This pericope foretells the destruction of Babylon. Prophecies of the day of the Lord may describe the eschatological judgment coming ( Isaiah 13:2-16), or a more recent, limited judgment coming ( Isaiah 13:17-22). Each soon-coming judgment on a particular segment of humanity foreshadows the great eschatological judgment that will fall on the whole human race in the Tribulation. This destruction of Babylon was a judgment of the Lord in a day that would be closer to Isaiah"s own time, a near and limited fulfillment of the day that the prophet just described. The fall of Assyria ( Isaiah 14:24-27) was one fulfillment, and the later fall of Babylon ( Isaiah 13:17-22) was another. The same principles that operate in the eschatological day of the Lord just described also operate in the earlier days of the Lord. [1][source]
Part of the Lord"s warriors would be the Medes, who occupied what is now central Iran. In Isaiah"s day, the Medes were already a powerful people that the Assyrians dreaded. They would destroy Babylon. They united with the Babylonians to destroy the last vestiges of the Assyrian Empire in609 B.C. Still later, it was the Medes and the Persians who overthrew Babylon in539 B.C. (cf. Esther 10:2; Daniel 5:30-31; Daniel 6:8; Daniel 6:12; Daniel 6:15). The Medes valued silver and gold less than military conquest; they could not be bought off, but mercilessly slew every enemy ( Isaiah 13:17-18). Revenge motivated them more than booty. [2][source]
"The Medes are probably mentioned here rather than the Persians because of their greater ferocity and also because they were better known to the people of Isaiah"s day. According to the Greek historian Xenophon, Cyrus acknowledged that the Medes had served his cause without thought of monetary reward." [3][source]
In the late700s B.C, Babylon was the showcase of the ancient world, specifically the showcase of the Assyrian Empire. She was culturally and economically superior to Assyria and was ascending politically. The Chaldeans were the ruling class that had been responsible for the supremacy of Babylon. However, Isaiah announced, Babylon would experience the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah: destruction from the Lord"s hand ( Isaiah 13:19). After her judgment, Babylon would be uninhabitable even by nomads. Wild animals would be the only residents of the once great city. This destruction would come soon, and it would not be delayed ( Isaiah 13:20-22). [source][source][source]
Babylonia was under the Assyrian yoke when Isaiah gave this prophecy, probably during Hezekiah"s reign (715-686 B.C.). She was one of the nations, along with Egypt, to which Judah was looking as a possible savior. This prophecy showed that Babylon was not a safe object for trust because God would destroy her. [source][source][source]
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? Babylon suffered defeat in689 B.C. when Assyria (including the Medes), under Sennacherib, devastated it (cf. Isaiah 23:13), but the city was rebuilt. Many interpreters believe that the fall of Babylon in539 B.C. to Cyrus fulfilled this prophecy, [4] but Cyrus left the city intact. Others believe the destruction-that Darius Hystaspes began in518 B.C, and that Xerxes later completed-was the fulfillment. [5] Some scholars believe that what Isaiah predicted here never took place literally, at least completely, so the fulfillment lies in the future. [6] Many conservatives argue for a near and a far fulfillment. I think the destruction in689 B.C. that resulted in Babylon"s temporary desolation fulfilled this prophecy (cf. Isaiah 13:22 b), and I believe there will also be an eschatological judgment of Babylon ( Revelation 17-18), though not necessarily one that requires the rebuilding of the city. Destruction terminology, such as appears in this passage, is common in the annals of ancient Near Eastern nations. It speaks generally and hyperbolically of devastating defeat and destruction, but it did not always involve exact or detailed fulfillment. [2]5 [source]