Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Isaiah 13:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The oracle concerning Zion and the nations states or reports “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces” at Isaiah 13:18 as a specific part of “The Day of the LORD Terrifies Babylon.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 13:6–18
Begin with Isaiah 13:6–18's complete movement: Cosmic darkness, anguish, depopulation, and Medes who reject ransom portray Babylon's violent collapse in severe day-of-the-LORD rhetoric. At verse 13:18, The oracle concerning Zion and the nations states or reports “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces” at Isaiah 13:18 as a specific part of “The Day of the LORD Terrifies Babylon.”
Why This Verse Appears Here
At Isaiah 13:18, the oracle, scene, sign, or measurement reaches this precise step: The oracle concerning Zion and the nations states or reports “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces” at Isaiah 13:18 as a specific part of “The Day of the LORD Terrifies Babylon.” It prepares the remainder of Isaiah 13:6–18.
What Remains True
Isaiah 13:18's contribution is contextual and real. The oracle concerning Zion and the nations states or reports “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces” at Isaiah 13:18 as a specific part of “The Day of the LORD Terrifies Babylon.” The complete unit sustains this truth: No nation is beyond moral scrutiny, and no people is reducible to the wrongdoing of rulers or the rhetoric of an oracle.
How It Can Shape Life
- Role in Isaiah 13:18: The oracle concerning Zion and the nations states or reports “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces” at Isaiah 13:18 as a specific part of “The Day of the LORD Terrifies Babylon.” Contextual meaning in Isaiah 13:6–18: Cosmic darkness, anguish, depopulation, and Medes who reject ransom portray Babylon's violent collapse in severe day-of-the-LORD rhetoric. The controlling interpretive and ethical limit is: The oracle's divine-war imagery does not authorize human holy war, delight in civilian terror, or treating children and families as legitimate targets. Proportionate enduring truth: No nation is beyond moral scrutiny, and no people is reducible to the wrongdoing of rulers or the rhetoric of an oracle. Application: Evaluate conduct and systems without ethnic generalization; protect civilians and refuse holy war, racism, colonialism, and revenge.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 13:6–18 — The Day of the LORD Terrifies BabylonSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 13:6–18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 13:6–18 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 13:6–18 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗