Isaiah 13:12

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. I WILL MAKE A MAN MORE PRECIOUS THAN FINE GOLD - I will so cut off Babylon's defenders, that a single man shall be as rare and precious as the finest gold....

12._I will make a man more precious than pure gold. _Here he describes in a particular manner how cruel and savage will be the war that is carried on against Babylon. In like manner believers, instructed by these predictions, implore in the spirit of prophecy what is the utmost exertion of the cruelty exercised in wars, that the Persians and Medes may tear the infants from their mothers’ breasts, _and dash them against the stones_. (Psalms 137:9.) The general meaning is, that Babylon will not only be destroyed, but will be devoted to utter extermination; for when he says that the life of _a man shall be more precious than gold_, he asserts that the enemies will be so eager to shed blood, that it will be impossible to rescue a man out of their hands at any price, because they will choose rather to kill than to accept a ransom. It may be asked, Was this destruction as c

6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of governments. God will visit them for their iniquity, particularly the sin of pride, which brings men low. There shall be a general scene of horror. Those who join themselves to Babylon, must expect to share her plagues, Revelation 18:4. All that men have, they would give for their lives, but no man's riches shall be the ransom of his life. Pause here and wonder that men should be thus cruel and inhuman, and see how corrupt the nature of man is become. And that...

Verse Isaiah 13:12. _I WILL MAKE A MAN MORE PRECIOUS THAN FINE GOLD-WEDGE_ _OF OPHI__r._] The Medes and Persians will not be satisfied with the _spoils_ of the Babylonians. They seek either to destroy or enslave them; and they will accept no _ransom_ for any man-either for אנוש _enosh_, the poor man, or for אדם _adam_, the more honourable person. All must fall by the sword, or go into captivity together; for _the Medes_, (Isaiah 13:17,) _regard not silver, and delight not in gold_....

I WILL MAKE A MAN ... - I will so cut off and destroy the men of Babylon, that a single man to defend the city will be more rare and valuable than fine gold. The expression indicates that there would be a great slaughter of the people of Babylon. THAN FINE GOLD - Pure, unalloyed gold. The word used here (פז _pâz_) is often distinguished from common gold Psalms 19:11; Psalms 119:127; Proverbs 8:19. THAN THE GOLDEN WEDGE OF OPHIR - The word (כתם _kethem_) rendered ‘wedge’ means properly “gold;” yellow gold; what is hidden, precious, o

EXPOSITION THE BURDEN OF BABYLON. The series of prophecies which commences with this chapter and continues to the close of Isaiah 23:1; is connected together by the word _massa_, burden. It has been argued that the term "burden" is an incorrect translation of _massa_, as used by Isaiah and later prophets (Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Zechariah 9:1; Zechariah 12:1; Malachi 1:1); and that ...

I WILL MAKE A MAN MORE PRECIOUS THAN FINE GOLD,.... Which may denote either the scarcity of men in Babylon, through the slaughter made of them; so things that are scarce and rare are said to be precious, 1 Samuel 3:1 or the resolution of the Medes to spare none, though ever so much gold were offered to them, they being not to be bribed therewith, Isaiah 13:17 or that such should be the fear of men, that they would not be prevailed upon to take up arms to defend themselves or their king, whatever quantity of gold, even the best, was proposed unto them, a man was not to be got for money: EVEN A MAN THAN THE GOLDEN WEDGE OF OPHIR; which designs the same thing in different words. The Targum gives another sense of the whole, paraphrasing it thus, "I will love them that fear me more

2. THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS AND THE FUTURE DAY OF JEHOVAH (13-27) CHAPTER 13 The Burden of Babylon 1. _Jehovah's call to the judgment of Babylon (Isaiah 13:1)_ 2. _The day of Jehovah: When Babylon falls (Isaiah 13:6)_ 3. _Babylon overthrown (Isaiah 13:17)_ The great judgments announced in this part of Isaiah were only partially fulfilled in the past. The great Babylon which came into existence as the mistress of the world after this prophecy had been given, fell by the Medes (verse 17 and Daniel 5:1. The judgment of this Babylon is meant here first. But the Babylon of the past is the type of a Babylon of

ISAIAH 13:1 TO ISAIAH 14:23. THE UTTER RUIN OF BABYLON AND TRIUMPHAL ODE OVER HER MONARCH'S DEATH. Historical conditions are here presupposed entirely different from those of Isaiah's time. The subject of Isaiah 13 is the overthrow of Babylon by the Medes a century and a half after his age. Since the downfall is said to lie in the near future, the prophecy must have been written very near the close of the Exile. The description of Babylon is also not true to the situation of Isaiah's day. The great oppressing empire, whose downfall he predicted, was Assyria. Babylon was subject to it, though it revolted from time to time, and it was united in friendly relations with Judah by hate for the common oppressor. In our prophecy Babylon is no longer a subject state, but the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldea

MAN. Hebrew. _adam_. App-14....