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That thou hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor ceased,

Ceased hath the golden one. Broken hath Jehovah the staff of the wicked, The sceptre of rulers.

He who is smiting peoples in wrath, A smiting without intermission, He who is ruling in anger nations, Pursuing without restraint!

At rest -- quiet hath been all the earth, They have broken forth [into] singing.

Even firs have rejoiced over thee, Cedars of Lebanon -- [saying]: Since thou hast lain down, The hewer cometh not up against us.

Sheol beneath hath been troubled at thee, To meet thy coming in, It is waking up for thee Rephaim, All chiefs ones of earth, It hath raised up from their thrones All kings of nations.

10 All of them answer and say unto thee, Even thou hast become weak like us! Unto us thou hast become like!

11 Brought down to Sheol hath been thine excellency, The noise of thy psaltery, Under thee spread out hath been the worm, Yea, covering thee is the worm.

12 How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.

13 And thou saidst in thy heart: the heavens I go up, Above stars of God I raise my throne, And I sit in the mount of meeting in the sides of the north.

14 I go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to the Most High.

15 Only -- unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit.

16 Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking kingdoms?

17 He hath made the world as a wilderness, And his cities he hath broken down, Of his bound ones he opened not the house.

18 All kings of nations -- all of them, Have lain down in honour, each in his house,

19 And -- thou hast been cast out of thy grave, As an abominable branch, raiment of the slain, Thrust through ones of the sword, Going down unto the sons of the pit, As a carcase trodden down.

20 Thou art not united with them in burial, For thy land thou hast destroyed, Thy people thou hast slain, Not named to the age is the seed of evil doers.

21 Prepare ye for his sons slaughter; Because of the iniquity of their fathers, They rise not, nor have possessed the land, Nor filled the face of the world [with] cities.

22 And I have risen up against them, (The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts,) And have cut off, in reference to Babylon, Name and remnant, and continuator and successor, The affirmation of Jehovah.

23 And have made it for a possession of a bittern, And ponds of waters, And daubed it with the mire of destruction, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!

24 Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts, saying, `As I thought -- so hath it not been? And as I counselled -- it standeth;

25 To break Asshur in My land, And on My mountains I tread him down, And turned from off them hath his yoke, Yea, his burden from off their shoulder turneth aside.

26 This [is] the counsel that is counselled for all the earth, And this [is] the hand that is stretched out for all the nations.

27 For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, And who doth make void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who doth turn it back?'

28 In the year of the death of king Ahaz was this burden:

29 Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit [is] a flying saraph.

30 And delighted have the first-born of the poor, And the needy in confidence lie down, And I have put to death with famine thy root, And thy remnant it slayeth.

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.

32 And what doth one answer the messengers of a nation? `That Jehovah hath founded Zion, And in it do the poor of His people trust!'

15 The burden of Moab. Because in a night destroyed was Ar of Moab -- It hath been cut off, Because in a night destroyed was Kir of Moab -- It hath been cut off.

He hath gone up to Bajith and Dibon, The high places -- to weep, On Nebo and on Medeba Moab howleth, On all its heads [is] baldness, every beard cut off.

In its out-places they girded on sackcloth, On its pinnacles, and in its broad places, Every one howleth -- going down with weeping.

And cry doth Heshbon and Elealeh, Unto Jahaz heard hath been their voice, Therefore the armed ones of Moab do shout, His life hath been grievous to him.

My heart [is] toward Moab, Cry do her fugitives unto Zoar, a heifer of the third [year], For -- the ascent of Luhith -- With weeping he goeth up in it, For, in the way of Horonaim, A cry of destruction they wake up.

For, the waters of Nimrim are desolations, For, withered hath been the hay, Finished hath been the tender grass, A green thing there hath not been.

Therefore the abundance he made, and their store, Unto the brook of the willows they carry.

For gone round hath the cry the border of Moab, Unto Eglaim [is] its howling, And to Beer-Elim [is] its howling.

For the waters of Dimon have been full of blood, For I set on Dimon additions, For the escaped of Moab a lion, And for the remnant of Adamah!

16 Send ye a lamb [to] the ruler of the land, From Selah in the wilderness, Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

And it hath come to pass, As a wandering bird, a nest cast out, Are daughters of Moab, [at] fords of Arnon.

Bring ye in counsel, do judgment, Make as night thy shadow in the midst of noon, Hide outcasts, the wanderer reveal not.

Sojourn in thee do My outcasts, O Moab, Be a secret hiding-place to them, From the face of a destroyer, For ceased hath the extortioner, Finished hath been a destroyer, Consumed the treaders down out of the land.

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,
20     you will not join them in burial,(AT)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

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

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

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(BF)

“Surely, as I have planned,(BG) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(BH)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(BI) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(BJ) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(BK)

26 This is the plan(BL) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand(BM) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(BN) and who can thwart him?
    His hand(BO) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(BP)

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(BQ) came in the year(BR) King Ahaz(BS) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(BT)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(BU)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(BV)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(BW) will lie down in safety.(BX)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(BY)
    it will slay(BZ) your survivors.(CA)

31 Wail,(CB) you gate!(CC) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(CD)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(CE)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(CF)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(CG) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(CH)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(CI)

A Prophecy Against Moab(CJ)

15 A prophecy(CK) against Moab:(CL)

Ar(CM) in Moab is ruined,(CN)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(CO) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(CP) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(CQ) to weep;
    Moab wails(CR) over Nebo(CS) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(CT)
    and every beard cut off.(CU)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(CV)
    on the roofs(CW) and in the public squares(CX)
they all wail,(CY)
    prostrate with weeping.(CZ)
Heshbon(DA) and Elealeh(DB) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(DC)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(DD) over Moab;(DE)
    her fugitives(DF) flee as far as Zoar,(DG)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(DH)
    they lament their destruction.(DI)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(DJ)
    and the grass is withered;(DK)
the vegetation is gone(DL)
    and nothing green is left.(DM)
So the wealth they have acquired(DN) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(DO) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[c] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[d]
a lion(DP) upon the fugitives of Moab(DQ)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs(DR) as tribute(DS)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(DT) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(DU)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(DV)
so are the women of Moab(DW)
    at the fords(DX) of the Arnon.(DY)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(DZ)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(EA) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(EB) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(EC)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.

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.
  3. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  4. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.

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.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

24 The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

15 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;

He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.

For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.

For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.

For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

16 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.