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I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones.
Isaiah 13:3 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.
  • BSB I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
  • NKJV I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger— Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”
  • NASB I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have also called for My warriors Who boast in My eminence, To execute My anger.
  • NLT I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God calls these warriors his 'consecrated ones,' set apart to execute his wrath. Even pagan armies serve God's sovereign purposes.

Overview

The Lord designates the attackers as his 'mighty men,' summoned for his anger — language showing his complete control over the agents of judgment. Though they are foreign soldiers, they are 'consecrated' for his appointed task. The verse affirms God's sovereignty over history, directing even those who do not know him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Joel 3:11Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
  • Jer 51:20–24“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms.
  • Rev 17:12–18The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
  • Ps 149:2Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
  • Isa 44:27–28who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,’ and ‘I will dry up your rivers;’
  • Isa 45:4–5For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me.
  • Ps 149:5–9Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds.
  • Isa 23:11He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. Yahweh has ordered the destruction of Canaan’s strongholds.
  • Rev 18:20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.”
  • Ezra 6:1–22Then Darius the king made a decree, and the house of the archives, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon, was searched.
  • Ezra 1:1–11Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that Yahweh’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
  • Jer 50:21–46“Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill and utterly destroy after them,” says Yahweh, “and do according to all that I have commanded you.
  • Ezra 7:12–26Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the perfect God of heaven. Now
  • Rev 18:4–8I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues,

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 13:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 13:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.