Isaiah 13:5

Modern

They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.

Traditional

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.

Literal

They are coming from a land far off, from the end of the heavens—YHWH and the instruments of His indignation—to destroy all the land.

Latin

…venientibus de terra procul, a summitate cæli; Dominus, et vasa furoris ejus, ut disperdat omnem terram.

Hebrew

English

They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.

Just as Assyria was a weapon of God's wrath (Isaiah 9:4; 10:5, 15), other nations act as the Lord’s weapons and carry out his will. The Medes and Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
God’s wrath shows his justice and his intent to restore order by destroying evildoers (Isaiah 10:25–26; see Lamentations 2:22; Ezekiel 7:19).

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah 50:9
For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.
Jeremiah 51:20–46
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
Matthew 24:31
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Jeremiah 50:3
For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”
Isaiah 24:1
Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
Jeremiah 51:11
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.
Isaiah 5:26
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
Isaiah 13:17
Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.