Isaiah 14:3-23
Expanded Bible
The King of Babylon Will Fall
3 The Lord will ·take away the Israelites’ hard work and will comfort them [L give you rest/relief from your suffering/pain and turmoil]. ·They [L You] will no longer have to work hard as slaves. 4 On that day ·Israel [L you] will sing this ·song about [or taunt against] the king of Babylon:
The ·cruel king who ruled us [L oppressor] is finished;
his ·angry rule [arrogant fury; hostility] is finished!
5 The Lord has ·taken away the power [broken the club/rod/staff] of the wicked
and the ·scepter [staff] of evil rulers
6 ·The king of Babylon [L …which] struck ·people [or nations] in anger
·again and again [with endless blows].
He ruled nations in anger
·and continued to hurt them [with unrelenting oppression/aggression].
7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to sing.
8 Even the ·pine trees [junipers; evergreens; cypresses] ·are happy [rejoice at you],
and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king has ·fallen [been laid low],
so no ·one [woodcutter] will ever cut us down again.”
9 ·The place of the dead [or The grave; L Sheol] is ·excited [stirred up]
to meet you when you come.
It wakes the ·spirits of the dead [ghosts],
the ·leaders [L rams] of the world.
It makes kings of all nations
·stand up from their thrones to greet you [L rise up from their thrones].
10 All these leaders will ·make fun of you [L respond]
and will say,
“Now you are weak, as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your ·pride [or pomp; splendor] has been sent down to ·the place of the dead [or the grave; L Sheol].
The music from your harps goes with it.
·Flies [or Maggots] are spread out like your bed beneath you,
and worms cover your body like a blanket.
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
·morning star [or day star; or shining one; C still addressing the king of Babylon, though sometimes applied to Satan],
·even though you were as bright as the rising sun [L son of the dawn]!
In the past all the nations on earth ·bowed down before you [or were laid low by you],
but now you have been cut down.
13 You told yourself,
“I will ·go up to heaven [or ascend to the sky].
I will put my throne
above God’s stars.
I will ·sit [or rule] on the mountain of the ·gods [L assembly],
on the slopes of ·the sacred mountain [or the north; or Mount Zaphon; C known as the mountain of Baal].
14 I will ·go up [ascend] above the ·tops [or high places] of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”
15 But you were brought down to ·the grave [or the place of the dead; L Sheol],
to the deep places ·where the dead are [L of the pit].
16 Those who see you stare at you.
They ·think about [ponder] what has happened to you
and say, “Is this the same man who ·caused great fear on [L shook the] earth,
who ·shook [made to tremble] the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a desert,
who ·destroyed [overthrew] its cities,
who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 Every king of the nations ·has been buried with honor [lies in glory],
each in his own ·grave [L house].
19 But you are thrown out of your grave,
like an ·unwanted [loathed; rejected] branch.
·You are covered by bodies [L Clothed with the slain]
that ·died in battle [L were pierced with a sword],
by bodies to be buried in a rocky pit.
You are like a ·dead body other soldiers walk on [trampled corpse].
20 You will not be buried with those bodies,
because you ruined your own country
and killed your own people.
·The children [or May the offspring/descendants] of evil people
will never be mentioned again.
21 Prepare to ·kill his children [execute/slaughter his sons],
·because their father is guilty [for the sins of their fathers/ancestors].
They will never ·again take control of [L rise and possess] the earth;
they will never again fill the ·world [surface/L face of the earth/world] with their cities.
22 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says this:
“I will ·fight [L rise up] against those people;
I will ·destroy [L cut off from] Babylon ·and its people [L its name and remnant/survivors],
its ·children [offspring] and their ·descendants [posterity],” says the Lord.
23 “I will make Babylon fit only for ·owls [or hedgehogs; or porcupines]
and for swamps.
I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction,”
says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
Isaiah 14:3-23
New American Standard Bible
3 And it will be on the day when the Lord gives you (A)rest from your hardship, your turmoil, and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4 that you will (B)take up this [a]taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,
“How (C)the oppressor has ceased,
And how the [b]onslaught has ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of rulers,
6 (D)Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,
Which [c]subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;
They (E)break forth into shouts of joy.
8 Even the (F)juniper trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you have been laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’
9 (G)Sheol below is excited about you, to meet you when you come;
It stirs the [d]spirits of the dead for you, all the [e]leaders of the earth;
It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 (H)They will all respond and say to you,
‘Even you have become weak as we,
You have become like us.
11 Your (I)pride and the music of your harps
Have been brought down to Sheol;
Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you
And worms are your covering.’
12 How you have (J)fallen from heaven,
You [f](K)star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who defeated the nations!
13 But you said in your heart,
‘I will (L)ascend to heaven;
I will (M)raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
(N)I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 Nevertheless you (O)will be brought down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
They will [g]closely examine you, saying,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world like a (P)wilderness
And overthrew its cities,
Who (Q)did not [h]allow his prisoners to go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
Each in his own [i]tomb.
19 But you have been (R)hurled out of your tomb
Like [j]a rejected branch,
[k]Clothed with those killed who have been pierced with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the (S)pit
Like a (T)trampled corpse.
20 You will not be united with them in burial,
Because you have ruined your country,
You have killed your people.
May the (U)descendants of evildoers never be mentioned.
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
Because of the (V)wrongdoing of their fathers.
They must not arise and take possession of the earth,
And fill the surface of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of armies, “and eliminate from Babylon (W)name and survivors, (X)offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord. 23 “I will also make it the property of the (Y)hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of (Z)destruction,” declares the Lord of armies.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 14:4 Or proverb
- Isaiah 14:4 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT uncertain
- Isaiah 14:6 Or ruled
- Isaiah 14:9 Or shades (Heb Repha’im)
- Isaiah 14:9 Lit male goats
- Isaiah 14:12 Heb Helel; i.e., shining one
- Isaiah 14:16 Lit show themselves attentive to
- Isaiah 14:17 Lit open
- Isaiah 14:18 Lit house
- Isaiah 14:19 Lit an abhorred branch
- Isaiah 14:19 Or As the clothing of those who are slain
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
