Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

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“Will not all of them taunt(A) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(B)
    How long must this go on?’

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In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

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In that day people will ridicule you;
    they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;(A)
    my people’s possession is divided up.(B)
He takes it from me!
    He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

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13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

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13 Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
    but will be completely desolate.(A)
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;(B)
    they will scoff(C) because of all her wounds.(D)

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That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

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you will take up this taunt(A) against the king of Babylon:(B)

How the oppressor(C) has come to an end!
    How his fury[a] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(D) of the wicked,(E)
    the scepter(F) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(G)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(H) nations
    with relentless aggression.(I)
All the lands are at rest and at peace;(J)
    they break into singing.(K)
Even the junipers(L) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(M)

The realm of the dead(N) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(O) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders(P) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.(Q)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”(R)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(S)
    along with the noise of your harps;(T)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms(U) cover you.(V)

12 How you have fallen(W) from heaven,
    morning star,(X) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(Y)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(Z) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(AA)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(AB)
    on the utmost heights(AC) of Mount Zaphon.[b]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(AD)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(AE)
15 But you are brought down(AF) to the realm of the dead,(AG)
    to the depths(AH) of the pit.(AI)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(AJ)
“Is this the man who shook(AK) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(AL)
    who overthrew(AM) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(AN)

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(AO)
19 But you are cast out(AP) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(AQ)
    with those pierced by the sword,(AR)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(AS)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.

15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

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15 He will spit out the riches(A) he swallowed;
    God will make his stomach vomit(B) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(C) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.(D)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
    the rivers(E) flowing with honey(F) and cream.(G)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(H)
    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(I)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(J) and left them destitute;(K)
    he has seized houses(L) he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(M)
    he cannot save himself by his treasure.(N)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
    his prosperity will not endure.(O)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(P)
    the full force of misery will come upon him.(Q)
23 When he has filled his belly,(R)
    God will vent his burning anger(S) against him
    and rain down his blows on him.(T)
24 Though he flees(U) from an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(V)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(W) will come over him;(X)
26     total darkness(Y) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(Z) unfanned will consume him(AA)
    and devour what is left in his tent.(AB)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
    the earth will rise up against him.(AC)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(AD)
    rushing waters[a] on the day of God’s wrath.(AE)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
    the heritage appointed for them by God.”(AF)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

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Then Balaam(A) spoke his message:(B)

“Balak brought me from Aram,(C)
    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.(D)
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
    come, denounce Israel.’(E)

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But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

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The end of all things is near.(A) Therefore be alert and of sober mind(B) so that you may pray.

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Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

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Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.(D) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.(E) Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers(F) who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries(G) of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.(H)

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29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

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29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.(A) From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.(B)

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20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

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20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(C)

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13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

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13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
    that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,(A)
    that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?(B)

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15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

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15 The wicked(A) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(B)
    he catches them in his net,(C)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.

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They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

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    they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[a] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners(A) like sand.
10 They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.(B)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps(C) they capture them.

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.