It will happen that like a hunted gazelle, and like sheep that no one gathers, they will each turn to their own people, and will each flee to their own land.
Parallel Translations
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It will happen that like a hunted gazelle, and like sheep that no one gathers, they will each turn to their own people, and will each flee to their own land.
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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.
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And it shall come to pass, that as the chased gazelle, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Isaiah 13:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 22:17 He said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let them each return to his house in peace.’ ”
- Jeremiah 50:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the oppressing sword, they will each return to their own people, and they will each flee to their own land.
- 1 Kings 22:36 A cry went throughout the army about the going down of the sun, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”
- Jeremiah 51:9 “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let’s each go into his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
- Isaiah 17:13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters: but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
- Isaiah 47:15 The things that you labored in will be like this: those who have trafficked with you from your youth will each wander in his own way. There will be no one to save you.
- Revelation 18:9-10 The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning, standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, the power of Babylon with their hired soldiers.
Meaning, the power of Babylon with their hired soldiers.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 13:14 And it shall be as the chased…
Isa 13:14 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.
Ver. 14. And it shall be as the chased roe.] Or, "She," that is, Babylon, "shall be," when drunk with security, that usher of destruction, she shall be suddenly surprised. So strong were her walls and bulwarks, that she feared no irruption of the enemy; and so bold she bore herself upon her twenty years’ provision laid in beforehand that she feared no famine by the straitness of a long siege. Herodotus telleth us that when Babylon was taken by Cyrus, some part of the city knew not of their condition till the third day after: the suddenness of their surprise must needs be very dreadful. {a}
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They shall every man,] i.e., All her confederates and presidiaries.
{a} Herod., lib. i.; Arist. Polit., lib. ill.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And it, to wit, Babylon,
And it, to wit, Babylon,
shall be as the chased roe; fearful in itself, especially when it is pursued by the hunter.
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As a sheep that no man taketh up; in a most forlorn and neglected condition.
Every man; those soldiers of other and more warlike nations whom she had hired to assist her; which she used to do at other times, but especially upon this great occasion; of which See Poole "Jer 50:16"; See Poole "Jer 51:9".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it shall be as the chased roe,.... That…
And it shall be as the chased roe,.... That is, Babylon, and the inhabitants thereof, shall be like a roe when hunted by the dogs; which is a very fearful creature, and at the sight and noise of the dogs flies here and there for safety; just so should be the most courageous of the Babylonians, when their city should be taken. The Syriac version renders it, "they shall be"; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "they that are left shall be as the fleeing roe", such who fall not by the sword. Kimchi interprets it of people of other nations that should be in Babylon when taken, which agrees with the latter part of the verse:
and as a sheep that no man taketh up; the Septuagint and Arabic versions read, "as a straying sheep", that flees from the wolf; and there being none to fetch it back, and bring it to the flock, it wanders about and perishes:
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they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee everyone into his own land; this is to be understood of such foreigners, who were called in by the king of Babylon to his assistance, and the defence of the city; who perceiving it to be taken, or in danger, fled to their own countries, from whence they came, and so left the city naked and defenceless, see Jer 50:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain It - Babylon. A roe - Fearful in itself,…
It - Babylon. A roe - Fearful in itself, especially when it is pursued by the hunter. A sheep - In a most forlorn condition. Every man - Those soldiers of other nations, whom she had hired to assist her.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. "And the remnant"] Here is plainly a…
Verse 14. "And the remnant"] Here is plainly a defect in this sentence, as it stands in the Hebrew text; the subject of the proposition is lost. What is it that shall be like a roe chased? The Septuagint happily supply it, οι καταλελειμμενοι, שאר shear, the remnant. A MS. here supplies the word יושב yosheb, the inhabitant; which makes a tolerably good sense; but I much prefer the reading of the Septuagint.
They shall - turn - "They shall look"] That is, the forces of the king of Babylon, destitute of their leader, and all his auxiliaries, collected from Asia Minor, and other distant countries, shall disperse and flee to their respective homes.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And it shall be - Babylon shall be.
And it shall be - Babylon shall be.
As the chased roe - Once so proud. lofty, arrogant, and self-confident; it shall be as the trembling gazelle, or the timid deer pursued by the hunter, and panting for safety. The word (צבי tsebı̂y) denotes a deer of the most delicate frame; the species that is most fleet and graceful in its movements; properly the “gazelle” (see Bochart’s “Hieroz.” i. 3. 25). ‘To hunt the antelope is a favorite amusement in the East, but which, from its extraordinary swiftness, is attended with great difficulty. On the first alarm, it flies like an arrow from the bow, and leaves the best-mounted hunter, and the fleetest dog, far behind. The sportsman is obliged to call in the aid of the falcon, trained to the work, to seize on the animal, and impede its motions, to give the dogs time to overtake it. Dr. Russel thus describes the chase of the antelope: “They permit horsemen, without dogs, if they advance gently, to approach near, and do not seem much to regard a caravan that passes within a little distance; but the moment they take the alarm, they bound away, casting from time to time a look behind: and if they find themselves pursued, they lay their horns backward, almost close on the shoulders, and flee with incredible swiftness. When dogs appear, they instantly take the alarm, for which reason the sportsmen endeavor to steal upon the antelope unawares, to get as near as possible before slipping the dogs; and then, pushing on at full speed, they throw off the falcon, which being taught to strike or fix upon the cheek of the game, retards its course by repeated attacks, until the greyhounds have time to get up.”’ - (Burder’s “Orient. Cus.”)
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As a sheep - Or like a scattered flock of sheep in the wilderness that has no shepherd, and no one to collect them together; an image also of that which is timid and defenseless.
That no man taketh up - That is astray, and not under the protection of any shepherd. The meaning is, that that people, once so proud and self-confident, would become alarmed, and scattered, and be afraid of everything.
They shall every man turn unto his own people - Babylon was the capital of the pagan world. It was a vast and magnificent city; the center of many nations. It would be the place, therefore, where numerous foreigners would take up a temporary residence, as London and other large cities are now. Jeremiah Jer 50:37 describes Babylon as containing a mingled population - ‘and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her’ - that is, “the colluvies gentium,” as Tacitus describes Rome in his time. Jeremiah also Jer 50:28 describes this mingled multitude as fleeing and escaping out of the land of Babylon, when these calamities should come upon them. The idea in Isaiah is, that this great and mixed multitude would endeavor to escape the impending calamities, and flee to their own nations.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Land. Baltassar shall be abandoned by his allies. Crœsus…
Land. Baltassar shall be abandoned by his allies. Crœsus had been already defeated, before Cyrus invested Babylon.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain b) The particular part: The prophecy against Babylon
b) The particular part: The prophecy against Babylon
Isa_13:14 to Isa_14:23
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1. THE JUDGMENT ON THE CITY AND STATE OF BABYLON
Isa_13:14-22
14 And it shall be as the chased roe,
And as 11a 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 Isaiah 12 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 13when 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 14wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
And their houses shall be full of 15 16doleful creatures;
And 17 18owls shall dwell there,
And satyrs shall dance there.
22 And 19the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their 20desolate houses,
And dragons in their pleasant palaces:
And her time is near to come,
And her days shall not be prolonged.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
On Isa_13:14. והיה is to be construed neuter = “it shall be, it turns out, such are the circumstances.” The Hoph. particip. מדח only here; beside this in Isaiah the Niph. and Pual participles, Isa_8:22; Isa_16:3-4.—צְבִי with the meaning “gazelle,” occurs only here in Isaiah. It seems that the Prophet by והיה כצבי here and והיתה בבל צבי וגו Isa_13:19, intended a contrast. Babylon צבי in the sense of decus, is at the same time צבי in the sense of dorcas.—ואין מקבץ occurs again Nah_3:18; Jer_49:5.
On Isa_13:15. נמצא comp. Isa_22:3; Isa_37:4. דקר only here in Isaiah. נספה from ספה “to snatch, seize.”—רטשׁ that occurs only in Piel and Pual, is used exclusively of dashing to pieces human bodies: Hos_10:14; Hos_14:1; Nah_3:10; 2Ki_8:12; in Isa. the word occurs only here and Isa_13:18. שָׁסַם (kindred to שׁשׂה ,שׁסה, Isa_10:13; Isa_17:14; Isa_42:22) only here in Isa. Comp. Zec_14:2.—Niph. נשׁגל (Kal. Deu_28:30; Pual Jer_3:2) occurs only here and Zechariah 14.
On Isa_13:19. צבי comp. on Isa_4:2, where also Isaiah has גאון and תפארת though not in a genitive relation, a combination that occurs in no other place.—כמהפכת comp. on Isa_1:7. The original passage is Deu_29:22. The substantive like infinitives has retained the verbal force.
On Isa_13:20. The intransitive use of ישׁב and שׁכן (= “to be a habitation”) occurs first in Joel 4:20. It does not occur later in Isaiah; whereas in Jeremiah it is frequent (Jer_17:6; Jer_17:25; Jer_30:18; Jer_46:26; Jer_50:13; Jer_50:39): in Eze_29:11 also, and in Zec_2:8; Zec_9:5. The expression עד דור ודור, occurs only here in Isaiah. דּוֹר occurs in various connections, Isa_34:10; Isa_34:17; Isa_51:8; Isa_58:12; Isa_60:15; Isa_61:4.—עֲרָבִי. So still Jer_3:2; comp. Jer_25:24, otherwise in later books עַרְבִי 2Ch_21:16; 2Ch_22:1; Neh_2:19; Neh_4:1; Neh_6:1. Because of the following רֹעִים, this cannot be understood to mean nomadic shepherds in general. But the word signifies the Arabian proper, because in fact “Babylon lay near enough to Arabia for Arabians proper to come thither with their flocks” (Gesenius).—יַהֵל for יְאַהֵל, like מַלְּפֵנוּ Job_35:11, for מְאַלְּפֵנוּ. The form occurs only here The verb אָהַל (Kal. Gen_13:12; Gen_13:18) is denominativum.—הִרְבִּיץ is to make רֵבֶץ: thus it is direct causative. Hiph. (Isa_54:11).
On Isa_13:21. צִיִּים (from צִי unused, from which צִיָּה terra arida) are dwellers in the desert; whether men or beasts is undetermined. Yet analogy favors the latter; for in what follows only beasts are mentioned. The word occurs in Isaiah again Isa_23:13; Isa_34:14; comp. Jer_50:39. Ewald, (Lehrb. § 146, g. Anm.) derives ציים, and איים with the meaning “criers, howlers,” from Arabic roots, as it seems to me, without necessity.—אחים ἅπάξ λεγ. The LXX., evidently following a kindred sound, translate καὶ πλησθήσονται οἰκίαι ἤχου. But the parallelism demands rather some species of beast. Jerome translates dracones. Aurivillius proposed first ulula, “owls,” “horn owls.”—בַּת יַעֲנָה (Lev_11:16; Deu_14:15) is “the ostrich.” The masculine form יְעֵנִים found only Lam_4:3. According to some, the name means “the mourning daughter of the desert,” (Meier, Wurzelw. p. 49); according to others, the word is related to the Syr. jaeno, “greedy, ravenous.” The feminine designation has essentially a poetic reason, comp. בַּת גְּדוּד Mic. 4:14 with בְּנֵי גְּדוּד 2Ch_25:13. בַּת־אֲשׁוּרִים ,בַּת־עַיִן (Eze_27:6). The word occurs in Isaiah again Isa_34:13; Isa_43:20; comp. Jer_50:39; Mic_1:8; Job_30:20.—שּׂעירים are hirsuti, pilosi, “goats,” i.e., goat-shaped demons.—רִקֵּד Piel only here in Isaiah; comp. Job_21:11; Joe_2:5; Nah_3:2.
Isa_13:22 אִיִּיב are “jackals.” The singular אִי seems abbreviated from אֱוִי from an unused אָוָה, ululavit. In Arabic the jackal still is called ibn-awa. The word is found only here and Isa_34:14, and Jer_50:39.—אלמנות only here for ארמנות (perhaps with reference to their widowhood). Comp. Isa_23:13; Isa_25:2; Isa_32:14; Isa_34:13.—תַּנִּים are also “jackals” (comp. Gesen. Thesaur. p. 39, 1457; 1511). The word in Isaiah again Isa_34:13; Isa_35:7; Isa_43:20.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The Prophet turns from the universal judgment that comprehends all the several acts of judgment against the world-power from first to last, to portray the special judgment to be accomplished on Babylon as the climax of the world-power in its first stage, or as the head of the first world-monarchy. He begins by describing the flight out of the world’s metropolis of men that had flowed thither out of all lands (Isa_13:14). This flight has sufficient cause—for whoever is taken perishes (Isa_13:15). Children are dashed in pieces, houses plundered, women ravished (Isa_13:16). The Lord particularly names the people charged with executing the judgment: they are the Medes, a people that do not regard silver and gold (Isa_13:17), but also as little the children, and even the fruit of the womb (Isa_13:18). Then shall Babylon, hitherto the ornament and crown of the Chaldean kingdom, be overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa_13:19). It will come to be a dwelling-place for men (Isa_13:20). Only beasts of the desert and dismal hobgoblins shall revel in the spots where once luxury reigned,—and in fact the time of the judgment is near, and a respite not to be hoped for.
2. And it shall be—ravished.
Isa_13:14-16. It is said that rats forsake a vessel that is going to be shipwrecked. When ruin impends over a community, whoever is not bound to it by ties of piety or of possession flees out of it. Thus first of all the foreigners flee. The crowd of such in Babylon will scatter like scared gazelles, like a herd panic-stricken. Babylon was the world’s capital, and consequently a resort for people of all nations. All these, therefore, will seek safety in flight. The words: “every man—own land” are found word for word in Jer_50:16 (comp. Jer_46:16; Jer_51:9; Jer_51:44). A comparison with the context proves that these words are original with Isaiah. With Isaiah the thought is the natural consequence of the preceding image of the frightened gazelles and sheep. In Jeremiah we read: “Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest.” To these words the thought: “they shall turn every one to his people,” would be joined on without natural connection, did not the inserted: “for fear of the oppressing sword,” (artfully) bridge over the gap.
3. Behold, I will stir up—not spare children.
Isa_13:17-18. The Prophet proceeds artistically from the general to the particular. First he describes quite in general the vast, I might say the cosmical, apparatus of war that the Lord sets in motion. To Isa_13:14 the earth in general seems to be the objective point of this military expedition. And it is, too, only not all at once. For, from the description immediately following, taken with the totality of eschatological imagery that prophecy offers, it appears that that general prophecy is realized only by degrees. From Isa_13:14 on we notice that a great centre of the world-power is the object of the execution. At Isa_13:17 we are made aware who are to be the executors, but still are in ignorance against whom they are to turn. Not till Isa_13:19 is Babylon named. Of course the superscription, Isa_13:1, is not to be urged against this statement of the order of thought.
The Medes are first named Gen_10:2; but after that the present is the next mention; afterwards Isa_21:2; Jer_25:25; Jer_51:11; Jer_51:28; 2Ki_17:6; 2Ki_18:11. Not till the books of Daniel and Ezra are they mentioned often. In Gen_10:2 they are named as descendants of Japheth. This corresponds accurately with their Arian derivation. Herodotus (Gen 7:62), who unhistorically derives the name Μῆδοι from Medea, says that from ancient times they were named generally Arians. Medea was bounded on the East by Parthia and Hyrcania, on the South by Susiana and Persis, on the West by Armenia and Assyria, and on the North by the Caspian Sea. Comp. Lassen and Spiegel,Keilinschriften;Arnold in Herzog’sReal-Encycl. IX. 231 sq. It must be particularly noted here that Isaiah makes the Medes and not the Persians the executors of judgment on Babylon. Jeremiah also, who relies on Isaiah’s prophecies against Babylon, does this (Jer_51:11; Jer_51:28). In my work: “The Prophet Jeremiah and Babylon” I have pointed out what a strong proof lies in this fact against the view that the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah against Babylon were composed during the exile. Verily, in the time of the exile, and after the event, no one forging a prophecy against Babylon that would pretend to credibility, would have named the Medes as its destroyer. Any forger must have named the Persians. But if, about the time when the Medes in a mighty uprising freed themselves from the bondage of five centuries to the Assyrians, the Prophet of Jehovah sees in this nation instantly the future conquerors of Babylon, there is a prophetic look which, justified by the present, loses none of its correctness, because, in fact, not the Medes alone, but the Medo-Persians, accomplished the deed that was predicted. When Isa_21:2 names the Elamites along with the Medes, it does not militate against what has just been said. For the Elamites are not identical with the Persians. See on Isa_21:2. And when, too, in Greek writers, the Persians often appear under the name “Medes” (comp. πόλεμος μηδικός, στράτευμα μηδικόν, μηδίζειν, Vitringain loc.), still it does not happen exclusively, but so that the Persians are named along with them, and for a special reason, viz., because the Medes were recognized as the ἀρχηγέται by the Greeks. In short, with the Greeks that designation proceeds from exact knowledge. In Isaiah and Jeremiah, the way in which the Medes are mentioned makes the impression that of the Persians they knew nothing, and of the Medes not much.
By saying that the Medes regard not silver and gold, the Prophet would intimate that they are impelled by higher motives than common love of booty. What those higher motives may be, he does not say. They might have their reason in a thirst for revenge (Delitzsch); but they might also have their source in an impulse to fulfil some mission of which they were unconscious. At all events, it is strange that Jer_51:11; Jer_51:28 sq., where he mentions the Medes, gives prominence both times to this thought. For he says there: “The Lord hath raised up (הֵעִיר as in our ver. מֵעיר) the spirits of the kings of the Medes; for his device is against Babylon to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of His temple.” And thus, too, Jer_51:29 : “for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon.” Bows shall dash the young men to pieces (Isa_13:18)!—An extraordinary expression. One might suppose that רטשׁ means here simply to cast down, to strike to the ground, were it not (comp. on Isa_13:16 Text. and Gram.) that Piel and Pual of רטשׁ are constantly used of dashing to pieces human bodies. But in view of this, and moreover that bows and not the bowmen are named, one must understand an effect of crowds is meant, and an indirect dashing to pieces by precipitating those struck, say from the walls. Besides the Medes, Elamites, Persians, and later the Parthians, were celebrated in all antiquity as bowmen. Comp. Isa_22:6; Jer_49:35; Herod. 7, 61 sq; Cyrop. II. 1, 6 sq. The fruit of the womb being named along with children, makes it likely that children unborn are meant. Comp. 2Ki_8:12; 2Ki_15:16; Hos_14:1; Amo_1:13. Their eye shall not spare.—By synecdoche the eye that expresses pity is taken for the efficient source. The expression is from the Pentateuch (Gen_45:20; Deu_7:16; Deu_19:13; Deu_19:21 and often; Ezr_5:11 and often).
4. And Babylon—not be prolonged.
Isa_13:19-22. The entire first half of Isa_13:20 occurs as a quotation, Jer_50:39. Babylon shall be uninhabited forever. It shall not even be used as a temporary stopping place. Not even the nomadic Arabian, nor a wandering shepherd of another race, shall camp there and rest his flocks. Goats = “satyrs.” Perhaps here is the source of that representation of the devil as a being furnished with horns and goat’s feet. Comp. Geseniusin loc.
When the Prophet at the last declares the judgment on Babylon to be near, that is only in consequence of his having said generally (Isa_13:6; Isa_13:9) that the day of the Lord is at hand. Moreover the notion “near” is a relative one. Here also from the Prophetic view-point that is represented as near, which, according to common human reckoning, is still far off. As regards the fulfilment of this prophecy, it is sufficiently proved that it has been accomplished, not at once, but gradually in the course of the centuries. We have thus here again an example of that prophetic gaze which, as it were, sees in one plain what in reality is extended through many successive stages of time. Comp. what Vitringa has compiled on this subject with great learning, under the title, “Implementum prophetiae literale;”Gesenius and Delitzsch in their commentaries; my work: “Der Prophet Jeremia und Babylon.” p. 135 sq.; and especially Ritter,Erdkunde XI. p. 865 sq.; “Die Ruinengruppe des alten Babylon.”Ritter describes the impression made by the vast extent of Babylon’s ruins: “When one mounts one of these elevations, he beholds in the external, solemn stillness of this world of ruins the bright mirror of the Euphrates flowing far away, that wanders full of majesty through that solitude like a royal pilgrim roaming amid the silent ruins of his desolated kingdom.”
[J. A. Alexander on Isa_13:20-21. “The endless discussions as to the identity of the species of animals here named, however laudable as tending to promote exact lexicography and natural history, have little or no bearing on the interpretation of the passage. Nothing more will be here attempted than to settle one or two points of comparative importance. Many interpreters regard the whole verse as an enumeration of particular animals. This has arisen from the assumption of a perfect parallelism in the clause. It is altogether natural, however, to suppose that the writer would first make use of general expressions, and afterwards descend to particulars. This supposition is confirmed by the etymology and usage of ציים, both which determine it to mean those belonging to or dwelling in the desert. In this sense it is sometimes applied to men (Psa_72:9; Psa_74:14), but as these are here excluded by the preceding verse, nothing more was needed to restrict it to wild animals, to which it is also applied in Isa_34:14 and Jer_50:39. This is now commonly agreed to be the meaning, even by those who give to אהים a specific sense. The same writers admit that אהים properly denotes the howls or cries of certain animals, and only make it mean the animals themselves, because such are mentioned in the other clauses. But if ציים has the generic sense which all now give it, the very parallelism of the clauses favors the explanation of אחים in its original and proper sense of howls or yells, viz., those uttered by the ציים.—The history of the interpretation שׂעירים is so curious as to justify more fulness of detail than usual. It has never been disputed that its original and proper sense is hairy, and its usual specific sense he-goats. In two places (Lev_17:7; 2Ch_11:15) it is used to denote objects of idolatrous worship, probably images of goats, which, according to Herodotus, were worshipped in Egypt. In these places the LXX. render it ματαίοις, vain things, i.e., false gods. But the Targum on Leviticus explains it to mean demons (שׁדין), and the same interpretation is given in the case before us by the LXX. (δαιμόνια), Targum and Peshito. The Vulg. in Lev. translates the word daemonibus, but here pilosi. The interpretation given by the other three versions is adopted also by the Rabbins, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi,etc. It appears likewise in the Talmud and early Jewish books. From this traditional interpretation of שׂעירים here and Isa_34:14 appears to have arisen, at an early period, a popular belief among the Jews that demons or evil spirits were accustomed to haunt desert places in the shape of goats or other animals. And this belief is said to be actually cherished by the natives near the site of Babylon at the present day. Let us now compare this Jewish exposition of the passage with its treatment among Christians. To Jerome the combination of the two meanings—goats and demons—seems to have suggested the Pans, Fauns and Satyrs of the classical mythology, imaginary beings represented as a mixture of the human form with that of goats, and supposed to frequent forests and other lonely places. This idea is carried out by Calvin, who adopts the word satyri in his version, and explains the passage as relating to actual appearances of Satan under such disguises. Luther, in like manner, renders it Feldgeister.Vitringa takes another step, and understands the language as a mere concession or allusion to the popular belief, equivalent to saying, the solitude of Babylon shall be as awful as if occupied by Fauns and Satyrs—there if anywhere such beings may be looked for. Forerius and J. D. Michaelis understand the animals themselves to be here meant. The latter uses in his version the word Waldteufel (wood-devils, forest-demons), but is careful to apprise the reader in a note that it is the German name for a species of ape or monkey, and that the Hebrew contains no allusion to the devil. The same word is used by Gesenius and others in its proper sense. Saadias, Cocceius, Clericus and Henderson return to the original meaning of the Hebrew word—viz.: wild goats. But the great majority of modern writers tenaciously adhere to the old tradition. This is done, not only by the German neologists, who lose no opportunity of finding a mythology in Scripture, but by Lowth, Barnes, and Stuart in his exposition of Rev_11:12 and his Excursus on the Angelology of Scripture (Apocal. II. 403).
The result apppears to be, that if the question is determined by tradition and authority, שׂעירים denotes demons; if by the context and the usage of the word, it signifies wild goats, or more generically hairy, shaggy animals. According to the principles of modern exegesis, the latter is clearly entitled to the preference. But even if the former be adopted, the language of the text should be regarded, not as ‘a touch from the popular pneumatology’ (as Rev_18:2 is described by Stuartin loc.), but as the prediction of a real fact, which, though it should not be assumed without necessity, is altogether possible, and therefore, if alleged in Scripture, altogether credible.”
Ib. Isa_13:22. As איים, according to its etymology, denotes an animal remarkable for its cry, it might be rendered hyenas, thereby avoiding the improbable assumption that precisely the same animal is mentioned in both clauses.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_13:2-13. The prophecy concerning the day of the Lord has its history. It appears first in the form of the announcement of a scourge of locusts (Joel); then it becomes an announcement of human war-expeditions and sieges of cities. Finally it becomes a message that proclaims the destruction of the earth and of its companions in space. But from the first onward, the last particular is not wanting: only at first it appears faintly. In Joe_2:10, one does not know whether the discourse is concerning an obscuration of the heavenly bodies occasioned only by the grasshoppers or by higher powers. But soon (Joe_3:4; Joe_3:20) this particular comes out more definitely. In the present passage of Isaiah it presses to the foreground. In the New Testament (Mat_24:29; Mar_13:24 sq.; Luk_21:25) it takes the first and central place. We observe clearly that the judgment on the world is accomplished in many acts, and is yet one whole; and as on the other hand nature, too, is itself one whole, so, according to the saying: “whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it” (1Co_12:26), the catastrophes on earth have their echo in the regions above earth.
2. On Isa_13:4 sqq. “God cannot do otherwise than punish accumulated wickedness. But He overthrows violence and crime, and metes out to tyrants the measure they have given to others, for He gives to them a master that the heathen shall know that they too are men (Ps. 9:21; Psa_11:5).”—Cramer.
[On 13 Isa_13:3. “It cannot be supposed that the Medes and Persians really exulted, or rejoiced in God or in His plans.—But they would exult as if it were their own plan, though it would be really the glorious plan of God. Wicked, men often exult in their success: they glory in the execution of their purposes; but they are really accomplishing the plans of God, and executing His great designs.”—Barnes.]
[On Isa_13:9. “The moral causes of the ruin threatened are significantly intimated by the Prophet’s calling the people of the earth or land its sinners. As the national offences here referred to, Vitringa enumerates pride (Isa_13:11; Isa_14:11; Isa_47:7-8), idolatry (Jer_50:38), tyranny in general (Isa_14:12; Isa_14:17), and oppression of God’s people in particular (Isa_47:6).”—J. A. Alexander.]
3. On Isa_13:19 sqq. Imperiti animi, etc. “Unlearned minds when they happen on allegories, can hold no certain sense of Scripture. And unless this Papal business had kept me to the simple text of the Bible, I had become an idle trifler in allegories like Jerome and Origen. For that figurative speech has certain allurements by which minds seek to dispose of difficulties. … The true allegory of this passage is concerning the victory of conscience over death. For, the law is Cyrus, the Turk, the cruel and mighty enemy that rises up against the proud conscience of justitiaries who confide in their own merits. These are the real Babylon, and this is the glory of Babylon, that it walks in the confidence of its own works. When, therefore, the law comes and occupies the heart with its terrors, it condemns all our works in which we have trusted, as polluted and very dung. Once the law has laid bare this filthiness of our hearts and works, there follows confusion, writhing, and pains of parturition; men become ashamed, and that confidence of works ceases and they do those things which we see now-a-days: he that heretofore has lived by confidence of righteousnesss in a monastery, deserts the monkish life, casts away to ashes all glory of works, and looks to the gratuitous righteousness and merit of Christ, and that is the desolation of Babylon. The ostriches and hairy creatures that remain are Eck, Cochleus and others, who do not pertain to that part of law. They screech, they do not speak with human voice, they are unable to arouse and console any afflicted conscience with their doctrine. My allegories, which I approve, are of this sort, viz., which shadow forth the nature of law and gospel.” Luther.
4. On Isa_13:21 sqq. “There the Holy Spirit paints for thee the house of thy heart as a deserted, desolate Babylon, as a loathsome cesspool, and devil’s hole, full of thorns, nettles, thistles, dragons, spukes, kobolds, maggots, owls, porcupines, etc., all of which is nothing else than the thousandfold devastation of thy nature, in as much as into every heart the kingdom of Satan, and all his properties have pressed in, and all and every sin, as a fascinating serpent-brood, have been sown and sunk into each one, although not all sins together become evident and actual in every one’s outward life.”—Joh. Arndt’s Informatorium biblicum, § 7.
5. On Isa_14:1-2. “Although it seems to me to be just impossible that I could be delivered from death or sin, yet it will come to pass through Christ. For God here gives us an example; He will not forsake His saints though they were in the midst of Babylon.”—Heim and Hoffmann after Luther.
6. On Isa_14:4 sqq. “Magna imperia fere nihil sunt quam magnae injuriae.
Ad generum Cereris sine caede et sanguine pauci
Descendunt reges et sicca mente tyranni.—Luther.
Impune quidvis facere id est regem esse.”—Sallust.
Among the Dialogi mortuorum of Lucian of Samosata the thirteenth is between Diogenes and Alexander the Great. This dialogue begins with the words: “Τί τοῦτο, ὦ Ἀλέξανδρε, τέθνηκας καὶ σὺ, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖσ ἅπαντες;” thereupon the contrast is ironically set forth between what Alexander was, as one given out to be a son of the gods, and so recognized by men, and possessor of all highest human glories, and what he is at present. It is, as is well known, doubtful whether Lucian really was acquainted with the Scriptures. See Planck, Lucian and Christianity in Stud. u. Krit., 1851, IV. p. 826 sqq. Comp. also Schrader, die Höllenfahrt der Istar., 1874.
7. On Isa_14:4 sqq. ”Omni genera figurarum utitur ad confirmandos et consolandos suos, ut simul sit conjuncta summa theologia cum summa rhetorica.”—Luther.
8. On Isa_14:12 sqq. As early as the LXX. this passage seems to have been understood of Satan. It points that way that they change the second person into the third; πῶς ἐξέπεσεν, etc. At least they were so understood. See Jerome, who thereby makes the fine remark: “Unde ille cecidit per superbiam, vos ascendatis per humilitatem.” But Luther says: “Debet nobis insignis error totius papatus, qui hunc textum de casu angelorum accepit, studia literarum et artium deccndi commendare tamquam res theologo maxime necessarias ad tractationem sacrarum literarum.”
9. On Isa_14:13-14. “The Assyrian monarch was a thorough Eastern despot … rather adored as a god than feared as a man.” Layard’s Discoveries amongst the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, 1853, New York, p. 632. “In the heathen period the pre-eminence of the German kings depended on their descent from the gods, as among the Greeks” (Gervinus, Einleit. in d. Gesch. d. 19 Iahrh., 1853, p. 14). Christian Thomasius, in his Instit. jurispr. divinae, dissert. proœmialis, p. 16, calls the princes “the Gods on earth.” In a letter from Luxemburg, after the departure of the Emperor Joseph II., it is said (in a description of the journey, of which a sheet lies before me): “we have had the good fortune to see our earthly god.” Belani, Russian Court Narratives, New Series, III. Vol., p. Isaiah 125: “The Russian historian Korampzin says in the section where he describes the Russian self-rule: “The Autocrat became an earthly god for the Russians, who set the whole world in astonishment by a submissiveness to the will of their monarch which transcends all bounds.”
Footnotes:
[11]a flock that no one collects.
[12]is caught.
[13]Heb. the overthrowing.
[14]Heb. Ziim.
[15]Heb. Ochim.
[16]horned owls, or, yells.
[17]Or, ostriches.
[18]Heb. daughters of the owl.
[19]Heb. Iim.
[20]Or, palaces.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain roe--gazelle; the most timid and easily startled.
it--Babylon.
roe--gazelle; the most timid and easily startled.
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no man taketh up--sheep defenseless, without a shepherd (Zac 13:7).
every man . . . to his own people--The "mingled peoples" of foreign lands shall flee out of her (Jer 50:16, Jer 50:28, Jer 50:37; Jer 51:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. It shall be — That is, Babylon shall…
14. It shall be — That is, Babylon shall be.
As the chased roe — The figure is, Babylon shall be as timid and panting when seeking an escape as a “chased” gazelle. Swift enemies from the east shall play the falcon and the dogs upon her, just as does the huntsman upon the trembling gazelle in the chase.
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As a sheep — Strayed in the wilderness.
That no man taketh up — Alone, bereft of its shepherd, exposed to wild beasts, afraid of every thing.
They shall… turn — Literally, Each to his people they shall turn, and each to his country they shall flee. Babylon was a great capital whither transient trading peoples gathered. And these are probably meant here. On the fall of the imperial city, this motley mass would scatter in wildest flight. Those who remained would be treated as described in the next verse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. Those who flee to their own land are…
14. Those who flee to their own land are the foreign residents who had been attracted by the wealth and commerce of Babylon from all parts of the world, cf. Jer_51:44; Nah_2:8; Nah_3:16.
a sheep that no man taketh up] Better: sheep with none to gather them, Nah_3:18. For the figure cf. 1Ki_22:17; Eze_34:5; Mat_9:36.
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14–16. The dispersion and slaughter of the population of Babylon. The prophecy from this point becomes more explicit in its main reference to Babylon.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) And it shall be as the chased roe.—Better,…
(14) And it shall be as the chased roe.—Better, as with a chased roe . . . . as with sheep . . . The roe and the sheep represent the “mixed multitude” (Ӕsch., Pers. 52) of all nations who had been carried into Babylon, and who would naturally take to flight, some, though without a leader, returning to their own lands on the approach of the invader.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain It shall be as the chased roe. When the…
It shall be as the chased roe. When the visitation comes on Babylon, there shall be a loosening of all ties between her and the subject nations. Her armies shall disband themselves, the pressed soldiers from foreign countries deserting, and hastening with all speed to their several homes. A flight of the foreign traders and visitors may also be glanced at. As a sheep that no man taketh up; rather, as sheep with none to gather them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Against Babylon in Particular
Against Babylon in Particular
v. 14. And it, namely, Babylon, shall be as the chased roe, the timid gazelle, which is so easily startled, and as a sheep that no man taketh up, like a panic-stricken flock which simply cannot be brought together again. They shall every man turn to his own people and flee every one into his own land, that is, the great mass of strangers gathered in the great world market, Babylonia, would, at her fall, scatter in all directions, every one anxious to reach the protection of his own country.
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v. 15. Every one that is found, not having sought safety in flight, shall be thrust through, and every one that is joined unto them, rather, intercepted in flight, shall fall by the sword, for it is a general slaughter which will come upon the mixed population of Babylon.
v. 16. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their parents witnessing their murder; their houses shall be spoiled, everything plundered, and their wives ravished, for war ever brutalizes men, in many cases placing them below the level of beasts. The punishment in general having been described, the prophet now proceeds to mention particulars.
v. 17. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, the Medo-Persians being the world power which conquered Babylon, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it, that is, it would be impossible to bribe them, to buy them off, and thus save the city whose destruction was firmly determined upon by the Lord.
v. 18. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces, a very vivid description of the effect which would attend the wholesale slaughter; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb, not sparing even the unborn children, 2Ki 8:12; 2Ki 15:16; Hos 14:1; Amo 1:13; their eye shall not spare children, for the enemies would be devoid of all pity.
v. 19. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, an ornament of beauty in the midst of conquered nations, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, to which they all pointed with pride as the greatest capital of the world, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, utterly destroyed, an eternal wilderness.
v. 20. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabians, the Bedouin nomads, pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there, total desolation should reign there forever.
v. 21. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, making their dens in the midst of the ruins; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, the howling jackals probably being meant; and owls shall dwell there, rather, ostriches, and satyrs, or wild goats, thought to be possessed of demons, shall dance there.
v. 22. And the wild beasts of the islands, probably hyenas, shall cry in their desolate houses, in the ruined palaces of the city, and dragons in their pleasant palaces, jackals or wolves being among the inhabitants of the stone heaps remaining. And her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged, the threatened ruin would come in a comparatively short time. And so it came to pass, for the destruction of Babylon, begun by Darius Hystaspes, continued by Xerxes, was completed by Seleucus Nicator in the fourth century before Christ, so that even before the birth of Christ the historian Strabo describes the ruins of proud Babylon in words which are strangely like those of the prophet here recorded.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.