Isaiah 13 · Verse 22

Isaiah 13:22

And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:22, King James Version

Isaiah 13:22 in other translations

BSBHyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
WEBHyenas will cry in their fortresses, and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
ASVAnd wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
YLTAnd Aiim have responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And near to come is her time, And her days are not drawn out!
DARBYAnd jackals shall cry to one another in their palaces, and wild dogs in the pleasant castles. And her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
BBEAnd wolves will be answering one another in their towers, and jackals in their houses of pleasure: her time is near, and her days of power will quickly be ended.
WebsterAnd the wild beasts of the isles shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

What does Isaiah 13:22 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
22. wild beasts of the islands--rather, "jackals"; called by the Arabs "sons of howling"; an animal midway between a fox and a wolf [Bochart and Maurer]. cry--rather, "answer," "respond" to each other, as wolves do at night, producing a most dismal effect. dragons--serpents of various species, which hiss and utter dolorous sounds. Fable gave them wings, because they stand with much of the body elevated and then dart swiftly. Maurer understands here another species of jackal. her time ... near--though one hundred seventy-four years distant, yet "near" to Isaiah, who is supposed to be speaking to the Jews as if now captives in Babylon (Is 14:1, 2).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 22 In their pleasant palaces "In their palaces" - באלמנותיו bealmenothaiv; a plain mistake, I presume, for בארמנתיו bearmenothaiv. It is so corrected in two MSS., the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate. Πουλυποδες δ' εν εμοι θαλαμας φωκαι τε μελαιναι Οικα ποιησονται ακηδεα, χητεΐ λαων. Hom. Hymn. in Apol. 77. Of which the following passage of Milton may be taken for a translation, though not so designed: - "And in their palaces, Where luxury late reigned, sea monsters whelped, And stabled." Par. Lost, 11:750. This image of desolation is handled with great propriety and force by some of the Persian poets: - "The spider holds the veil in the palace of Caesar; The owl stands centinel on the watch-tower of Afrasiab." On this quotation Sir W. Jones observes, noubet is an Arabic word, signifying a turn, a change, a watch; hence noubet zudun in Persian signifies to relieve the guards by the sounds of drums and trumpets. Their office is given by the poet to the owl; as that of purdeh dar, or chamberlain, is elegantly assigned to the spider.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 13:19-22

Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and of…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 13:19-22 →

Isaiah 13:22 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעָנָ֤הve.'a.Nahand it will singH6030
אִיִּים֙'i.YimhyenasH338
בְּאַלְמנוֹתָ֔יוbe.'al.m.no.Tavin palaces itsH490
וְתַנִּ֖יםve.ta.Nimand jackalsH8577
בְּהֵ֣יכְלֵיbe.Hei.khe.leiin [the] palaces ofH1964
עֹ֑נֶג'O.negdelightH6027
וְקָר֤וֹבve.ka.Rovand [is] nearH7138
לָבוֹא֙la.Vo'to goH935
עִתָּ֔הּ'i.Tahtime itsH6256
וְיָמֶ֖יהָve.ya.Mei.haand days itsH3117
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יִמָּשֵֽׁכוּ\׃yi.ma.She.khuthey will be prolongedH4900

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 13:22

  • Isaiah 35:7

    And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

  • Isaiah 25:2

    For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

  • Jeremiah 51:33

    For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

  • Deuteronomy 32:35

    To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

  • Habakkuk 2:3

    For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

  • Isaiah 34:13

    And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

  • 2 Peter 3:9-10

    The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

  • 2 Peter 2:3

    And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

  • Ezekiel 7:7-10

    The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth. Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the wild beasts. Heb. Iim. desolate houses. or, palaces.dragons.
35:7
her time.
De 32:35; Jer 51:33; Eze 7:7-10; Hab 2:3; 2Pe 2:3; 3:9,10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 13:21

    But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

  • Isaiah 13:22

    And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Read all of Isaiah 13

Isaiah 13:22 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y en sus palacios gritarán gatos cervales, y chacales en sus casas de deleite: y abocado está á venir su tiempo, y sus días no se alargarán.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et les chacals s’entre-répondront dans ses palais, et les chiens sauvages, dans les maisons luxueuses. Et son temps est près d’arriver; et ses jours ne seront pas prolongés.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und wilde Hunde werden heulen in seinen Palästen und Schakale in den Lustschlössern. Und seine Zeit steht nahe bevor, und seine Tage werden nicht verlängert werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et respondebunt ibi ululæ in ædibus ejus, et sirenes in delubris voluptatis.