Bible Strands
Isaiah 13:5
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Judah and surrounding nations regarding the impending judgment on Babylon. The declaration occurs during a vision of mobilized divine forces preparing for war.
The words — מֶרְחָק (mer.Chak) denotes distance, and זַעְמוֹ (za'.Mo) means his indignation. These terms anchor the verse’s description of forces mobilizing from extreme distances to execute divine wrath.
The thread — This motif of distant armies executing judgment appears in Jeremiah 50:9 against Babylon and Jeremiah 51:20 where God uses nations as His weapon. The gathering from the ends of the earth echoes the imagery in Matthew 24:31.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that historical conquests are direct instruments of divine judgment. Readers must confront the reality that God mobilizes forces across the earth to execute destruction against targeted nations.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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 “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.
- 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.
- 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 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.”
- 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.