Isaiah 14
King James Version
14 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8 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.
9 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.
Isaiah 14
Lexham English Bible
The Restoration of Israel
14 But Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob,
and he will again choose Israel
and set them on their land,
and the immigrant will join himself to them,
and they will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
2 And the nations will take them
and bring them to their place,
and the house of Israel will take possession of them[a] in the land of Yahweh
as slaves and female slaves.
And this will happen:
they will take their captors captive
and rule over their oppressors.
The Downfall of the King of Babylon
3 And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which you had to perform,[b]
4 that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon,
and you will say:
“How the oppressor has ceased!
his insolence[c] has ceased.
5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers,
6 that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrestrained persecution.[d]
7 All of the earth rests and is quiet;
they break forth into singing.
8 Even the cypresses rejoice over you,
the cedars of Lebanon:
‘Since you were laid down,
no wood cutter comes up against us.’
9 Sheol below is getting excited over you,
to meet you when you come;[e]
it arouses the dead spirits for you,
all of the leaders of the earth.
It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 All of them will respond and say to you,
‘You yourself also were made weak like us!
You have become the same as us!’
11 Your pride is brought down to Sheol,
and the sound of your harps;
maggots[f] are spread out beneath you like a bed,
and your covering is worms.[g]
12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn!
You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations!
13 And you yourself said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise up my throne above the stars of God;
and I will sit on the mountain of assembly
on the summit of Zaphon;[h]
14 I will ascend to the high places of the clouds,[i]
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
they will look closely at you:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who caused kingdoms to shake,
17 who made the world like the desert
and destroyed its cities,
who would not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory,
each one in his house.
19 But as for you, you are thrown away from your grave,
like an abhorrent shoot,
clothed with the slain,
those pierced by the sword,
those who go down to the stones of the pit,
like a corpse that is trodden down.
20 You will not be united with them in burial
because you have destroyed your land,
you have killed your people.
The descendants[j] of evildoers will not be mentioned for eternity!
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
because of the sin of their ancestors.[k]
Let them not rise and take possession of the earth
or fill up the face of the world with cities.”
22 “And I will rise up against them,”
declares[l] Yahweh of hosts,
“and I will cut off name and a remnant from Babylon,
and offspring and posterity,”
declares[m] Yahweh.
23 “And I will make her a possession of the hedgehog,
and pools of water,
and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,”
declares[n] Yahweh of hosts.
Oracle of Judgment on Assyria
24 Yahweh of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely[o] just as I have intended, so it shall be.
And just as I have planned, it shall stand:
25 to break Assyria in my land,
and I will trample him down on my mountains;
and he shall remove his yoke from them,
and he shall remove his burden from his[p] shoulders.”[q]
26 This is the plan that is planned concerning all of the earth;
and this is the hand that is stretched out over all of the nations.
27 For Yahweh of hosts has planned, and who will frustrate it?
And his hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
Oracle of Judgment on Philistia
28 In the year of the death of king Ahaz there was this oracle:
29 You must not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken,
for a viper will come forth from the root of the snake,
and its fruit will be a flying serpent.
30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze,
and the needy will lie down in security;
but I will cause your root to die in famine,
and it will kill your remnant.
31 Wail, gate! Cry, city!
Melt,[r] Philistia, all of you!
For smoke is coming from the north,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 And what will one answer the messengers of the nation?
That Yahweh has founded Zion,
and the needy of his people will take refuge in it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 14:2 That is, the nations
- Isaiah 14:3 Literally “was worked by you”
- Isaiah 14:4 The meaning of the word is uncertain; others translate it as “fury,” “hostility,” or even “golden city”
- Isaiah 14:6 Literally “persecution without withholding”
- Isaiah 14:9 Literally “your entrance”
- Isaiah 14:11 Hebrew “maggot”
- Isaiah 14:11 Hebrew “worm”
- Isaiah 14:13 Or “of the north”
- Isaiah 14:14 Hebrew “cloud”
- Isaiah 14:20 Hebrew “descendant”
- Isaiah 14:21 Or “fathers”
- Isaiah 14:22 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 14:22 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 14:23 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 14:24 The oath formula begins literally “If not”
- Isaiah 14:25 That is, their
- Isaiah 14:25 Hebrew “shoulder”
- Isaiah 14:31 With fear or despair
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