Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it. Their bows will dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children. Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there. Wolves will cry in their fortresses, and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
Parallel Translations
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Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.
Their bows will dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children.
Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
But wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there.
Wolves will cry in their fortresses, and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
-
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
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.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
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.
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.
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.
Show all 3 translations
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Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
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.
But wild-cats shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of ferrets; and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
And jackals shall howl in their castles, and wild-dogs in the pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
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Cross-references (52)
- Jeremiah 51:11 (v17) “Make the arrows sharp! Hold the shields firmly! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is against…
- Daniel 5:28-31 (v17) PERES: your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and…
- Isaiah 41:25 (v17) “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name, and he shall come on rulers as…
- Jeremiah 50:9 (v17) For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they will set…
- Jeremiah 51:27-28 (v17) “Set up a standard in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her! Call together against her the kingdoms…
Show all 52 cross-references
- Daniel 4:30 (v19) The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the…
- Genesis 19:24 (v19) Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.
- Deuteronomy 29:23 (v19) that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow…
- 2 Kings 8:12 (v18) Hazael said, “Why do you weep, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set…
- Proverbs 6:34-35 (v17) For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband. He won’t spare in the day of vengeance. He won’t regard any ransom, neither will he rest…
- Isaiah 13:3-5 (v17) I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones. The noise of a…
- Isaiah 14:23 (v20) “I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says Yahweh of…
- Isaiah 21:2 (v17) A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have…
- Jeremiah 49:18 (v19) As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh, “no man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live…
- Jeremiah 50:40 (v19) As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh, “so no man will dwell there, neither will any son of man…
- Jeremiah 51:41 (v19) “How Sheshach is taken! How the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!
- Jeremiah 51:43 (v20) Her cities have become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land in which no man dwells. No son of man passes by it.
- Amos 4:11 (v19) “I have overthrown some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet…
- Zephaniah 2:9 (v19) Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a…
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 (v18) Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had…
- Isaiah 14:4-6 (v19) that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!” Yahweh…
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (v19) How you have fallen from heaven, shining one, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! You said in…
- Daniel 2:37-38 (v19) You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. Wherever the…
- 2 Chronicles 17:11 (v20) Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven…
- Isaiah 13:16 (v18) Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be ransacked, and their wives raped.
- Isaiah 25:2 (v22) For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It will never be built.
- Isaiah 34:10-15 (v20) It won’t be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass…
- Isaiah 35:7 (v22) The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of…
- Jeremiah 50:3 (v20) For a nation comes up out of the north against her, which will make her land desolate, and no one will dwell in it. They have fled. They…
- Jeremiah 50:13 (v20) Because of Yahweh’s wrath she won’t be inhabited, but she will be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon will be astonished, and…
- Jeremiah 50:21 (v20) “Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill and utterly destroy after them,” says…
- Jeremiah 50:39 (v20) Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves will dwell there. The ostriches will dwell therein; and it will be inhabited no…
- Jeremiah 50:45 (v20) Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the…
- Jeremiah 51:25 (v20) “Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain,” says Yahweh, “which destroys all the earth. I will stretch out my hand on you, roll you…
- Jeremiah 51:29 (v20) The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without…
- Jeremiah 51:33 (v22) For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden. Yet a…
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 (v18) To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity. Kill utterly…
- Ezekiel 9:10 (v18) As for me also, my eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way on their head.”
- Hosea 13:16 (v18) Samaria will bear her guilt; for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces, and…
- Revelation 18:2 (v21) He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every…
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (v22) Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.”
- Isaiah 34:11-15 (v21) But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it. The owl and the raven will dwell in it. He will stretch the line of confusion over it,…
- Isaiah 34:13 (v22) Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
- Jeremiah 51:37 (v20) Babylon will become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 51:62-64 (v20) and say, ‘Yahweh, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that no one will dwell in it, neither man nor animal, but that it…
- Ezekiel 7:7-10 (v22) Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land! The time has come! The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the…
- Nahum 2:1 (v18) He who dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the fortress! Watch the way! Strengthen your waist! Fortify your power mightily!
- Nahum 3:10 (v18) Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they…
- Habakkuk 2:3 (v22) For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it;…
- 2 Peter 2:3 (v22) In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not…
- 2 Peter 3:9-10 (v22) The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but…
- Revelation 18:21-23 (v20) A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city,…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv20–21 Who useth to go from country to country to…
Who useth to go from country to country to find pasture for their beasts, but there shall they find none.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Isa 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes…
Isa 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and [as for] gold, they shall not delight in it.
Ver. 17. Behold I will stir up the Medes.] Together with the Persians under the conduct of Darius and Cyrus.
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Which shall not regard silver,] sc., For a ransom, but shall kill all they meet, though never so rich, and able to redeem their lives. {Pro 13:8 Jer 41:8}
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 On vv17–22 The Medes; under whom he comprehends the Persians, who…
The Medes; under whom he comprehends the Persians, who were their neighbours and confederates in this expedition.
They shall not delight in it; which is to be understood comparatively. They shall more eagerly pursue the destruction of the people than the getting of spoil; whereby it shall appear that they are only the executioners of my vengeance against them; they will accept no ransom to save their lives.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v19 The great havoc and destruction which it was foretold…
The great havoc and destruction which it was foretold should be made by the Medes and Persians in Babylon here end in the final destruction of it. 1. It is allowed that Babylon was a noble city. It was the glory of kingdoms and the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency; it was that head of gold (Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38); it was called the lady of kingdoms (Isa 47:5), the praise of the whole earth (Jer 51:41), like a pleasant roe (so the word signifies); but it shall be as a chased roe, Isa 13:14. The Chaldeans gloried in the beauty and wealth of this their metropolis. 2. It is foretold that it should be wholly destroyed, like Sodom and Gomorrah; not so miraculously, nor so suddenly, but as effectually, though gradually; and the destruction should come upon them as that upon Sodom, when they were secure, eating and drinking, Luk 17:28, Luk 17:29. Babylon was taken when Belshazzar was in his revels; and, though Cyrus and Darius did not demolish it, yet by degrees it wasted away and in process of time it went all to ruin. It is foretold here (Isa 13:20) that it shall never be inhabited; in Adrian's time nothing remained but the wall. And whereas it is prophesied concerning Nineveh, that great city, that when it should be deserted and left desolate yet flocks should lie down in the midst of it, it is here said concerning Babylon that the Arabians, who were shepherds, should not make their folds there; the country about should be so barren that there would be no grazing there; no, not for sheep. Nay, it shall be the receptacle of wild beasts, that affect solitude; the houses of Babylon, where the sons and daughters of pleasure used to rendezvous, shall be full of doleful creatures, owls and satyrs, that are themselves frightened thither, as to a place proper for them, and by whom all others are frightened thence. Historians say that this was fulfilled in the letter. Benjamin Bar-Jona, in his Itinerary, speaking of Babel, has these words: "This is that Babel which was of old thirty miles in breadth; it is now laid waste. There are yet to be seen the ruins of a palace of Nebuchadnezzar, but the sons of men dare not enter in, for fear of serpents and scorpions, which possess the place." Let none be proud of their pompous palaces, for they know not but they may become worse than cottages; nor let any think that their houses shall endure for ever (Psa 49:11), when perhaps nothing may remain but the ruins and reproaches of them. 3. It is intimated that this destruction should come shortly (Isa 13:22): Her time is near to come. This prophecy of the destruction of Babylon was intended for the support and comfort of the people of God when they were captives there and grievously oppressed; and the accomplishment of the prophecy was nearly 200 years after the time when it was delivered; yet it followed soon after the time for which it was calculated. When the people of Israel were groaning under the heavy yoke of Babylonish tyranny, sitting down in tears by the rivers of Babylon and upbraided with the songs of Zion, when their insolent oppressors were most haughty and arrogant (Isa 13:11), then let them know, for their comfort, that Babylon's time, her day to fall, is near to come, and the days of her prosperity shall not be prolonged, as they have been. When God begins with her he will make an end. Thus it is said of the destruction of the New Testament Babylon, whereof the former was a type, In one hour has her judgment come.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,....…
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,.... The Babylonians; this explains who are meant by the sanctified and mighty ones, Isa 13:3 the Medes were a people that descended from Medai, one of the sons of Japheth, Gen 10:2 as Josephus observes (i); under these the Persians are included, though they are only mentioned, because Cyrus was sent by Cyaxares king of Media on this expedition against Babylon, and was made by him general of the Medes, and acted as such under him; and when Babylon was taken, and Belshazzar slain, Darius the Median took the kingdom, Dan 5:31 now these are mentioned by name some hundreds of years before the thing came to pass, as Cyrus their general in Isa 45:1 which is a strong proof of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation; and, whatever might be the moving causes of this expedition, the affair was of God; it was he that put it into the hearts of the Medes, and stirred up their spirits to make war against Babylon; and though God is not the author of sin, yet he not only suffered the things to be done before and after mentioned, but in his providence ordered them as just punishments on a sinful people:
which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it; not but that they had a regard for, gold and silver, as appears by their spoiling of the houses of the Babylonians, Isa 13:16 but that they had not so great a regard for these things as to spare the lives of any for the sake of them; they were so intent upon taking away their lives, that they disregarded their substance; their first work was to slay, and then to spoil; they first destroyed, and then plundered; no man with his gold and silver could obtain a ransom of his life from them. Cyrus (k) in his speech to his army said,
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"O ye Medes, and all present, I truly know that not for want of money are ye come out with me,'' &c.
(i) Antiqu. Jud. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. (k) Cyropaedia, l. 5. sect. 3.
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 On vv17–22 Medes - Under whom he comprehends the Persians. Not…
Medes - Under whom he comprehends the Persians. Not delight - Which is to be understood comparatively. They shall more eagerly pursue the destruction of the people, than the getting of spoil.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22 Verse 17. Which shall not regard silver - "Who…
Verse 17. Which shall not regard silver - "Who shall hold silver of no account"] That is, who shall not be induced, by large offers of gold and silver for ransom, to spare the lives of those whom they have subdued in battle; their rage and cruelty will get the better of all such motives. We have many examples in the Iliad and in the AEneid of addresses of the vanquished to the pity and avarice of the vanquishers, to induce them to spare their lives.
Est domus alta: jacent penitus defossa talenta
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Caelati argenti: sunt auri ponders facti
Infectique mihi: non hic victoria Teucrum
Vertitur; aut anima una dalbit discrimina tanta.
Dixerat: AEneas contra cui talia reddit:
Argenti atque auri memoras quae multa talenta
Gnatis parce tuis.
AEn. x. 526.
"High in my dome are silver talents rolled,
With piles of laboured and unlaboured gold.
These, to procure my ransom, I resign;
The war depends not on a life like mine:
One, one poor life can no such difference yield,
Nor turn the mighty balance of the field.
Thy talents, (cried the prince,) thy treasured store
Keep for thy sons."
Pitt.
It is remarkable that Xenophon makes Cyrus open a speech to his army, and in particular to the Medes, who made the principal part of it, with praising them for their disregard of riches. Ανδρες Μηδοι, και παντες οἱ παροντες, εγω ὑμας οιδα σαφως, ὁτι ουτε χρηματων δεομενοι συν εμοι εξελθετε· "Ye Medes, and others who now hear me, I well know that you have not accompanied me in this expedition with a view of acquiring wealth." - Cyrop. lib. v.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 20, 21 Isa 13:17-18. Behold, &c. — Here follows the second…
Isa 13:17-18. Behold, &c. — Here follows the second part of this prophecy, in which the calamity which the prophet had foretold, principally in figure, is plainly related and set forth in its causes and consequences. Its causes are stated to be the Medes, raised up by God himself against the Babylonians, and described as being extremely full of cruelty and avidity of revenge, Isa 13:17-18. The consequences are, the desolation of Babylon, and the calamity to be brought upon it, Isa 13:19-22. I will stir up the Medes — Under whom he comprehends the Persians, who were their neighbours and confederates in this expedition. Which shall not regard silver, &c. — That is, comparatively speaking. They shall more eagerly pursue the destruction of the people than the getting of spoil. Their bows also — Under which are comprehended other weapons of war; shall dash the young men to pieces — Or, shall pierce the young men through, as the Chaldee renders it. But, as both Herodotus and Xenophon affirm that the Persians used τοξα μεγαλα, large bows, according to the latter, bows three cubits long, and undoubtedly proportionably strong; we may easily conceive, as Bishop Lowth observes, that, with such bows, especially if made of brass, as bows anciently often were, (see Psa 18:35; Job 20:24,) the soldiers might dash and slay the young men, the weaker and unresisting part of the inhabitants, (here joined with the fruit of the womb and the children,) in the general carnage in taking the city.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Behold, I will stir up - I will cause…
Behold, I will stir up - I will cause them to engage in this enterprise. This is an instance of the control which God claims over the nations, and of his power to excite and direct them as he pleases.
The Medes - This is one of the places in which the prophet specified, “by name,” the instrument of the wrath of God. Cyrus himself is subsequently mentioned Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1 as the agent by which God would accomplish his purposes. It is remarkable, also, that ‘the Medes’ are mentioned here many years before they became a separate and independent nation. It was elsewhere predicted that the Medes would be employed in this siege of Babylon; thus, in Isa 21:2 : ‘Go up, O Elam (that is, Persia), besiege, O Media;’ Jer 51:11 : ‘Jehovah hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, for his device is against Babylon to destroy it.’ Media was a country east of Assyria, which is supposed to have been populated by the descendants of Madai, son of Japheth Gen 10:2. Ancient Media extended on the west and south of the Caspian Sea, from Armenia, on the north, to Faristan or Persia proper, on the south.
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It was one of the most fertile regions of Asia. It was an ancient kingdom. Ninus, the founder of the Assyrian monarchy, is said to have encountered one of its kings, whom he subdued, and whose province he made a part of the Assyrian empire. For 520 years, the Medes were subject to the Assyrians; but, in the time of Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, they revolted, and, by the destruction of the army of Sennacherib before Jerusalem - an event which was itself subsequent to the delivery of this prophecy respecting Babylon - they were enabled to achieve their independence. At the time when this prophecy was uttered, therefore, Media was a dependent province of the kingdom of Assyria. Six years they passed in a sort of anarchy, until, about 700 years b.c., they found in Dejoces an upright statesman, who was proclaimed king by universal consent. His son and successor, Phraortes, subdued the Persians, and all upper Asia, and united them to his kingdom.
He also attacked Assyria, and laid siege to Nineveh, the capital, but was defeated. Nineveh was finally taken by his successor, Cyaxares, with the aid of his ally, the king of Babylon; and Assyria became a province of Media. This widely-extended empire was delivered by him to his son Astyages, the father of Cyrus. Astyages reigned about 35 years, and then delivered the vast kingdom to Cyrus, about 556 years b.c., under whom the prediction of Isaiah respecting Babylon was fulfilled. In this way arose the Medo-Persian kingdom, and henceforward “the laws of the Medes and Persians” are always mentioned together Est 1:9; Est 10:2; Dan 6:8, Dan 6:12. From this time, all their customs, rites, and laws, became amalgamated. - (Herod. i. 95-130). In looking at this prophecy, therefore, we are to bear in mind:
(1) the fact that, when it was uttered, Media was a dependent province of the kingdom of Assyria;
(2) that a long time was yet to elapse before it would become an independent kingdom;
(3) that it was yet to secure its independence by the aid of that very Babylon which it would finally destroy;
(4) that no human foresight could predict these revolutions, and that every circumstance conspired to render this event improbable.
The great strength and resources of Babylon; the fact that Media was a dependent province, and that such great revolutions must occur before this prophecy could be fulfilled, render this one of the most striking and remarkable predictions in the sacred volume.
Which shall not regard silver ... - It is remarkable, says Lowth, that Xenophon makes Cyrus open a speech to his army, and, in particular, to the Medes, who made the principal part of it, with praising them for their disregard of riches. ‘Ye Medes and others who now hear me, I well know, that you have not accompanied me in this expedition with a view of acquiring wealth.’ - (“Cyrop.” v.) That this was the character of the Medes, is further evident from several circumstances. ‘He reckoned, says Xenophon, that his riches belonged not anymore to himself than to his friends. So little did he regard silver, or delight in gold, that Croesus told him that, by his liberality, he would make himself poor, instead of storing up vast treasures for himself. The Medes possessed, in this respect, the spirit of their chief, of which an instance, recorded by Xenophon, is too striking and appropriate to be passed over.
When Gobryas, an Assyrian governor, whose son the king of Babylon had slain, hospitably entertained him and his army, Cyrus appealed to the chiefs of the Medes and Hyrcanians, and to the noblest and most honorable of the Persians, whether, giving first what was due to the gods, and leaving to the rest of the army their portion, they would not overmatch his generosity by ceding to him their whole share of the first and plentiful booty which they had won from the land of Babylon. Loudly applauding the proposal, they immediately and unanimously consented; and one of them said, “Gobryas may have thought us poor, because we came not loaded with coins, and drink not out of golden cups; but by this he will know, that men can be generous even without gold.”’ (“See” Keith “On the Prophecies,” p. 198, Ed. New York, 1833.) This is a remarkable prediction, because this is a very unusual circumstance in the character of conquerors. Their purpose has been chiefly to obtain plunder, and, especially, gold and silver have been objects to them of great value. Few, indeed, have been the invading armies which were not influenced by the hope of spoil; and the want of that characteristic among the Medes is a circumstance which no human sagacity could have foreseen.
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 On vv17, 19, 20, 21, 22 Medes. Who had set themselves at liberty about twenty…
Medes. Who had set themselves at liberty about twenty years before this. They were not solicitous about gold, Ezechiel vii. 19., and Sophonias i. 18.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Medes-- (Isa 21:2; Jer 51:11, Jer 51:28). At that…
Medes-- (Isa 21:2; Jer 51:11, Jer 51:28). At that time they were subject to Assyria; subsequently Arbaces, satrap of Media, revolted against the effeminate Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, destroyed Nineveh, and became king of Media, in the ninth century B.C.
not regard silver--In vain will one try to buy his life from them for a ransom. The heathen XENOPHON (Cyropædia, 5,1,10) represents Cyrus as attributing this characteristic to the Medes, disregard of riches. A curious confirmation of this prophecy.
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 On vv17, 18, 19, 20, 22 17. Will stir up the Medes against them —…
17. Will stir up the Medes against them — That is, “I am he who causeth to arouse as out of sleep,” etc. The Hiphil participle is used of a verb having, according to Gesenius, three, according to Furst, six, several sets of meanings, of which one set chiefly uses the Hiphil with the above characterizing idea. Compare Zec_9:13; Son_2:7; Isa_10:26. The “Medes” are here for the first time mentioned by name, and are alone mentioned, as they were the chief nation to be used, with Persia, in overthrowing Babylon. They had been subject to Assyria till B.C. 708 or 703, or B.C. 650, according to Rawlinson, when they threw off the yoke and became a federation of small kingdoms in their country of mountains and valleys situated east of old Assyria, south of Armenia and the Caspian Sea, and north of Persia, from which they were separated by the desert running out southwest from near the ancient Aryan seats. They had no friendship for their old masters of Mesopotamia. Prosperity and power came to them after they became independent, and were finally organized under one monarchy, and so on till Cyaxares becomes, at length, the probable true founder of the Median dynasty, B.C. 633, and the one who appears to begin what is the truly authentic history of the Medes. See SMITH’S Dictionary of the Bible; SMITH’S History of the World; RAWLINSON’S Five Great Monarchies; RAWLINSON’S Herodotus; LENORMANT’S Manuscript Ancient History, etc. In the final taking of Babylon the Median was chief over the Persian element of the instrumentality, (namely, Cyrus,) because it was really the chief power before Persia was connected with it as an empire. Hence the “Medes” constituted the chief foreseen figure with the prophet in the predicted event of the overthrow of the Babylonian power.
Shall not regard silver — Was this a national characteristic? Xenophon (Cyropaedia) makes Cyrus say to the Medes that they did not join him from a desire of (χρηματων) money.
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 On vv17, 19, 20, 21, 22 17. the Medes] This Iranian people first became a…
17. the Medes] This Iranian people first became a leading power in Asia when it divided with the Chaldæans the spoils of the Assyrian Empire (b.c. 606), but it was not till the rise of the great conqueror Cyrus that it became a formidable enemy to Babylon. Cyrus, according to the classical historians, was originally a vassal king of the Median Empire, reigning over the narrow territory to which the name Persia or Persis was at first restricted. He is called, however, in Babylonian inscriptions “King of Anzan,” which is explained by Assyriologists to be a small kingdom in the north of Elam. (See Sayce, in Rec. of the Past, l.c.) About the year 549 he overthrew the ruling Median dynasty and placed himself at the head of the whole empire. It has been argued by some scholars that previous to that event there could be no expectation of a conquest of Babylon by the Medes, and that therefore the prophecy must be dated between 549 and 538. Others again hold that if it had been written after 549 the enemy would have been called the Persians. Both inferences, however, are inconclusive. The first overlooks the fact that before the accession of Cyrus the Medes were a powerful nation, and indeed the only probable human agents of a chastisement of Babylon. And against the second it has to be borne in mind that the name Persia, for the united empire, made its way slowly in antiquity. In the Bible it first becomes common in the time of Ezra, although long after that we still read of Medes and Persians (Dan_5:28; Dan_6:8; Dan_6:12) or Persians and Medes (Est_1:3; Est_1:14; Est_1:18). Greek writers also speak of the wars of independence against Xerxes as τὰ Μηδικά. The verse, therefore, furnishes no particular indication of the date of the prophecy.
which shall not regard (regard not) silver …] They cannot be bought off by a ransom. Xenophon puts into the mouth of Cyrus in addressing the Medes the words: οὐ χρημάτων δεόμενοι σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐξήλθετε (Cyrop. Isa_13:1; Isa_13:20).
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17, 18. The description of the character of the invaders, perhaps even the mention of their name, is of the nature of a climax to the terrors of the picture.
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 On vv17–22 (17) Behold, I will stir up the Medes.—The Hebrew…
(17) Behold, I will stir up the Medes.—The Hebrew form Madai meets us in Gen_10:2, among the descendants of Japheth. Modern researches show them to have been a mixed people, Aryan conquerors having mingled with an earlier Turanian race, and differing in this respect from the Persians, who were pure Iranians, both in race and creed. The early Assyrian inscriptions, from Rimmon Nirari III. onward (Cheyne), name them, as also does Sargon (Records of the Past, xi. 18), among the enemies whom the kings subdued. Their name had been recently brought before the prophet’s notice by Salmaneser’s deportation of the Ten Tribes to the cities of the Medes (2Ki_17:6). In naming the Medes, and not the Persians, as the conquerors of Babylon, Isaiah was probably influenced by the greater prominence of the former, just as the Greeks spoke of them, and used such terms as “Medism” when they came in contact with the Medo-Persian monarchy under Darius and Xerxes. So Ӕschylus (Pers. 760) makes “the Median” the first ruler of the Persians. It is noticeable that they were destined to be the destroyers both of Nineveh and Babylon: of the first under Cyaxares, in alliance with Nabopolassar, and of the second under Cyrus the Persian, and, we may add, the Mede Darius of Dan_5:31. If we accept the history of a yet earlier attack on Nineveh by Arbaces the Mede and Belesis of Babylon, we can sufficiently account for the prominence which Isaiah, looking at Babylon as the representative of Assyrian rather than Chaldæan power, gives to them as its destroyers. (See Lenormant, Anc. Hist., 1, p. 337.)
Which shall not regard silver.—The Medes are represented as a people too fierce to care for the gold and silver in which Babylon exulted. They would take no ransom to stay their work of vengeance. So Xenophon, in his Cyropædia (5:3), represents Cyrus as acknowledging their unbought, unpaid service.
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 On vv17–22 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them.…
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. Isaiah"s knowledge that the Medes should take a leading part in the destruction of Babylon is, no doubt, as surprising a fact as almost any other in the entire range of prophetic foresight, or insight, as set before us in Scripture. The Medes were known to Moses as an ancient nation of some importance; (Gen_10:2) but since his time had been unmentioned by any sacred writer; and, as a living nation, had only just come within the range of Israelite vision, by the fact that, when Sargon deported the Samaritans from Samaria, he placed some of them "in the cities of the Medes". (2Ki_17:6) The Assyrians had become acquainted with them somewhat more than a century earlier, and had made frequent incursions into their country, finding them a weak and divided people, under the government of a large number of petty chiefs. Sargon had conquered a portion of the tribes, and placed prefects in the cities; at the same time planting colonists in them from other parts of the empire. That, when the weakness of Media was being thus made apparent, Isaiah should have foreseen its coming greatness can only be accounted for by his having received a Divine communication on the subject. Subsequently, he had a still more exact and complete communication. (Isa_21:2) Which shall not regard silver. The Medes were not a particularly disinterested people; but in the attack on Babylon, made by Cyrus, the object was not plunder, but conquest and the extension of dominion. The main treasures of Babylon those in the great temple of Bolus were not carried off by Cyrus, as appears both from his own inscriptions, and from Herodotus (1. 181-183).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv17, 19 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them
Isa_13:17
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them
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The Medes
The Medes care not for gold, but for blood, though it be the blood of boys and infants.
(Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
The Medes and gold
Ye Medes and others who now hear me, I well know that you have not accompanied me in this expedition with a view of acquiring wealth.--Speech of Cyrus to his army. (Xenophon, Cyrop. V.)
The Medea
The worst terror that can assail us is the terror of forces, whose character we cannot fathom, who will not stop to parley, who do not understand our language nor our bribes. It was such a power with which the resourceful and luxurious Babylon was threatened. With money the Babylonians did all they wished to do, and believed everything else to be possible. They had subsidised kings, bought over enemies, seduced the peoples of the earth, The foe whom God now sent them was impervious to this influence. From their pure highlands came down upon corrupt civilisation a simple people, whose banner was a leathern apron, whose goal was not booty nor ease but power and mastery, who came not to rob but to displace. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv17–19 Isa_13:17. The Medes … shall not regard silver; and…
THE LOVE OF MONEY
Isa_13:17. The Medes … shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
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I. One of the most universal and powerful of all passions is the love of money. Consider—
1. How wide-spread is this passion. The instant men rise above utter barbarism, it manifests itself. Paradoxical as it may sound, it is one of the first signs that civilisation has begun. In every civilised land, and among all classes, it constantly manifests itself [1021] It is one of the inspiring and moulding forces that are always at work.
2. How powerful it is in its operation! It drives men to exhausting toil. It leads them to face appalling dangers. It persuades them to endure distressing privations. It betrays them into the basest crimes. Up to a certain point, it may be said to be a useful servant; it works to promote our welfare, by overbalancing other tendencies that would degrade and ruin us; but when once that limit is overpassed, it transforms itself into a tyrannical master. Like many an Eastern tyrant, it destroys all other lawful passions that might dispute with it the throne (H. E. I., 400, 402).
[1021] In many of those who seem utterly free from the love of money, it is only dormant; like the thirst for blood in that tiger which, captured when a cub, was brought up as a household pet, but showed itself to be a tiger indeed when, licking a slight wound in its master’s hand, it first tasted blood. So, many who appear to be utterly free from the love of money are so simply because they have never possessed more than sufficed for their bare necessities. Let them possess more, and avarice will show itself. This is the explanation of the familiar fact, that many who become prosperous become niggardly; they may continue to give, but it is always in a steadily diminishing proportion to their income (H. E. I., 4013; P. D., 3068, 3488).
II. But this passion, powerful as it is, may be controlled and conquered. “The Medes … shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.” This means, not that they should be exempt from the influence of this worldwide passion, but that in them it would be temporarily overborne by another more powerful passion—the passion for revenge. For years the dominion of Babylon over them had been maintained by the most relentless rigour and frightful cruelties; and when the hour for successful revolt came, the one thought of the Medes would be—Revenge! That one intense longing would consume all others; the men on whom it had laid hold would forget their thirst for riches.
This really is only an instance and illustration of what Dr. Chalmers used to call “the expulsive power of a new affection.” Many other affections come up to the human heart, and expel avarice; e.g., love of wife or children, ambition, vanity, &c. We see, therefore, that the love of money can be conquered, and as reasonable men always in danger of being overcome by it, we should ask by what passion or principle it can be conquered most nobly. That principle and that passion is the love of Christ. Of those who are truly possessed by it, it may be truly said that they do not regard silver; and as for gold, they do not delight in it. They may have much money, and by their splendid genius for business may be constantly gaining much more; but they possess it, it does not possess them; they are its masters. By the use of it they are ennobled. Let us pray that our hearts may be garrisoned by this more powerful and noble passion; then all the assaults of avarice upon them shall be made in vain. We shall meet them as Christ Himself met the offer of all the wealth and glory of the world; and the result will be, that we shall possess the true riches which will be valuable in the eternal world (Mat_4:8-10; Mat_6:19-21).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v19 And Babylon
And Babylon
Isa 13:12-16 look forward to the apocalyptic judgments (Revelation 6-13.). Isa 13:17-22 have a near and far view. They predict the destruction of the literal Babylon then existing; with the further statement that, once destroyed, Babylon should never be rebuilt (cf) Jer 51:61-64. All of this has been literally fulfilled. But the place of this prediction in a great prophetic strain looks forward to the destruction of both politico-Babylon and ecclesio- Babylon in the time of the Beast shows that the destruction of the actual Babylon typifies the greater destruction yet to come upon the mystical Babylons. Cf. (See Scofield "Isa 13:1").
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Babylon See note 2; (See Scofield "Isa 13:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 19, 21 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues speaking.
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I am about to stir up the Medes to attack them
Making people want to do something is spoken of as stirring them up. AT: "I am about to make the Medes want to attack them" (See: Metaphor)
Their bows will strike down
Here "their bows" is a metonym for the soldiers who use the bows. AT: "Their soldiers will use bows and arrows to kill"
translationWords
Medes
silver
gold
bow and arrow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 19, 20 13:17 The Lord is sovereign and controls history. He…
13:17 The Lord is sovereign and controls history. He can stir up kingdoms to execute his will. • The Medes from northwestern Iran joined Persian King Cyrus in fighting against Babylon in 539 BC.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.