Isaiah 13:19

Babylon, the most admired ¹  of kingdoms, the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ²  will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ³ 

Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.

And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.

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.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beautiful town which is the pride of the Chaldaeans, will be like God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Babylon, the most admired ¹  of kingdoms, the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ²  will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ³ 

¹ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

² 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 b.c. Their most famous king, Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Judah in 605 b.c. and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 b.c.

³ 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.