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When that day comes, the Lord will give you relief
from your pain and suffering,
from the hard slavery you were forced to do.
Then you will mock the king of Babylon with this saying,
“How the tyrant has come to an end!
How his attacks have come to an end!”
The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
They struck the people with fury,
with blows that didn’t stop.
They ruled nations in anger,
persecuting them without restraint.
The whole earth rests and is peaceful.
It breaks out into shouts of joy.
Even the cypresses rejoice over you.
The cedars of Lebanon say,
“Since you have fallen,
no lumberjack has come to attack us.”

Sheol below wakes up to meet you when you come.
It wakes up the ghosts of the dead,
all who were leaders on earth.
It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 All of them will greet you,
“You also have become weak like us!
You have become like one of us!”
11 Your pride has been brought down to Sheol
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are spread out ⌞like a bed⌟ under you,
and worms cover you.

12 How you have fallen from heaven, you morning star, son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the ground, you conqueror of nations!
13 You thought,
“I’ll go up to heaven and set up my throne above God’s stars.
I’ll sit on the mountain far away in the north
where the gods assemble.
14 I’ll go above the top of the clouds.
I’ll be like the Most High.”
15 But you’ve been brought down to Sheol,
to the deepest part of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you; they look at you closely and say,
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook the kingdoms,
17 who made the world like a desert and tore down its cities,
who didn’t let his prisoners go home?”

18 All the kings of the nations, all of them,
have been buried with honor, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch.
You are covered with those who were killed in battle.
You go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse.
20 You won’t be joined by the kings in the tomb,
because you have destroyed your land and killed your people.

The descendants of the wicked will never be mentioned again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter their sons
because of their ancestors’ guilt.
They won’t be able to rise, possess the earth,
and rebuild cities all over it.

22 “I’ll rise up against them,” declares the Lord of Armies.
“I’ll cut off the name of the survivors from Babylon,
its offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord.
23 “It will become the possession of herons.
It will become pools of water.
I’ll sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of Armies.

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On the day the Lord gives you relief(A) from your suffering and turmoil(B) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(C) you will take up this taunt(D) against the king of Babylon:(E)

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

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

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

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

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(AR)
19 But you are cast out(AS) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(AT)
    with those pierced by the sword,(AU)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(AV)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20     you will not join them in burial,(AW)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring(AX) of the wicked(AY)
    never be mentioned(AZ) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(BA)
    for the sins of their ancestors;(BB)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up(BC) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(BD) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,(BE)
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(BF)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(BG)
    declares the Lord Almighty.(BH)

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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.