three sentences "Listen, ...! Listen, ...! The Lord Almighty is mustering...!" followed by two sentences about the mustered swarm.
Isaiah 13:6-8, A Day to wail
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.
In the Day of the Lord, terror and distress fall on everyone. A woman in labor is given as an example of the extremes of personal suffering. The "face aflame" is an embarrassed, blushing face, representing shame.
Isaiah 13:9-10, A cruel day
See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
The "Day of the Lord" is here described as a cruel day, emphasized by dramatic statements about the skies and stars. The local devastation, a day of judgment, has become global, even universal.
Isaiah 13:11-12, The world and its arrogance
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
Those who stand against God begin with arrogance and pride. The Old Testament prophecies consistenly point to the haughty and ruthless and announce their judgment.
Like many Old Testament prophecies, there seems to be overlap between "local" prophecies, that is, upcoming events for Israel and Babylon in the ancient Near East, and "global" longterm prophecies about the earth and the universe. Commentator Grogan (p. 101) writes "Every local judgment is meant to stir in human beings a recognition of final accountability."
Isaiah 13:13, Earth shakes
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
Isaiah continues to describe the Day as one in which the entire cosmos is shaken.
Isaiah 13:14-16 Sheep without a shepherd,
Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee to their native land.
Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.
The captives will be destroyed, children brutally murdered. All will flee like shepherdless sheep.
Isaiah 13:17-18, The Medes also attacked
See, 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.
Along the way, the Medes will attack. (The Medes, out of northwest modern Iran, apparently became a unified political force in the seventh century BC, capturing Nineveh in 612 BC. A century later they will bring down Babylon.)
Isaiah 13:19-22, The Jewel overthrown
Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Babylonians,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about.
Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,
jackals her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
Ultimately, the destruction of Babylon will be total. Did this happen? Will it happen someday later? Or is this hyperbole?
Jeremiah 51 also has a prophecy about the fall of Babylon. Isaiah's prophecy against Babylon continues into the next chapter.
In the New Testament, the book of Revelation includes prophecies about Babylon. (See Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 17:1-8 for example.) Babylon represents there much more than a physical nation, but a general opposition to the plans of God.
Grogan points out that, like many zoological identifications, the identity in ancient Hebrew of these animals (translated as "jackals, owls, wild dogs, hyenas") is not clear and is only an educated guess, based on root words or other associations.
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