Isaiah 13:5

They come from a distant land, from the horizon. ¹  It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, ²  coming to destroy the whole earth. ³ 

Isa 13:17; Jer 50:3,9; Jer 51:11,27,28; Jer 51:20-46; Mt 24:31

¹ tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”

² tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”

³ tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.