What does Isaiah 13:13 mean?

The Lord has openly declared how He will respond to the sinful wickedness and arrogance of the nation of Babylon. In doing so, He has revealed His feelings about all human evil and pride. He will not let it stand. Sin always has a price. And that price is nothing less than death, destruction, and pain (Isaiah 13:11). Babylon is filled with ruthless violence against the innocent and prideful arrogance about their own power and beauty. And the Lord will answer this nation's evil.

This verse depicts powerful earthquakes from below and trembling in the sky. As with the earlier reference to darkness (Isaiah 13:10), this is probably meant as a poetic reference to the impending destruction. Nothing is more terrifying than to become the object of the wrath of the Lord of Hosts. Writing centuries later, the apostle Paul would note that all human beings were at one time the object of God's wrath due to our own sinfulness (Ephesians 2:1–10; Colossians 3:5–6). We had no more hope than Babylon did in that moment of ancient history.

The Lord did not leave us lost and without hope. He made salvation from His anger possible for those who trust in Christ (John 3:16–18). He did not change His mind about sin. This is the same God and same fierce wrath. The difference is that He poured out all that anger and destruction on Jesus until the price of our sin was satisfied. Those who come to God through Christ find their sins wiped clean (1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 1 John 1:9).