Isaías 13:19

19 Y Babilonia, hermosura de reinos y ornamento de la grandeza de los caldeos, será como Sodoma y Gomorra, a las que trastornó Dios

Isaías 13:19 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 13:19

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms
The first and most ancient kingdom, ( Genesis 10:10 ) and now, at the time of its fall, the largest and most extensive; wherefore of the image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, which was a representation of several kingdoms, this was the head, the head of gold, ( Daniel 2:31 Daniel 2:38 ) so Babylon is called the "lady of kingdoms", ( Isaiah 47:5 ) the word here used for "glory" is the same with that which is rendered a "roe", ( Isaiah 13:14 ) . Babylon was once as a pleasant roe, but now a chased one: the beauty of the Chaldees excellency;
the glory of that nation; what they gloried in, being so famous for pompous buildings, number of inhabitants, riches and wealth, see ( Daniel 4:30 ) . Pliny ^F14 calls it the head of the Chaldean nations, and says it obtained great fame in the whole world: shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah;
which, though not at once, and by fire from heaven, as that was, yet was of God, and, when completed, was, like that, irrecoverable; which was begun by Cyrus and Darius, and in after times finished; and besides there was a circumstance which made it similar to that; for as the men of Sodom were eating and drinking, when their destruction came upon them, so Belshazzar, and his nobles, were feasting and revelling when the city was taken. The Jews ^F15 say, that, after Belshazzar was slain, Darius reigned one year, and in his second year the city was overthrown, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven; but without any foundation; for certain it is that Babylon was in being many years after this, and continued to the time of Alexander the great.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26.
F15 Jarchi & Kimchi ex Seder Olam Rabba, c. 28.

Isaías 13:19 In-Context

17 He aquí que yo despierto contra ellos a los medos, que no buscarán la plata, ni codiciarán oro

18 Y con arcos tirarán a los niños, y no tendrán misericordia del fruto del vientre, ni su ojo perdonará a los hijos

19 Y Babilonia, hermosura de reinos y ornamento de la grandeza de los caldeos, será como Sodoma y Gomorra, a las que trastornó Dios

20 Nunca más será habitada, ni morará en ella de generación en generación; ni hincará allí tienda el árabe, ni pastores tendrán allí majada

21 mas dormirán allí bestias fieras; y sus casas se llenarán de hurones; allí habitarán hijas del búho, y allí saltarán sátiros