Isaiah 14:3-23
Legacy Standard Bible
3 And it will be in the day when Yahweh gives you (A)rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh slavery 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 taskmaster has ceased,
And how [b]fury has ceased!
5 Yahweh 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 had dominion over 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)cypress trees are glad over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’
9 (G)Sheol from beneath trembles excitedly over you to meet you when you come;
It wakens for you the [c]spirits of the dead, all the [d]leaders of the earth;
It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 (H)They will all answer and say to you,
‘Even you have been made 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,
O [e](K)star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened 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 gaze at you,
They will [f]carefully consider you, saying,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who caused kingdoms to quake,
17 Who made the world like a (P)wilderness
And pulled down its cities,
Who (Q)did not [g]allow his prisoners to go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
Each in his own [h]place.
19 But you have been (R)cast out of your grave
Like an abhorred branch,
[i]Clothed with those killed who are 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)seed of evildoers not be called upon forever.
21 Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter
Because of the (V)iniquity of their fathers.
They must not arise and take possession of the earth
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon (W)name and remnant, (X)offspring and posterity,” declares Yahweh. 23 “I will also make it a possession for the (Y)hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of [j](Z)destruction,” declares Yahweh of hosts.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 14:4 Or proverb
- Isaiah 14:4 Amended from the meaningless medhebah to marhebah
- Isaiah 14:9 Or shades
- Isaiah 14:9 Lit male goats
- Isaiah 14:12 Heb Helel; lit shining one
- Isaiah 14:16 Lit show themselves attentive to
- Isaiah 14:17 Lit open
- Isaiah 14:18 Lit house
- Isaiah 14:19 Or As the clothing of those who are slain
- Isaiah 14:23 Or extermination, cf. 13:9
Isaiah 14:3-23
New Living Translation
3 In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, 4 you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,
“The mighty man has been destroyed.
Yes, your insolence[a] is ended.
5 For the Lord has crushed your wicked power
and broken your evil rule.
6 You struck the people with endless blows of rage
and held the nations in your angry grip
with unrelenting tyranny.
7 But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.
Now it can sing again!
8 Even the trees of the forest—
the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—
sing out this joyous song:
‘Since you have been cut down,
no one will come now to cut us down!’
9 “In the place of the dead[b] there is excitement
over your arrival.
The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead
stand up to see you.
10 With one voice they all cry out,
‘Now you are as weak as we are!
11 Your might and power were buried with you.[c]
The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased.
Now maggots are your sheet,
and worms your blanket.’
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
you who destroyed the nations of the world.
13 For you said to yourself,
‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
far away in the north.[d]
14 I will climb to the highest heavens
and be like the Most High.’
15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
down to its lowest depths.
16 Everyone there will stare at you and ask,
‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
17 Is this the one who destroyed the world
and made it into a wasteland?
Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities
and had no mercy on his prisoners?’
18 “The kings of the nations lie in stately glory,
each in his own tomb,
19 but you will be thrown out of your grave
like a worthless branch.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
you will be dumped into a mass grave
with those killed in battle.
You will descend to the pit.
20 You will not be given a proper burial,
for you have destroyed your nation
and slaughtered your people.
The descendants of such an evil person
will never again receive honor.
21 Kill this man’s children!
Let them die because of their father’s sins!
They must not rise and conquer the earth,
filling the world with their cities.”
22 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“I, myself, have risen against Babylon!
I will destroy its children and its children’s children,”
says the Lord.
23 “I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls,
filled with swamps and marshes.
I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction.
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
