Isaiah 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Restoration of Judah
14 But the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel and will settle them in their own land, and aliens will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.(A) 2 And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess the nations[a] as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land; they will take captive those who were their captors and rule over those who oppressed them.(B)
Downfall of the King of Babylon
3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,(C) 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has ceased!
How his insolence[b] has ceased!(D)
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers,
6 that struck down the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.(E)
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
they break forth into singing.
8 The cypresses exult over you,
the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
“Since you were laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”(F)
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.(G)
10 All of them will speak
and say to you:
“You, too, have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!”
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
and the sound of your harps;
maggots are the bed beneath you,
and worms are your covering.(H)
12 How you are fallen from heaven,
O Morning Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!(I)
13 You said to yourself,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
on the heights of Zaphon;[c](J)
14 I will ascend to the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”(K)
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit.(L)
16 Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,(M)
17 who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who would not let his prisoners go home?”(N)
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb,
19 but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like loathsome carrion,[d]
clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the Pit
like a corpse trampled underfoot.(O)
20 You will not be joined with them in burial
because you have destroyed your land;
you have killed your people.
May the descendants of evildoers
nevermore be named!(P)
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
because of the guilt of their father.[e]
Let them never rise to possess the earth
or cover the face of the world with cities.(Q)
22 I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the Lord.(R) 23 And I will make it a possession of the screech owl[f] and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.(S)
An Oracle concerning Assyria
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
As I have designed,
so shall it be,
and as I have planned,
so shall it come to pass:(T)
25 I will break the Assyrian in my land
and on my mountains trample him under foot;
his yoke shall be removed from them
and his burden from their shoulders.(U)
26 This is the plan that is planned
concerning the whole earth,
and this is the hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.(V)
27 For the Lord of hosts has planned,
and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?(W)
An Oracle concerning Philistia
28 In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came:(X)
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the root of the snake will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.(Y)
30 In my pastures the poor[g] will graze
and the needy lie down in safety,
but I will make your root die of famine,
and your remnant I[h] will kill.(Z)
31 Wail, O gate; cry, O city;
melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you!
For smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in its ranks.(AA)
32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
“The Lord has founded Zion,
and the needy among his people
will find refuge in her.”(AB)
Isaiah 14
Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Return
14 For the Lord will have compassion(A) on Jacob and will choose Israel again.(B) He will settle them on their own land.(C) The resident alien will join them and be united with the house of Jacob.(D) 2 The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land.(E) They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.
Downfall of the King of Babylon
3 When the Lord gives you rest from your pain,(F) torment, and the hard labor(G) you were forced to do, 4 you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon(H) and say:
How the oppressor has quieted down,
and how the raging[a] has become quiet!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers.
6 It struck the peoples in anger
with unceasing blows.
It subdued the nations in rage
with relentless persecution.
7 The whole earth is calm and at rest;
people shout with a ringing cry.
8 Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon
rejoice over you:(I)
“Since you have been laid low,
no lumberjack has come against us.”
9 Sheol below is eager to greet your coming,
stirring up the spirits of the departed for you—
all the rulers[b] of the earth—
making all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10 They all respond to you, saying,
“You too have become as weak as we are;
you have become like us!
11 Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol,
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are spread out under you,
and worms cover you.”
12 Shining morning star,[c](J)
how you have fallen from the heavens!(K)
You destroyer of nations,
you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself,
“I will ascend to the heavens;(L)
I will set up my throne
above the stars of God.(M)
I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly,
in the remotest parts of the North.[d](N)
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you will be brought down to Sheol
into the deepest regions of the Pit.(O)
16 Those who see you will stare at you;
they will look closely at you:
“Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble,
who shook the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a wilderness,(P)
who destroyed its cities
and would not release the prisoners to return home?”
18 All the kings of the nations
lie in splendor, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are thrown out without a grave,
like a worthless branch,
covered by those slain with the sword
and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse.
20 You will not join them in burial,
because you destroyed your land
and slaughtered your own people.
The offspring of evildoers
will never be mentioned again.(Q)
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons,
because of the iniquity(R) of their ancestors.
They will never rise up to possess a land
or fill the surface of the earth with cities.
22 “I will rise up against them”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 23 “I will make her a swampland and a region for herons,[e] and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Assyria Will Be Destroyed
24 The Lord of Armies has sworn:
As I have purposed, so it will be;
as I have planned it, so it will happen.(S)
25 I will break Assyria(T) in my land;
I will tread him down on my mountain.
Then his yoke will be taken from them,
and his burden will be removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the plan(U) prepared
for the whole earth,
and this is the hand stretched out
against all the nations.
27 The Lord of Armies himself has planned it;
therefore, who can stand in its way?
It is his hand that is outstretched,
so who can turn it back?
A Pronouncement against Philistia
28 In the year that King Ahaz died,(V) this pronouncement came:(W)
29 Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you(X) is broken.
For a viper will come from the root[f] of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.(Y)
30 Then the firstborn(Z) of the poor will be well fed,
and the impoverished will lie down in safety,
but I will kill your root with hunger,
and your remnant will be slain.
31 Wail, you gates!(AA) Cry out, city!
Tremble with fear,(AB) all Philistia!
For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,(AC)
and there is no one missing from the invader’s ranks.
32 What answer will be given to the messengers from that nation?
The Lord has founded Zion,(AD)
and his oppressed people find refuge in her.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.