the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Isaiah 13:17
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Behold, I am going to awaken the Medes against them,Who will not think about silver or take pleasure in gold.
Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
For lo, I shall bring vp the Medes against them, whiche shall not regarde siluer, nor be desirous of golde:
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not regard silver, and as for gold, they have no delight in it.
"Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
Behold! I stir up the Medes against them, who shall not value silver. And they shall not delight in gold.
The Lord says, "Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. Nothing will stop them, even if someone offers them gold and silver.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Beholde, I will stirre vp the Medes against them, which shall not regard siluer, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
For lo, I shall bringe vp ye Medes agaynst the, which shal not regarde syluer, nor be desyrous of golde.
"And now watch this: Against Babylon, I'm inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt. They massacre the young, wantonly kick and kill even babies. And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth. But strange and wild animals will like it just fine, filling the vacant houses with eerie night sounds. Skunks will make it their home, and unspeakable night hags will haunt it. Hyenas will curdle your blood with their laughing, and the howling of coyotes will give you the shivers. "Babylon is doomed. It won't be long now."
Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them, Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
See, I am driving the Medes against them, who put no value on silver and have no pleasure in gold.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver; and [as for] gold, they shall not delight in it.
Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold.
The Medes can't be bought off with silver or gold, and I'm sending them to attack Babylonia.
I will stir up against them the Medes, who cannot be tempted by silver or bought off with gold.
Beholde, I will stirre vp the Medes against them, which shall not regarde siluer, nor be desirous of golde.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver, and have no delight in gold.
Behold, I will stir up the Madai against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
"Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.
See, I am going to make the Medes go against them, who will not want silver or be happy with gold.
Behold, I will stir up against you the Medes, who do not regard silver, neither have they need of gold.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.
See, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.
Behold me! stirring up against them the Medes, - Who of silver, shall take no account, And as for gold, they shall not delight in it;
Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not seek silver, nor desire gold:
Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them, who do not value silver and do not delight in gold.
Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.
Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
"Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. They do not care about silver or delight in gold.
The Lord says, "I am stirring up the Medes to attack Babylon. They care nothing for silver and are not tempted by gold.
Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold.
Lo! Y schal reise on them Medeis, that seken not siluer, nethir wolen gold;
Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.
Lo, I am stirring up against them the Medes, Who silver esteem not, And gold -- they delight not in it.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I will: Isaiah 13:3-5, Isaiah 21:2, Isaiah 41:25, Jeremiah 50:9, Jeremiah 51:11, Jeremiah 51:27, Jeremiah 51:28, Daniel 5:28-31
shall not regard: Proverbs 6:34, Proverbs 6:35
Reciprocal: 1 Kings 11:14 - the Lord 1 Kings 11:23 - God 2 Kings 17:6 - the Medes 2 Chronicles 36:22 - the Lord stirred Isaiah 13:5 - from a far Isaiah 21:1 - from Isaiah 21:5 - arise Isaiah 45:13 - price Isaiah 48:14 - he will do Jeremiah 21:7 - he shall Jeremiah 25:25 - Medes Jeremiah 50:3 - out of the Jeremiah 50:14 - in array Jeremiah 50:25 - opened Jeremiah 50:41 - General Jeremiah 50:42 - they are cruel Jeremiah 51:53 - from Daniel 7:5 - Arise Daniel 8:3 - one Revelation 17:16 - these
Cross-References
for all the land which you see, to you I will give it, and to your seed forever.
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the width of it; for to you I will give it.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,.... The Babylonians; this explains who are meant by the sanctified and mighty ones, Isaiah 13:3 the Medes were a people that descended from Medai, one of the sons of Japheth, Genesis 10:2 as Josephus observes i; under these the Persians are included, though they are only mentioned, because Cyrus was sent by Cyaxares king of Media on this expedition against Babylon, and was made by him general of the Medes, and acted as such under him; and when Babylon was taken, and Belshazzar slain, Darius the Median took the kingdom, Daniel 5:31 now these are mentioned by name some hundreds of years before the thing came to pass, as Cyrus their general in Isaiah 45:1 which is a strong proof of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation; and, whatever might be the moving causes of this expedition, the affair was of God; it was he that put it into the hearts of the Medes, and stirred up their spirits to make war against Babylon; and though God is not the author of sin, yet he not only suffered the things to be done before and after mentioned, but in his providence ordered them as just punishments on a sinful people:
which shall not regard silver; and [as for] gold, they shall not delight in it; not but that they had a regard for, gold and silver, as appears by their spoiling of the houses of the Babylonians,
Isaiah 13:16 but that they had not so great a regard for these things as to spare the lives of any for the sake of them; they were so intent upon taking away their lives, that they disregarded their substance; their first work was to slay, and then to spoil; they first destroyed, and then plundered; no man with his gold and silver could obtain a ransom of his life from them. Cyrus k in his speech to his army said,
"O ye Medes, and all present, I truly know that not for want of money are ye come out with me,'' &c.
i Antiqu. Jud. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. k Cyropaedia, l. 5. sect. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Behold, I will stir up - I will cause them to engage in this enterprise. This is an instance of the control which God claims over the nations, and of his power to excite and direct them as he pleases.
The Medes - This is one of the places in which the prophet specified, “by name,” the instrument of the wrath of God. Cyrus himself is subsequently mentioned Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1 as the agent by which God would accomplish his purposes. It is remarkable, also, that ‘the Medes’ are mentioned here many years before they became a separate and independent nation. It was elsewhere predicted that the Medes would be employed in this siege of Babylon; thus, in Isaiah 21:2 : ‘Go up, O Elam (that is, Persia), besiege, O Media;’ Jeremiah 51:11 : ‘Jehovah hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, for his device is against Babylon to destroy it.’ Media was a country east of Assyria, which is supposed to have been populated by the descendants of Madai, son of Japheth Genesis 10:2. Ancient Media extended on the west and south of the Caspian Sea, from Armenia, on the north, to Faristan or Persia proper, on the south.
It was one of the most fertile regions of Asia. It was an ancient kingdom. Ninus, the founder of the Assyrian monarchy, is said to have encountered one of its kings, whom he subdued, and whose province he made a part of the Assyrian empire. For 520 years, the Medes were subject to the Assyrians; but, in the time of Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, they revolted, and, by the destruction of the army of Sennacherib before Jerusalem - an event which was itself subsequent to the delivery of this prophecy respecting Babylon - they were enabled to achieve their independence. At the time when this prophecy was uttered, therefore, Media was a dependent province of the kingdom of Assyria. Six years they passed in a sort of anarchy, until, about 700 years b.c., they found in Dejoces an upright statesman, who was proclaimed king by universal consent. His son and successor, Phraortes, subdued the Persians, and all upper Asia, and united them to his kingdom.
He also attacked Assyria, and laid siege to Nineveh, the capital, but was defeated. Nineveh was finally taken by his successor, Cyaxares, with the aid of his ally, the king of Babylon; and Assyria became a province of Media. This widely-extended empire was delivered by him to his son Astyages, the father of Cyrus. Astyages reigned about 35 years, and then delivered the vast kingdom to Cyrus, about 556 years b.c., under whom the prediction of Isaiah respecting Babylon was fulfilled. In this way arose the Medo-Persian kingdom, and henceforward “the laws of the Medes and Persians” are always mentioned together Esther 1:9; Esther 10:2; Daniel 6:8, Daniel 6:12. From this time, all their customs, rites, and laws, became amalgamated. - (Herod. i. 95-130). In looking at this prophecy, therefore, we are to bear in mind:
(1) the fact that, when it was uttered, Media was a dependent province of the kingdom of Assyria;
(2) that a long time was yet to elapse before it would become an independent kingdom;
(3) that it was yet to secure its independence by the aid of that very Babylon which it would finally destroy;
(4) that no human foresight could predict these revolutions, and that every circumstance conspired to render this event improbable.
The great strength and resources of Babylon; the fact that Media was a dependent province, and that such great revolutions must occur before this prophecy could be fulfilled, render this one of the most striking and remarkable predictions in the sacred volume.
Which shall not regard silver ... - It is remarkable, says Lowth, that Xenophon makes Cyrus open a speech to his army, and, in particular, to the Medes, who made the principal part of it, with praising them for their disregard of riches. ‘Ye Medes and others who now hear me, I well know, that you have not accompanied me in this expedition with a view of acquiring wealth.’ - (“Cyrop.” v.) That this was the character of the Medes, is further evident from several circumstances. ‘He reckoned, says Xenophon, that his riches belonged not anymore to himself than to his friends. So little did he regard silver, or delight in gold, that Croesus told him that, by his liberality, he would make himself poor, instead of storing up vast treasures for himself. The Medes possessed, in this respect, the spirit of their chief, of which an instance, recorded by Xenophon, is too striking and appropriate to be passed over.
When Gobryas, an Assyrian governor, whose son the king of Babylon had slain, hospitably entertained him and his army, Cyrus appealed to the chiefs of the Medes and Hyrcanians, and to the noblest and most honorable of the Persians, whether, giving first what was due to the gods, and leaving to the rest of the army their portion, they would not overmatch his generosity by ceding to him their whole share of the first and plentiful booty which they had won from the land of Babylon. Loudly applauding the proposal, they immediately and unanimously consented; and one of them said, “Gobryas may have thought us poor, because we came not loaded with coins, and drink not out of golden cups; but by this he will know, that men can be generous even without gold.”’ (“See” Keith “On the Prophecies,” p. 198, Ed. New York, 1833.) This is a remarkable prediction, because this is a very unusual circumstance in the character of conquerors. Their purpose has been chiefly to obtain plunder, and, especially, gold and silver have been objects to them of great value. Few, indeed, have been the invading armies which were not influenced by the hope of spoil; and the want of that characteristic among the Medes is a circumstance which no human sagacity could have foreseen.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 13:17. Which shall not regard silver - "Who shall hold silver of no account"] That is, who shall not be induced, by large offers of gold and silver for ransom, to spare the lives of those whom they have subdued in battle; their rage and cruelty will get the better of all such motives. We have many examples in the Iliad and in the AEneid of addresses of the vanquished to the pity and avarice of the vanquishers, to induce them to spare their lives.
Est domus alta: jacent penitus defossa talenta
Caelati argenti: sunt auri ponders facti
Infectique mihi: non hic victoria Teucrum
Vertitur; aut anima una dalbit discrimina tanta.
Dixerat: AEneas contra cui talia reddit:
Argenti atque auri memoras quae multa talenta
Gnatis parce tuis.
AEn. x. 526.
"High in my dome are silver talents rolled,
With piles of laboured and unlaboured gold.
These, to procure my ransom, I resign;
The war depends not on a life like mine:
One, one poor life can no such difference yield,
Nor turn the mighty balance of the field.
Thy talents, (cried the prince,) thy treasured store
Keep for thy sons."
Pitt.
It is remarkable that Xenophon makes Cyrus open a speech to his army, and in particular to the Medes, who made the principal part of it, with praising them for their disregard of riches. Ανδρες Μηδοι, και παντες οἱ παροντες, εγω ὑμας οιδα σαφως, ὁτι ουτε χρηματων δεομενοι συν εμοι εξελθετε· "Ye Medes, and others who now hear me, I well know that you have not accompanied me in this expedition with a view of acquiring wealth." - Cyrop. lib. v.
