Isaiah 13:1-14:23
Dear RTB’ers,
Today’s reading is 100% about Babylon, and it’s not good for them – for the country, for the city, for the king, or for its people! First we have God’s personal proclamations (through Isaiah) in chapter 13, then Israel’s own triumphs and taunts in chapter 14. Chapter 13 gets confusing when Isaiah goes from God speaking in the first person (I, My, in Isaiah 13:3,11-13,17), then in the third person of God’s judgment in the rest of the chapter.
Israel’s chapter 14 taunt is interesting beginning in Isaiah 14:9 where the dead rise up to meet the defeated Babylonian king, suggesting that he would not even get a proper burial (Isaiah 14:18-20). Many commentators see Isaiah 14:12-14 (and following?) as referring to Satan, the devil, the “fallen angel”. An AI link reports that the term “Day Star” was translated as “Lucifer” in the Latin Vulgate; it’s where we come to give Satan the name Lucifer.
Finally, we close today’s reading with more first-person judgments from the Lord in Isaiah 14:22-23. And it all came to pass as Isaiah had predicted.
Blessings!
See also: August 17 (2023) / Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5.