Isaiah 13:11

11 "I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the arrogance of the proud and humble the insolence of tyrants.

Isaiah 13:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 13:11

And I will punish the world for [their] evil
Not the whole world, but the kingdom of Babylon, so called because of its large extent, and the number of its inhabitants, just as the Roman empire is called the whole world, ( Luke 2:1 ) "evil" may be meant, either of the evil of sin, which was the cause of punishment, or else of the evil of punishment itself; and the sense be this, I will visit, or, in a way of visitation, I will bring evil, or evils, upon the world; so the Targum, and the wicked for their iniquity,
or "on the wicked their iniquity"; that is, I will visit on them, or inflict upon them, the punishment of their iniquity; meaning the notorious and abandoned sinners among them, see ( Isaiah 13:9 ) : and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and I will
lay low the haughtiness of the terrible:
such as Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, famous for their pride, arrogance, and haughtiness, tyranny and oppression, whereby they became terrible to others.

Isaiah 13:11 In-Context

9 Here comes the Day of ADONAI, full of cruelty, rage and hot fury, to desolate the earth and destroy the sinners in it.
10 For the stars, the constellations in the sky, will no longer give their light; the sun will be dark when it rises; and the moon will no longer shine.
11 "I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the arrogance of the proud and humble the insolence of tyrants.
12 I will make humans rarer than gold, scarcer than Ofir's pure gold.
13 This is why I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of ADONAI-Tzva'ot on the day of his fierce anger.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.