They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Parallel Translations
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They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
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They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
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They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole earth.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Isaiah 13:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 50:9 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 themselves in array against her. She will be taken from there. Their arrows will be as of an expert mighty man. None of them will return in vain.
- Jeremiah 51:20-46 “You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms. With you I will break in pieces the horse and his rider. With you I will break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein. With you I will break in pieces man and woman. With you I will break in pieces the old man and the youth. With you I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin. With you I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke. With you I will break in pieces governors and deputies. “I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,” says Yahweh. “Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain,” says Yahweh, “which destroys all the earth. I will stretch out my hand on you, roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burned mountain. They won’t take a cornerstone from you, nor a stone for foundations; but you will be desolate forever,” says Yahweh. “Set up a standard in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her! Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz! Appoint a marshal against her! Cause the horses to come up as the rough canker worm! Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion! The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have stopped fighting, they remain in their strongholds. Their might has failed. They have become as women. Her dwelling places are set on fire. Her bars are broken. One runner will run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter. So the passages are seized. They have burned the reeds with fire. The men of war are frightened.” 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 little while, and the time of harvest comes for her.” “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me. He has crushed me. He has made me an empty vessel. He has, like a monster, swallowed me up. He has filled his mouth with my delicacies. He has cast me out. May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon!” the inhabitant of Zion will say; and, “May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea!” will Jerusalem say. Therefore Yahweh says: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl as lions’ cubs. When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunk, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says Yahweh. “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. “How Sheshach is taken! How the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! The sea has come up on Babylon. She is covered with the multitude of its waves. 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. I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up. The nations will not flow any more to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon will fall. “My people, go away from the middle of her, and each of you save yourselves from Yahweh’s fierce anger. Don’t let your heart faint. Don’t fear for the news that will be heard in the land. For news will come one year, and after that in another year news will come, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
- Matthew 24:31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
- Isaiah 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
- Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.
- Isaiah 24:1 Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants.
- Jeremiah 50:3 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 are gone, both man and animal.
- Jeremiah 51:11 “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 Babylon, to destroy it; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance of his temple.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The army of the Medes and the Persians against…
The army of the Medes and the Persians against Babylon.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 13:5 They come from a far country, from…
Isa 13:5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, [even] the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Ver. 5. They come from a far country.] Heb., From a land of longinquity.
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Even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation.] ’Oπολομαχους, "Vessels of wrath," the Septuagint render them; but in another sense, then, the apostle useth that expression concerning reprobates designed to destruction.
To destroy the whole land.] Or, The whole world, for so the Chaldees, in the pride of their empire, styled it. The Romans did the like. {Luk 2:1} The Turks do the same at this day, such is their ambition.
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 From the end of heaven; from the ends of…
From the end of heaven; from the ends of the earth under heaven, as Mat 24:30; which is not to be understood strictly and properly, but popularly and hyperbolically, as such expressions are commonly used in sacred and profane authors. And yet in some respects this might be truly said of Persia, which on the south side was bounded by the main ocean; as for the same reason Sheba, a part of Arabia, is called
the utmost parts of the earth, Mat 12:42.
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The weapons of his indignation; the Medes and Persians, who were but a rod in God’s hand, and the instruments of his anger, as was said of the Assyrian, Isa 10:5.
To destroy the whole land, to wit, of Babylon, of which he is now speaking.
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 They come from a far country, from the end…
They come from a far country, from the end of heaven,.... The east, as Kimchi observes; the Targum is, from the ends of the earth; the furthermost parts of it, as Persia and Media were: the former is bounded on the south side by the main ocean; and the latter, part of it by the Caspian sea; and between Babylon and these kingdoms lay the large kingdom of Assyria; so that this army might be truly said to come from a far country:
even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation; the Medes and Persians, who were the instruments of his wrath and vengeance against Babylon; just as Assyria is called the rod of his anger, Isa 10:5 with these he is said to come, because this army was of his gathering, mustering, ordering, and directing, in his providence; the end and design of which was,
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to destroy the whole land; not the whole world, as the Septuagint render it; but the whole land of Chaldea, of which Babylon was the metropolis. The Targum is,
"to destroy all the wicked of the earth.''
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 Thy come - From the ends of the earth…
Thy come - From the ends of the earth under heaven, which is not to be understood strictly. The weapons - The Medes and Persians, who were but a rod in God's hand, and the instruments of his anger. Land - Of Babylon.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. They come from a far country] The…
Verse 5. They come from a far country] The word מארץ meerets is wanting in one MS. and in the Syriac: "They come from afar."
From the end of heaven] Kimchi says, Media, "the end of heaven," in Scripture phrase, means, the EAST.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They come - That is, ‘Yahweh and the weapons…
They come - That is, ‘Yahweh and the weapons of his indignation’ - the collected armies come. The prophet sees these assembled armies with Yahweh, as their leader, at their head.
From a far country - The country of the Medes and Persians. These nations, indeed, bordered on Babylonia, but still they stretched far to the north and east, and, probably, occupied nearly all the regions to the east of Babylon which were then known.
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From the end of heaven - The Septuagint renders this, Ἀπ ̓ ἄκρου θεμελίου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ Ap' akrou themeliou tou ouranou - ‘From the “extreme foundation” of the heaven.’ The expression in the Hebrew, ‘From the end, or extreme peri of heaven,’ means, the distant horizon by which the earth appears to be bounded, where the sky and the land seem to meet. In Psa 19:6, the phrase, ‘from the end of the heaven’ denotes the east, where the sun appears to rise; and ‘unto the ends of it’ denotes the west:
His going forth is from the end of the heaven;
And his circuit unto the ends of it.
It is here synonymous with the phrase, ‘the end of the earth,’ in Isa 5:26.
Even the Lord - The word ‘even,’ introduced here by the translators, weakens the three of this verse. The prophet means to say that Yahweh is coming at the head of those armies, which are the weapons of his indignation.
The weapons of his indignation - The assembled armies of the Medes and Persians, called ‘the weapons of his indignation,’ because by them he will accomplish the purposes of his anger against the city of Babylon (see the note at Isa 10:5).
To destroy the whole land - The whole territory of Babylonia, or Chaldea. Not only the city, but the nation and kingdom.
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 Heaven. Where it seems to touch the horizon. Thus…
Heaven. Where it seems to touch the horizon. Thus the countries beyond the Euphrates are often designated.
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 They--namely, "Jehovah," and the armies which are "the weapons…
They--namely, "Jehovah," and the armies which are "the weapons of His indignation."
far country--Media and Persia, stretching to the far north and east.
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end of heaven--the far east (Psa 19:6).
destroy--rather, "to seize" [HORSLEY].
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 5. From a far country… end of heaven —…
5. From a far country… end of heaven — A region but dimly definite to the mind, so very distant is it, extending out to the lowest horizon. The prophet sees the mustering hosts actually coming from the remotest point of sight.
The Lord… weapons… indignation — The armies are under his guidance, and unconsciously become instruments of punishing (literally, seizing) the whole land, — Septuagint, the whole world — which means Babylonia as a symbol or type of all human opposition to divine authority. Isa_14:7; Isa_14:9; Isa_14:16.
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 5. The host is now seen in motion, advancing…
5. The host is now seen in motion, advancing under the guidance of Jehovah to its appointed goal.
the whole land] Rather, the whole earth. The judgment is directed against the Babylonian Empire, which from the writer’s point of view was practically co-extensive with the civilised world.
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 (5) They come from a far country . .…
(5) They come from a far country . . .—The same phrase is used of Cyrus in Isa_46:11, and in Isa_39:3 of Babylon itself in relation to Jerusalem. The “end of heaven” represents the thoughts of Isaiah’s time, the earth as an extended plain, and the skies rising like a great vault above. The phrase represents (Deu_4:32; Psa_19:6), as it were, the ultima Thule of discovery. For the “whole land,” the Hebrew noun hovers, as often elsewhere, between the meanings of “earth,” or “country.” The LXX. favours the former meaning.
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 They come from a far country. (comp. Isa_46:11) Both…
They come from a far country. (comp. Isa_46:11) Both Media and Persia were "far countries" to the Hebrews, Persia especially. There is no indication that they knew of any countries more remote towards the East. Hence the expression which follows, "from the end of heaven the heaven being supposed to end where the earth ended. Isaiah, like the other sacred writers, conforms his language on cosmical subjects to the opinions of his day. Even the Lord. With a most effective anthropomorphism, Jehovah is made to march with the army that he has mustered (ver. 4) against the land that has provoked his wrathi.e. Babylonia. The weapons. (comp. Isa_10:15 Jer_1:2-5 Jer_51:20) To destroy the whole land. Many critics would render ha-arets by "the earth" here. It may be granted that the language of the prophecy goes beyond the occasion in places (especially vers. 11 and 13), and passes from Babylon to that wicked world of which Babylon is a type; but, where the context permits, it seems better to restrict than to expand the meaning of the words employed.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:5 Just as Assyria was the rod of his…
13:5 Just as Assyria was the rod of his anger (9:4; 10:5, 15), other nations serve as the Lord’s weapons and carry out his will. The Medes and Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BC. • God’s wrath is an expression of his justice as well as his intent to restore order to the world by obliterating evildoers (10:25-26; see Lam 2:22; Ezek 7:19).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.