Bible Strands
Isaiah 13:3
I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to the prophetic audience amid commands to rally forces for the coming assault on Babylon. This declaration marks the transition from the call to raise a banner to the mobilization of the divine army.
The words — The verse centers on צִוֵּיתִי (tzi.Vei.ti), meaning "I have commanded," and קָרָ֤אתִי (ka.Ra.ti), meaning "I have summoned." These verbs establish that the agents of judgment operate solely under divine authorization.
The thread — This motif of summoned warriors executing divine judgment appears in Joel 3:11, where surrounding nations are called to gather while God is explicitly asked to "bring down Your mighty ones." The theme of a divinely mobilized army for judgment also surfaces in Jeremiah 51:20, which addresses an agent as "My war club" for shattering kingdoms.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that historical conflicts operate under sovereign divine command rather than autonomous human agendas. It requires readers to acknowledge that judgment follows a deliberate, authoritative summons.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.
Cross-references
- Joel 3:11 Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.
- Jeremiah 51:20 “You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Revelation 17:12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast.
- Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
- Ezra 6:1 Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.
- Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
- Psalms 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
- Psalms 149:5 Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Isaiah 23:11 The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.
- Isaiah 44:27 who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’