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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

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Chapter 13

1 THE VISION WHICH ESAIAS SON OF AMOS SAW AGAINST BABYLON. 2 Lift up a standard on the mountain of the plain, exalt the voice to them, do not fear, beckon with the hand, open the gates, you rulers. 3 I give command, and I bring them; they are sanctified, and I bring them: giants are coming to fulfill my fierce anger, rejoicing at the same time and insulting. 4 A voice of many nations on the mountains, even like to that of many nations; a voice of kings and nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts has given command to a warlike nation, 5 to come from a land afar off, from the utmost foundation of heaven; the Lord and his warriors are coming to destroy all the world. 6 Howl, for the day of the Lord is near, and destruction from God shall arrive. 7 Therefore every hand shall become powerless, and every soul of man shall be dismayed. 8 The elders shall be troubled, and pangs shall seize them, as of a woman in labor: and they shall mourn one to another, and shall be amazed, and shall change their face as a flame. 9 For look! the day of the Lord is coming which cannot be escaped, a day of fierce anger and anger, to make the world desolate, and to destroy sinners out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven, and Orion, and all the host of heaven, shall not give their light; and it shall be dark at sunrise, and the moon shall not give her light. 11 And I will command evils for the whole world, and will visit their sins on the ungodly: and I will destroy the pride of transgressors, and will bring low the pride of the haughty. 12 And they that are left shall be more precious than gold tried in the fire; and a man shall be more precious than the stone that is in Ophir. 13 For the heaven shall be enraged, and the earth shall be shaken from her foundation, because of the fierce anger of the Lord of hosts, in the day in which his fierce anger shall come on. 14 And they that are left shall be as a fleeing fawn, and as a stray sheep, and there shall be none to gather them: so that a man shall turn back to his people, and a man shall flee to his own land. 15 For whoever shall be taken shall be overcome; and they that are gathered together shall fall by the sword. 16 And they shall dash their children before their eyes; and they shall plunder their houses, and shall take their wives. 17 Look, I will stir up against you the Medes, who do not regard silver, neither have they need of gold. 18 They shall break the bows of the young men; and they shall have no mercy on your children; nor shall their eyes spare your children. 19 And Babylon, which is called glorious by the king of the Chaldeans, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom, and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall any enter into it for many generations: neither shall the Arabians pass through it; nor shall shepherds at all rest in it. 21 But wild beasts shall rest there; and the houses shall be filled with howling; and sirens shall rest there,⁠ and devils shall dance there,⁠ 22 and donkey-centaurs shall dwell there; and hedgehogs shall make their nests in their houses. It will come soon, and will not wait.

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How the Septuagint Adds Sirens and Centaurs to Isaiah 13

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Isaiah 13 describes Babylon’s fall with desert animals, empty and abandoned. The Greek Septuagint changes some to mythical creatures like sirens, suggesting the translator interpreted it filled with unclean, supernatural beings rather than wild animals.
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Passages

Isaiah 13:21

Hebrew Bible
19 Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms, the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, will be destroyed by God just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 20 No one will live there again; no one will ever reside there again. No bedouin will camp there, no shepherds will rest their flocks there. 21 Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins. 22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses, jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. Her time is almost up, her days will not be prolonged.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

LXX Isaiah 13:21

Septuagint
19 And Babylon, which is called glorious by the king of the Chaldeans, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom, and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall any enter into it for many generations: neither shall the Arabians pass through it; nor shall shepherds at all rest in it. 21 But wild beasts shall rest there; and the houses shall be filled with howling; and sirens shall rest there, and devils shall dance there, 22 and donkey-centaurs shall dwell there; and hedgehogs shall make their nests in their houses. It will come soon, and will not wait.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

References

"... Part of our discussion in the preceding chapter exposed how biblical writers used terms for preternatural creatures to convey the idea of unholy ground—territory associated with evil spirits. Two of the most important passages in that regard were Isaiah 13:21–22 and Isaiah 34:14. The LXX translator used the plural of daimonion in both instances ... The choice of “sirens” (seirēnes) for Hebrew ʾōḥîm (“howling creatures”) in Isaiah 13:21 indicates that something other than the animal kingdom was in view to the translator. In Greek mythology, sirens were beings who lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful singing. In their earliest depictions in Greek art, they are shown with a woman’s head and a bird’s wings and body ... What is meant by “donkey centaur” must remain speculative. In both passages (Isaiah 13:22; 34:14) this odd creature corresponds to ʾiyyîm. Again, the choice makes it evident that the writer did not have the normative animal world in view ..."
Michael S. Heiser, Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2020), 54.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 13:21 and LXX Isaiah 13:21

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