Isaiah 13 · The Lantern

The oracle on Babylon,—of which Isaiah, son of Amoz had vision:—

Upon a bare mountain, lift ye up a standard, Raise high the voice to them, Wave the hand, That they may enter the doors of nobles.

(Verse 2.) On the dark mountain, raise a sign, lift up your voice, raise your hand. The dark mountain, also called the mountain of darkness, which in Hebrew is called Nesphe, represents Babylon because of its pride.

By a mountain is designated the apostate angel, as is said to preachers concerning the ancient enemy under the character of the king of Babylon, Lift ye up a banner upon the gloomy mountain. For holy preachers lift up a banner above the gloomy mountain, when they exalt the virtue of the cross against the pride of Satan, which is frequently concealed under the mist of hypocrisy.

Concerning the first of these, he does two things. First, he sets out the calling together; and he calls them together to attack and besiege: lift up a sign, that is, a banner, upon the mountain, of Babylon, dark, because of the smoke from the fire, when it had been burned.

I myself, have given charge to my hallowed ones,—Yea I have called My heroes in showing mine anger, My proudly exulting ones.

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, A resemblance of many people,—The noise of a tumult of kingdoms Nations gathered together, Yahweh of hosts, mustering a host for battle!

They are coming in From a land far away. From the utmost bound of the heavens,—Yahweh—with his weapons of indignation, To destroy the land.

Howl ye! for at hand is the day of Yahweh,—As a veritable destruction from the Almighty, shall it come.

For this cause—All hands, shall hang down,—and Every mortal heart, melt.

And they shall be in distress—Writhings and pains, shall lay hold, As a woman in childbirth, shall they be in pangs,—Everyone, at his neighbour, shall look in amazement, Faces of flames, their faces!

Lo! the day of Yahweh, coming in, Fierce and overflowing, and burning with anger,—To devote the earth to desolation, And her sinners, will he destroy out of it.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be moved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn (24, 29—30ᵃ).

(Verse 9.) Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel and full of indignation, wrath and fury, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners. He calls it a cruel day, not because of its own merit, but because of the people. For he is not cruel who kills the cruel, but because he appears cruel to those who suffer.

Behold, the day. Here he describes the punishment of the afflicted. And concerning this, he sets out three things: first, the magnitude of the punishment: full of indignation, as to the removal of mercy; and of wrath, as to the delight of punishment; according to the Philosopher: the angry are saddened, but rejoice in punishing; and fury, as to impetuous vengeance, for fury is…

For the stars of the heavens and their constellations, shall not flash forth their light,—Obscured shall be the sun in his going forth, And the moon, shall not shed her light.

And I will visit, upon the inhabited earth, calamity!, And upon the lawless, their punishment, And will quiet the arrogance of the proud, And the loftiness of tyrants, will I lay low.

You have opened "the eyes of our hearts" so that we realize you alone are "highest among the highest, and ever remain holy among the holy." "You humble the pride of the arrogant, overrule the plans of the nations, raise up the humble and humble the haughty.

(Verse 11) And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wickedness of their iniquities. When God visits and strikes; He strikes in order to correct.

Second, he sets out equity, ordaining the punishment for the fault which they committed against themselves: I will visit, I will avenge, the evils of the world, that is, of Babylon, for it was in that monarchy, or because of the multitude of those assembling from all over; and, as to the fault which they also committed against their subjects, through the oppression of the wicke…

I will cause, a man, to be more precious than fine gold,—Even a son of earth than, the finest gold of Ophir.

(Verse 12) The man will be more precious than gold, and the human being will shine like the world. The obvious reason why God visits the earth, that is, the evils of Babylon: so that the inhabited land will be turned into a desert.

That price is most precious. On account of this Isaiah says: "A man shall be more precious than gold, and a human being than pure gold of Ophir." This he says of Christ, who made us precious.

Third, he sets out the moderation of the punishment. And he sets out four things: first, the small number of defenders: more precious, that is, more rare: the word of God was precious (1 Sam 3:1), and a man, who can defend by power, yea a man, who can defend by counsel, the finest of gold, that is, red gold, which is the best, above: they that remain of the trees of his forest…

For this cause, the heavens, will I disturb, And, the earth, shall tremble out of her place,—In the wrath of Yahweh of hosts, And in the day of the glow of his anger.

And it shall be—Like a gazelle that is chased, And like a sheep with none to lift it up,—Each, to his own people, will they turn, And, each, to his own land, will they flee:

In this way the word [Scripture] clearly shows the few who will be saved in the day of the ruin of those who are evil. Therefore, one cannot expect that all those who are uncircumcised and all of the Jewish nation, without exception, will receive the promises of God.

(Verse 14-16.) And it shall be like a frightened doe and like a flock of sheep, and there will be no one to gather them. Each one will turn to their own people, and they will each flee to their own land. Everyone who is found will be killed, and everyone who comes upon them will fall by the sword.

Third, as to the dispersion of those who flee, citizens and warriors as much as captives, a doe, a swift animal: deliver yourself as a doe from the hand (Prov 6:5); my flocks were scattered upon the face of the earth (Ezek 34:6).

Every one found, shall be thrust through,—And, every one taken, shall fall by the sword;

And, their infants, shall be dashed to the ground, before their eyes,—Plundered shall be, their houses, and their wives ravished.

Behold me! stirring up against them the Medes,—Who of silver, shall take no account, And as for gold, they shall not delight in it;

And, bows, shall dash the young to pieces,—And on the fruit of the womb, will they have no pity, Over children, will their eye throw no shield.

Thus shall Babylon—The most lovely of kingdoms, The majestic beauty of the Chaldees—Become as in the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It shall not be dwelt in for ever, Neither shall it be inhabited from generation to generation,—Neither shall encamp there, an Arab, Nor, shepherds, fold their flocks there.

Then shall lie down there, wild beasts, And filled shall be their houses with owls,—Then shall inhabit there, the ostrich, And shaggy creatures, shall dance there.

Wherefore I entreat, let us kill the serpent, let us shut up the wild beasts, let us stifle them, let us slay them, and these wicked thoughts let us give over to the sword of the Spirit, lest the prophet threaten us also with such things as he threatened Judea, that "The wild asses shall dance there, and porcupines, and serpents." For there are, there are even men worse than wi…

(Verse 21, 22.) The seed of the wicked, prepare your sons for the slaughter of the sins of their fathers: they will not rise nor inherit the land, nor fill the face of the cities of the world. And I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts: and I will destroy the name and remnants of Babylon, and its seed, and its offspring, says the Lord of hosts.

As to the inhabitation of beasts and the dead: but wild beasts shall rest there, who love solitude. Dragons, who, according to some, are large winged serpents, according to others, are large fish with wet scales, and according to others, are cubit long serpents that eat other serpents and, because of this, poison with the breath of their mouths.

And jackals shall answer, in their citadels, And wild dogs, in their voluptuous palaces,—And near to come is her time, And, her days, shall not be delayed.

Isaiah13