Isaiah 13:1-22

13:1 | The overthrow of Babylon, an important center for religion and culture in ancient Mesopotamia, foreshadows God’s triumph over all nations of the world (Jer. 50-51; Rev. 14:8).

13:3 | Sanctified ones were soldiers who marched out to do battle as God’s instruments.

13:17 | The Medes lived in what is today northwest Iran. They allied with the Persians to overthrow the Chaldean Empire and conquer Babylon in 539-538 BC (Dan. 5).

13:19 | The Chaldeans, a tribal group in southern Babylonia near the Persian Gulf, populated Babylon in the sixth century BC. They gained political control under their kings Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II and were responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Babylon symbolizes the world power that will one day arise and oppose God and His people in the end times (Rev. 17-18) and that will, like its historical counterpart, receive God’s judgment.