Thank you for the interpretative question on Isaiah 13:3, “In Isaiah 13:3 KJV, what does it mean “I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.”?”
The KJV and the NIV translation of the Bible are in many ways similar. The NIV is more of a dynamic translation giving the sense of the meaning while the KJV may be considered a more literal translation.
As one reads both translations and the context, the meaning becomes clearer. The NIV says this,
“A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: 2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—those who rejoice in my triumph. 4 Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. 5 They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—to destroy the whole country” (NIV).
I. Here are some overall thoughts for one’s consideration:
A. Isaiah gives a futuristic prophecy concerning Babylon (vs. 1).
B. Isaiah prophecies of the fall of Babylon (vs.19).
C. Isaiah prophecies that the Medes who will destroy Babylon (vs. 18).
D. Isaiah declares that God uses the nations to carry out his judgments (vs. 17).
II. Here are the specific thoughts on verse 13:
A. God declares that he is sovereign over the nations (13a).
God is the sovereign one. He is the one who commands the angels and the nations. He is the one who raises up nations and the one who tears down nations. God is the one who directs the affairs of kings and rulers to do his will.
B. God declares that he is the one who guides the decisions of the rulers (vs. 4).
Kings and rulers may think that they are planning the decision for peace or for war. God is the one who causes the nations to do His will. God is the one who calls them from their place to do his will.
The term, sanctify, refers to set apart. It is usually used in set apart or being separated from the common. God in his infinite plan has set apart or designated certain individuals or people group to do his will. In this case, God is calling the Medes and Persians to be his warriors to carry out his judgment against arrogant Babylon.
As we look at the world affairs, God is actively working out his will in bringing the end of times. The affairs of the world is being established by the will of God. As God called the Babylonians and the Medes and Persians, so God will call the nations to Armageddon before the return of the Lord..
C. God declares that he judges the wick nation (Hab. 1–2).
Does God use an ungodly nation to judge a more righteous nation? That question is answered by Habakkuk who complains that God hasn’t or doesn’t do anything to punish Judah for her sins. God’s reply is that he is sending the Babylonians to punish Judah for their sins. Habakkuk’s complaint is that the Babylonians are worse than the Jews! Read Habakkuk.
In Isaiah 13, God declares that the Babylonians will not escape judgment for her pride and cruelty. What they did to the other nations will be done to her. He will send another nation to judge Babylon.
The text says this regarding Babylon, “Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians,[b] will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks. 21 But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. 22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged” (NIV).
The called nations will carry out the wrath of God upon those whom he has judged worthy of severe punishment. God may give a nation time to repent of her ways, but if that nation refuses, then the demise of that nation will come in some form by God.
D. God declares that there will be rejoicing when that wicked nation declines and is destroyed (vs. 13c).
It may appear that the wicked nation may endure for centuries. Those who are suppressed or oppressed may or will see the downfall of that nation. The cruelty of that nation will cease and there may be sounds of deliverance for those bondage people groups.
It may well be that the captive people group will exalt God for overthrowing that wick nation. The KJV emphasis more of the character of God while the NIV emphasizes the victory of God. In my opinion, it is not necessarily mutually exclusive for if one sees the highness or mightiness of God that exaltation of God is seen in his works. God has done something that no one would thought that it was possible.
If my recollection of the fall of Babylon is correct, Babylon was not overthrown by demolishing of the walls of Babylon but the diversion of the river so that the Medes and Persians marched into the unsuspecting city.
Summary: God uses the nations to fulfill his will in judging evil nations.
-Kingston