13:11 1 I will punish the world for its evil, 2
and wicked people for their sin.
I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,
I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 3
13:19 Babylon, the most admired 4 of kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, 5
will be destroyed by God
just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 6
1 sn The Lord is definitely speaking (again?) at this point. See the note at v. 4.
2 tn Or “I will bring disaster on the world.” Hebrew רָעָה (ra’ah) could refer to the judgment (i.e., disaster, calamity) or to the evil that prompts it. The structure of the parallel line favors the latter interpretation.
3 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; cf. NASB, NIV “the ruthless.”
4 tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).
5 tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”
sn The Chaldeans were a group of tribes who lived in southern Mesopotamia. The established the so-called neo-Babylonian empire in the late seventh century
6 tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.