Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
) A load of any kind (Ex. 23:5). ) A severe task (Ex. 2:11). ) A difficult duty, requiring effort (Ex. 18:22). ) A prophecy of a calamitous or disastrous nature (Isa. 13:1; 17:1; Hab. 1:1, etc.).
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
BUR'DEN . This word, when it is used in connection with some city or nation (as the burden of Moab, the burden of Nineveh, etc.), expresses the disastrous and calamitous import of the prophecy. The burden of the desert of the sea (Babylon), the burden of the valley of vision (Jerusalem), and similar expressions, are explained by their subject or connection. The phrase is frequently used by Isaiah. Isa 13:1; Isa 15:1.