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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/isaiah/13-17.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/16/23_Isa_13_17.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Isaiah 13:17 - An Oracle Concerning Babylon" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script> <script src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/biblehub.js' type='text/javascript'></script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/isaiah/13-17.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/isaiah/13-17.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/isaiah/">Isaiah</a> > <a href="/isaiah/13.htm">Chapter 13</a> > Verse 17</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad1.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/isaiah/13-16.htm" title="Isaiah 13:16">◄</a> Isaiah 13:17 <a href="/isaiah/13-18.htm" title="Isaiah 13:18">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Study Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Crossref </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Hebrew </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/isaiah/13.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/isaiah/13.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/isaiah/13.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/isaiah/13.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/isaiah/13.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/isaiah/13.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and <i>as for</i> gold, they shall not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/isaiah/13.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And <i>as for</i> gold, they will not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/isaiah/13.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/isaiah/13.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/isaiah/13.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/isaiah/13.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Behold, I am going to awaken the Medes against them, Who will not think about silver or take pleasure in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/isaiah/13.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />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].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/isaiah/13.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/isaiah/13.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/isaiah/13.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/isaiah/13.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />The Medes can't be bought off with silver or gold, and I'm sending them to attack Babylonia. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/isaiah/13.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/isaiah/13.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />I'm going to stir up the Medes against them. They don't care for silver and aren't happy with gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/isaiah/13.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />The LORD says, "I am stirring up the Medes to attack Babylon. They care nothing for silver and are not tempted by gold. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/isaiah/13.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Watch out! I'm stirring up the Medes against them, who care nothing for silver and take no delight in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/isaiah/13.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/isaiah/13.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/isaiah/13.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Look, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/isaiah/13.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/isaiah/13.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/isaiah/13.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, "" Who do not esteem silver, "" And gold—they do not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/isaiah/13.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Lo, I am stirring up against them the Medes, Who silver esteem not, And gold -- they delight not in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/isaiah/13.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Behold me rousing up the Modes against them, who shall not reckon silver; and gold they shall not delight in it.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/isaiah/13.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not seek silver, nor desire gold: <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/isaiah/13.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not seek silver, nor desire gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/isaiah/13.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />I am stirring up against them the Medes, who think nothing of silver and take no delight in gold. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/isaiah/13.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />See, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/isaiah/13.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver, and have no delight in gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/isaiah/13.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Behold, I arouse the Medes against you who do not esteem money for themselves, and with gold they are not pleased<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/isaiah/13.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who shall not regard silver, And as for gold, they shall not delight in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/isaiah/13.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Behold, I will stir up against you the Medes, who do not regard silver, neither have they need of gold.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/isaiah/13-17.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xv9bHT-nr9s?start=2872" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/isaiah/13.htm">An Oracle Concerning Babylon</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">16</span>Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished. <span class="reftext">17</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/2005.htm" title="2005: hin·nî (Interjection:: 1cs) -- Lo! behold! A primitive particle; lo!; also if.">Behold,</a> <a href="/hebrew/5782.htm" title="5782: mê·‘îr (V-Hifil-Prtcpl-ms) -- To rouse oneself, awake. A primitive root; to wake.">I will stir up</a> <a href="/hebrew/5921.htm" title="5921: ‘ă·lê·hem (Prep:: 3mp) -- Properly, the same as al used as a preposition; above, over, upon, or against in a great variety of applications.">against them</a> <a href="/hebrew/4074.htm" title="4074: mā·ḏāy (N-proper-fs) -- A son of Japheth, also his desc. and their land. Of foreign derivation; Madai, a country of central Asia.">the Medes,</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer- (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.">who</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">have no</a> <a href="/hebrew/2803.htm" title="2803: yaḥ·šō·ḇū (V-Qal-Imperf-3mp) -- To think, account. ">regard</a> <a href="/hebrew/3701.htm" title="3701: ke·sep̄ (N-ms) -- Silver, money. From kacaph; silver; by implication, money.">for silver</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">and no</a> <a href="/hebrew/2654.htm" title="2654: yaḥ·pə·ṣū- (V-Qal-Imperf-3mp) -- A primitive root; properly, to incline to; by implication to bend; figuratively, to be pleased with, desire.">desire</a> <a href="/hebrew/ḇōw (Prep:: 3ms) -- "></a> <a href="/hebrew/2091.htm" title="2091: wə·zā·hāḇ (Conj-w:: N-ms) -- Gold. From an unused root meaning to shimmer; gold, figuratively, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky.">for gold.</a> </span><span class="reftext">18</span>Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-11.htm">Jeremiah 51:11</a></span><br />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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-9.htm">Jeremiah 50:9</a></span><br />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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-41.htm">Jeremiah 50:41-42</a></span><br />Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth. / They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/daniel/5-28.htm">Daniel 5:28</a></span><br />PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/17-16.htm">Revelation 17:16-17</a></span><br />And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. / For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-28.htm">Jeremiah 51:28</a></span><br />Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-11.htm">Jeremiah 51:11-12</a></span><br />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. / Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; post the guard; station the watchmen; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both devised and accomplished what He spoke against the people of Babylon.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/habakkuk/1-6.htm">Habakkuk 1:6</a></span><br />For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/18-2.htm">Revelation 18:2-3</a></span><br />And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. / All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-14.htm">Jeremiah 50:14</a></span><br />Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-29.htm">Jeremiah 50:29</a></span><br />Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-1.htm">Jeremiah 51:1-2</a></span><br />This is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will stir up against Babylon and against the people of Leb-kamai the spirit of a destroyer. / I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her and empty her land; for they will come against her from every side in her day of disaster.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/18-6.htm">Revelation 18:6-8</a></span><br />Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup. / As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’ / Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/50-25.htm">Jeremiah 50:25</a></span><br />The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/51-20.htm">Jeremiah 51:20-23</a></span><br />“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin. / With you I shatter the horse and rider; with you I shatter the chariot and driver. / With you I shatter man and woman; with you I shatter the old man and the youth; with you I shatter the young man and the maiden. ...</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.</p><p class="hdg">I will</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/13-3.htm">Isaiah 13:3-5</a></b></br> I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, <i>even</i> them that rejoice in my highness… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/21-2.htm">Isaiah 21:2</a></b></br> A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/41-25.htm">Isaiah 41:25</a></b></br> I have raised up <i>one</i> from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as <i>upon</i> morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.</p><p class="hdg">shall not regard</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/6-34.htm">Proverbs 6:34,35</a></b></br> For jealousy <i>is</i> the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/isaiah/7-4.htm">Care</a> <a href="/isaiah/11-3.htm">Delight</a> <a href="/isaiah/13-9.htm">Driving</a> <a href="/isaiah/5-21.htm">Esteem</a> <a href="/isaiah/13-12.htm">Gold</a> <a href="/esther/1-19.htm">Medes</a> <a href="/isaiah/1-29.htm">Pleasure</a> <a href="/isaiah/8-13.htm">Regard</a> <a href="/isaiah/7-23.htm">Silver</a> <a href="/isaiah/10-26.htm">Stir</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-33.htm">Stirring</a> <a href="/isaiah/2-22.htm">Value</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/isaiah/14-16.htm">Care</a> <a href="/isaiah/22-13.htm">Delight</a> <a href="/isaiah/25-4.htm">Driving</a> <a href="/isaiah/53-4.htm">Esteem</a> <a href="/isaiah/14-4.htm">Gold</a> <a href="/jeremiah/25-25.htm">Medes</a> <a href="/isaiah/13-22.htm">Pleasure</a> <a href="/isaiah/17-7.htm">Regard</a> <a href="/isaiah/30-22.htm">Silver</a> <a href="/isaiah/19-2.htm">Stir</a> <a href="/isaiah/14-9.htm">Stirring</a> <a href="/isaiah/28-16.htm">Value</a><div class="vheading2">Isaiah 13</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/isaiah/13-1.htm">God musters the armies of his wrath</a></span><br><span class="reftext">6. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/isaiah/13-6.htm">He threatens to destroy Babylon by the Medes</a></span><br><span class="reftext">19. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/isaiah/13-19.htm">The desolation of Babylon</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading"><a href="/study/isaiah/13.htm">Berean Study Bible</a></div><b>Behold</b><br />The word "Behold" is a call to attention, urging the reader or listener to focus on the significant announcement that follows. In Hebrew, this is often translated from "הִנֵּה" (hinneh), which serves as a divine alert. It emphasizes the certainty and importance of God's actions. In the context of Isaiah, it signals a prophetic declaration that demands the audience's awareness and reflection on God's sovereign plans.<p><b>I will stir up</b><br />This phrase indicates divine intervention and orchestration. The Hebrew root "עוּר" (ur) means to awaken or incite. It suggests that God is actively involved in the unfolding of historical events. From a conservative Christian perspective, this underscores the belief in God's sovereignty over nations and history, affirming that He can raise up peoples and powers to fulfill His purposes.<p><b>the Medes</b><br />The Medes were an ancient Indo-Iranian people who lived in the region that is now northwestern Iran. Historically, they were known for their military prowess and eventually formed a significant part of the Medo-Persian Empire. In the biblical context, the Medes are often associated with God's judgment against Babylon. This highlights the theme of divine justice, where God uses one nation to bring judgment upon another, fulfilling His prophetic word.<p><b>against them</b><br />This phrase specifies the target of the divine stirring—the Babylonians. In the broader context of <a href="/isaiah/13.htm">Isaiah 13</a>, "them" refers to Babylon, a symbol of pride and opposition to God. The prophecy foretells the downfall of Babylon, serving as a reminder of the ultimate futility of human arrogance and rebellion against God.<p><b>who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold</b><br />This description of the Medes emphasizes their indifference to wealth and material gain. The Hebrew words "כֶּסֶף" (kesef) for silver and "זָהָב" (zahav) for gold highlight the typical motivations for war—plunder and riches. However, the Medes are portrayed as being driven by a divine purpose rather than material greed. This serves as a powerful reminder that God's plans transcend human motivations and that His purposes will be accomplished regardless of earthly desires. It also reflects the biblical theme that true value lies not in material wealth but in fulfilling God's will.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/isaiah/13.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(17) <span class= "bld">Behold, I will stir up the Medes.</span>--The Hebrew form <span class= "ital">Madai </span>meets us in <a href="/genesis/10-2.htm" title="The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.">Genesis 10:2</a>, among the descendants of Japheth. Modern researches show them to have been a mixed people, Aryan conquerors having mingled with an earlier Turanian race, and differing in this respect from the Persians, who were pure Iranians, both in race and creed. The early Assyrian inscriptions, from Rimmon Nirari III. onward (Cheyne), name them, as also does Sargon (<span class= "ital">Records of the Past, xi.</span> 18), among the enemies whom the kings subdued. Their name had been recently brought before the prophet's notice by Salmaneser's deportation of the Ten Tribes to the cities of the Medes (<a href="/2_kings/17-6.htm" title="In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.">2Kings 17:6</a>). In naming the Medes, and not the Persians, as the conquerors of Babylon, Isaiah was probably influenced by the greater prominence of the former, just as the Greeks spoke of them, and used such terms as "Medism" when they came in contact with the Medo-Persian monarchy under Darius and Xerxes. So ?schylus (<span class= "ital">Pers. </span>760) makes "the Median" the first ruler of the Persians. It is noticeable that they were destined to be the destroyers both of Nineveh and Babylon: of the first under Cyaxares, in alliance with Nabopolassar, and of the second under Cyrus the Persian, and, we may add, the Mede Darius of <a href="/daniel/5-31.htm" title="And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old.">Daniel 5:31</a>. If we accept the history of a yet earlier attack on Nineveh by Arbaces the Mede and Belesis of Babylon, we can sufficiently account for the prominence which Isaiah, looking at Babylon as the representative of Assyrian rather than Chaldaean power, gives to them as its destroyers. (See Lenormant, <span class= "ital">Anc. Hist., </span>1, p. 337.)<p><span class= "bld">Which shall not regard silver.</span>--The Medes are represented as a people too fierce to care for the gold and silver in which Babylon exulted. They would take no ransom to stay their work of vengeance. So Xenophon, in his C<span class= "ital">yropaedia </span>(5:3), represents Cyrus as acknowledging their unbought, unpaid service.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/isaiah/13.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them</span>. Isaiah's knowledge that the Medes should take a leading part in the destruction of Babylon is, no doubt, as surprising a fact as almost any other in the entire range of prophetic foresight, or insight, as set before us in Scripture. The Medes were known to Moses as an ancient nation of some importance (<a href="/genesis/10-2.htm">Genesis 10:2</a>); but since his time had been unmentioned by any sacred writer; and, as a <span class="accented">living</span> nation, had only just come within the range of Israelite vision, by the fact that, when Sargon deported the Samaritans from Samaria, he placed some of them "in the cities of the Medes" (<a href="/2_kings/17-6.htm">2 Kings 17:6</a>). The Assyrians had become acquainted with them somewhat more than a century earlier, and had made frequent incursions into their country, finding them a weak and divided people, under the government of a large number of petty chiefs. Sargon had conquered a portion of the tribes, and placed prefects in the cities; at the same time planting colonists in them from other parts of the empire. That, when the weakness of Media was being thus made apparent, Isaiah should have foreseen its coming greatness can only be accounted for by his having received a Divine communication on the subject. Subsequently, he had a still more exact and complete communication (<a href="/isaiah/21-2.htm">Isaiah 21:2</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Which shall not regard silver</span>. The Medes were not a particularly disinterested people; but in the attack on Babylon, made by Cyrus, the object was not plunder, but conquest and the extension of dominion. The main treasures of Babylon - those in the great temple of Bolus - were not carried off by Cyrus, as appears both from his own inscriptions, and from Herodotus (1. 181-183). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/isaiah/13-17.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Behold,</span><br /><span class="heb">הִנְנִ֛י</span> <span class="translit">(hin·nî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Interjection | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2005.htm">Strong's 2005: </a> </span><span class="str2">Lo! behold!</span><br /><br /><span class="word">I will stir up</span><br /><span class="heb">מֵעִ֥יר</span> <span class="translit">(mê·‘îr)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5782.htm">Strong's 5782: </a> </span><span class="str2">To rouse oneself, awake</span><br /><br /><span class="word">against them</span><br /><span class="heb">עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם</span> <span class="translit">(‘ă·lê·hem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5921.htm">Strong's 5921: </a> </span><span class="str2">Above, over, upon, against</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the Medes,</span><br /><span class="heb">מָדָ֑י</span> <span class="translit">(mā·ḏāy)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4074.htm">Strong's 4074: </a> </span><span class="str2">Media -- a son of Japheth, also his descendants and their land</span><br /><br /><span class="word">who</span><br /><span class="heb">אֲשֶׁר־</span> <span class="translit">(’ă·šer-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Pronoun - relative<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_834.htm">Strong's 834: </a> </span><span class="str2">Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that</span><br /><br /><span class="word">have no</span><br /><span class="heb">לֹ֣א</span> <span class="translit">(lō)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">regard</span><br /><span class="heb">יַחְשֹׁ֔בוּ</span> <span class="translit">(yaḥ·šō·ḇū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2803.htm">Strong's 2803: </a> </span><span class="str2">To think, account</span><br /><br /><span class="word">for silver</span><br /><span class="heb">כֶּ֙סֶף֙</span> <span class="translit">(ke·sep̄)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3701.htm">Strong's 3701: </a> </span><span class="str2">Silver, money</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and no</span><br /><span class="heb">לֹ֥א</span> <span class="translit">(lō)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">desire</span><br /><span class="heb">יַחְפְּצוּ־</span> <span class="translit">(yaḥ·pə·ṣū-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2654.htm">Strong's 2654: </a> </span><span class="str2">To incline to, to bend, to be pleased with, desire</span><br /><br /><span class="word">for gold.</span><br /><span class="heb">וְזָהָ֖ב</span> <span class="translit">(wə·zā·hāḇ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2091.htm">Strong's 2091: </a> </span><span class="str2">Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/isaiah/13-17.htm">Isaiah 13:17 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/isaiah/13-17.htm">OT Prophets: Isaiah 13:17 Behold I will stir up the Medes (Isa Isi Is)</a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/isaiah/13-16.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Isaiah 13:16"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Isaiah 13:16" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/isaiah/13-18.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Isaiah 13:18"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Isaiah 13:18" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>