Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
Isaiah's burden foretells the destruction of Babylon before it reached its height, declaring that all caught in the city and all allied with it would be pierced and cut down in judgment. That overturning has been fulfilled to the letter, leaving ancient Babylon an accursed desolation where no one dwells and even Arabs refuse to pitch a tent, while its uncovered foundations still display Nebuchadnezzar's proud building work. Beyond literal Babylon the prophecy reaches to the complete and everlasting overthrow of all that God calls Babylon, especially Babylon the Great, when He punishes the world for evil, lays the land desolate and shakes the heavens and earth out of place. It therefore stands as a warning of the great day of His wrath in immediate connection with the coming of the Lord, when the wicked are slain and the saints taken, teaching cities and peoples that defy God, like New York and Chicago, to heed the warning and turn to right.
Context and Plain Meaning
Isaiah 13:15 stands in the series of burdens upon Babylon, Philistia, Moab and other nations in Isaiah 13-23, which forms the third section of Isaiah 1-39. It was given through Isaiah, who prophesied between 760 and 698 B.C., beginning as a young man in the reign of Uzziah and continuing through Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in crucial times typical of the great days to come. The section predicts events concerning Babylon and foretells Babylon's destruction. That foretelling was spoken before Babylon reached its height and lay beyond human foresight.
In plain terms it describes the violent fate of those caught in the judgment against Babylon. Everyone found there shall be pierced through, and everyone joined unto them or associated with them shall fall by the sword. It is slaughter of those caught in Babylon's destruction, those found and those associated with them killed by the sword.
It concerns the doom of literal Babylon, which had existed as a city and was later destroyed. Its name is associated with the confusion of languages at Babel, when God thwarted the attempt to build a tower to heaven, and this meaning of confusion guides the application of Babylon in its mystical sense. The prophecy against Babylon concerns Babylon and its highest king and traces the earthly king of Babylon's power back to Lucifer, the source of Babylon's wickedness.
Fulfillment and End-Time Prophecy
The overturning of Babylon foretold here has been fulfilled to the letter, for the ruins are called the Overturned and no living soul abides on the site of ancient Babylon. The Arabs avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of their tents because they consider the spot under a curse. Those Arabs helping with the excavation build their mud huts half a mile away in the bed of the ancient river now shifted half a mile west. The laid-bare foundations everywhere display the great building work of King Nebuchadnezzar who declared in pride over great Babylon that he had built it. The slaughter described, in which those found and those associated with them are pierced through and fall by the sword, belonged to a prophecy whose complete fulfillment extended beyond overthrow by the Persians to ultimate decay and desolation. That fulfillment came when Cyrus's forces captured the city and the Persian empire replaced Babylon, with the Medes and Persians as instruments of judgment.
The prophecy follows the common pattern of first addressing literal Babylon and then turning to the day of the Lord. Much of it applies to that city, while its judgment also serves as a figure of the greater, more fearful judgments of mystical or modern Babylon and all sinners at the last day. In fervid language it passes from local judgment to the future judgments that usher in the great day of the Lord. It belongs to the prophecy of Babylon's complete and everlasting overthrow, which reaches beyond Babylon of the Chaldees to the final and complete overthrow of all that God calls Babylon in the earth, especially Babylon the Great. Babylon's destruction represents the final overthrow of a world given over to evil at the close of time. That is the day of the Lord when God punishes the world for evil, destroys sinners out of the land, lays the land desolate, shakes the heavens and removes the earth out of her place, bringing the downfall of the whole world and the ruin of the nations.
The fall of Babylon joined with the return to Zion serves as a type of the end of the world and points to the Gospel dispensation. The same prophecy is applied to the final overthrow of the nations, when those found among them are killed. The chapter is also connected with the desolation of the earth, where beasts and birds may survive and multiply amid the ruins. The shaking of heaven and earth foretold here takes place in immediate connection with the coming of the Lord and not as a distant sign of nearness. In that day of the Lord its inhabitants are dismayed and seek hiding places in the rocks for fear of the majesty of the Lord. It presents the result of the Lord's voice going out against His enemies in destruction in the final conflict in which the wicked are slain, the saints are taken to heaven, and no one remains to mourn, gather, or bury the dead.
The chapter calls the day of the Lord a day of tumult, wrath, and fierce anger. It is emphatically the great day of His wrath, when evils will come upon men greater than any evils God has ever brought upon men. As with all His past dealings, God will send a warning to herald the approach of that great and terrible day. That warning is to be sounded by His people living when it is nigh at hand.
Warning to Defiant Cities
Babylon's doom shows the destruction that comes upon those who defy God, with everyone found there pierced through and everyone associated with them falling by the sword. That violent judgment stands as a lesson for cities and people that forget God and defy Him. It is a lesson especially for those who ignore warnings and go on forgetting God.
The same severe punishment in the judgment against Babylon serves as a warning to modern cities that defy God, including New York and Chicago. Their wickedness brings catastrophe upon them, and they should heed warnings of judgment and turn toward doing right.
Isaiah's burden foretells the destruction of Babylon before it reached its height, declaring that all caught in the city and all allied with it would be pierced and cut down in judgment. That overturning has been fulfilled to the letter, leaving ancient Babylon an accursed desolation where no one dwells and even Arabs refuse to pitch a tent, while its uncovered foundations still display Nebuchadnezzar's proud building work. Beyond literal Babylon the prophecy reaches to the complete and everlasting overthrow of all that God calls Babylon, especially Babylon the Great, when He punishes the world for evil, lays the land desolate and shakes the heavens and earth out of place. It therefore stands as a warning of the great day of His wrath in immediate connection with the coming of the Lord, when the wicked are slain and the saints taken, teaching cities and peoples that defy God, like New York and Chicago, to heed the warning and turn to right.
Context and Plain Meaning
Isaiah 13:15 stands in the series of burdens upon Babylon, Philistia, Moab and other nations in Isaiah 13-23, which forms the third section of Isaiah 1-39. It was given through Isaiah, who prophesied between 760 and 698 B.C., beginning as a young man in the reign of Uzziah and continuing through Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in crucial times typical of the great days to come. The section predicts events concerning Babylon and foretells Babylon's destruction. That foretelling was spoken before Babylon reached its height and lay beyond human foresight.
In plain terms it describes the violent fate of those caught in the judgment against Babylon. Everyone found there shall be pierced through, and everyone joined unto them or associated with them shall fall by the sword. It is slaughter of those caught in Babylon's destruction, those found and those associated with them killed by the sword.
It concerns the doom of literal Babylon, which had existed as a city and was later destroyed. Its name is associated with the confusion of languages at Babel, when God thwarted the attempt to build a tower to heaven, and this meaning of confusion guides the application of Babylon in its mystical sense. The prophecy against Babylon concerns Babylon and its highest king and traces the earthly king of Babylon's power back to Lucifer, the source of Babylon's wickedness.
Fulfillment and End-Time Prophecy
The overturning of Babylon foretold here has been fulfilled to the letter, for the ruins are called the Overturned and no living soul abides on the site of ancient Babylon. The Arabs avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of their tents because they consider the spot under a curse. Those Arabs helping with the excavation build their mud huts half a mile away in the bed of the ancient river now shifted half a mile west. The laid-bare foundations everywhere display the great building work of King Nebuchadnezzar who declared in pride over great Babylon that he had built it. The slaughter described, in which those found and those associated with them are pierced through and fall by the sword, belonged to a prophecy whose complete fulfillment extended beyond overthrow by the Persians to ultimate decay and desolation. That fulfillment came when Cyrus's forces captured the city and the Persian empire replaced Babylon, with the Medes and Persians as instruments of judgment.
The prophecy follows the common pattern of first addressing literal Babylon and then turning to the day of the Lord. Much of it applies to that city, while its judgment also serves as a figure of the greater, more fearful judgments of mystical or modern Babylon and all sinners at the last day. In fervid language it passes from local judgment to the future judgments that usher in the great day of the Lord. It belongs to the prophecy of Babylon's complete and everlasting overthrow, which reaches beyond Babylon of the Chaldees to the final and complete overthrow of all that God calls Babylon in the earth, especially Babylon the Great. Babylon's destruction represents the final overthrow of a world given over to evil at the close of time. That is the day of the Lord when God punishes the world for evil, destroys sinners out of the land, lays the land desolate, shakes the heavens and removes the earth out of her place, bringing the downfall of the whole world and the ruin of the nations.
The fall of Babylon joined with the return to Zion serves as a type of the end of the world and points to the Gospel dispensation. The same prophecy is applied to the final overthrow of the nations, when those found among them are killed. The chapter is also connected with the desolation of the earth, where beasts and birds may survive and multiply amid the ruins. The shaking of heaven and earth foretold here takes place in immediate connection with the coming of the Lord and not as a distant sign of nearness. In that day of the Lord its inhabitants are dismayed and seek hiding places in the rocks for fear of the majesty of the Lord. It presents the result of the Lord's voice going out against His enemies in destruction in the final conflict in which the wicked are slain, the saints are taken to heaven, and no one remains to mourn, gather, or bury the dead.
The chapter calls the day of the Lord a day of tumult, wrath, and fierce anger. It is emphatically the great day of His wrath, when evils will come upon men greater than any evils God has ever brought upon men. As with all His past dealings, God will send a warning to herald the approach of that great and terrible day. That warning is to be sounded by His people living when it is nigh at hand.
Warning to Defiant Cities
Babylon's doom shows the destruction that comes upon those who defy God, with everyone found there pierced through and everyone associated with them falling by the sword. That violent judgment stands as a lesson for cities and people that forget God and defy Him. It is a lesson especially for those who ignore warnings and go on forgetting God.
The same severe punishment in the judgment against Babylon serves as a warning to modern cities that defy God, including New York and Chicago. Their wickedness brings catastrophe upon them, and they should heed warnings of judgment and turn toward doing right.