Isa 13:19-20 | JFB | STEP | 19. glory of kingdoms — ( ). beauty of . . . excellency — Hebrew, "the glory of the pride" of the Chaldees; it was their glory and boast. as . . . Gomorrah —as utterly ( ). Taken by Cyrus, by clearing out the canal made for emptying the superfluous waters of the Euphrates, and directing the river into this new channel, so that he was able to enter the city by the old bed in the night.

Isaiah 13:19-20

19. glory of kingdoms— (Isa 14:4; 47:5; Jer 51:41).

beauty of . . . excellency—Hebrew, "the glory of the pride" of the Chaldees; it was their glory and boast.

as . . . Gomorrah—as utterly (Jer 49:18; 50:40; Am 4:11). Taken by Cyrus, by clearing out the canal made for emptying the superfluous waters of the Euphrates, and directing the river into this new channel, so that he was able to enter the city by the old bed in the night.

20. Literally fulfilled.

neither . . . Arabian pitch tent—Not only shall it not be a permanent residence, but not even a temporary resting-place. The Arabs, through dread of evil spirits, and believing the ghost of Nimrod to haunt it, will not pass the night there (compare Isa 13:21).

neither . . . shepherds—The region was once most fertile; but owing to the Euphrates being now no longer kept within its former channels, it has become a stagnant marsh, unfit for flocks; and on the wastes of its ruins (bricks and cement) no grass grows.