Chapter 13 begins a series of chapters known as the oracles against the nations (משאות העמים). This section comprises Yeshayahu's prophecies directed toward various nations. Two elements should be considered during the study:
1. Who is the audience? Are these oracles meant for the nations themselves or for the people of Israel?
2. Is there a connection and flow between the prophecies, or does each one stand alone?

Our chapter opens with the oracle concerning Babylon (משא בבל). This is puzzling because, during Yeshayahu's time, Babylon was not yet a significant power. It is unclear why Babylon begins the oracles and, furthermore, why the prophecy depicts it as a central kingdom that caused extensive harm to other nations. Interestingly, within these oracles, we do not find a substantial prophecy devoted to Assyria, the dominant power during Yeshayahu's era!

Rav Yoel Bin Nun (see his article) explains that the oracle concerning Babylon is actually an oracle concerning Assyria. He references Yechezkel Kaufmann, who proposed a similar idea. This argument is supported by several points, including:
1. Chapter 14, which continues the oracle concerning Babylon, concludes with a reference to Assyria: “to break Assyria in My land” (14:25).
2. Sargon, the Assyrian king to whom this prophecy is directed, was the most pro-Babylonian of the Assyrian kings (evident, for example, in his frequent worship of Babylonian deities). This explains why a prophecy concerning him is called “the oracle concerning Babylon.”

Thus, the great calamity described in the chapter is directed at Assyria and complements the picture presented in Chapters 7–10. We saw prophecies about Assyria's rise and its downfall, and here we have a prophecy focused specifically on Assyria, describing its collapse. Many motifs and expressions in the chapter echo the earlier chapters. Below are two central ideas that emerge from the chapter:
1. Measure for measure: The downfall of Assyria will be a measure-for-measure retribution for what it sought to inflict upon Israel:
* The call to those who will bring calamity upon Assyria, “Gesture with your hand” (13:2), parallels Assyria's audacity in raising its hand against Jerusalem: “Waving his hand toward the mount of daughter Zion” (10:32).
* The Day of the Lord and pride: Assyria, which served as a rod in God’s hand to bring the Day of the Lord upon Israel and Yehuda to humble their pride, became arrogant in its campaigns against them. In response, God brings the Day of the Lord upon Assyria (13:6), humbling its own pride (13:7, 11).

2. The difference between calamity upon Israel and calamity upon the nations: A contrasting comparison reveals significant differences between the two. Regarding Babylon, it says, “They will be like a hounded gazelle, a flock with none to herd it” (13:14), unlike Yehuda, whose ingathering was depicted in Chapter 11. Similarly, “like God's overturning of Sedom and Amora” (13:19), as opposed to Yehuda, which was almost like Sedom, as God left a remnant (1:9). (Note the repeated use of the word remnant in Chapters 10–11).