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23 How the hammer of the whole earth
    is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become
    a horror among the nations!(A)

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23 How broken and shattered
    is the hammer(A) of the whole earth!(B)
How desolate(C) is Babylon
    among the nations!

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Israel the Creator’s Instrument

20 You are my war club, my weapon of battle:
with you I smash nations;
    with you I destroy kingdoms;(A)
21 with you I smash the horse and its rider;
    with you I smash the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I smash man and woman;
    with you I smash the old man and the boy;
with you I smash the young man and the girl;(B)
23     with you I smash shepherds and their flocks;
with you I smash farmers and their teams;
    with you I smash governors and deputies.

The Doom of Babylon

24 I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the wrong that they have done in Zion, says the Lord.(C)

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20 “You are my war club,(A)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(B) nations,(C)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(D)
    with you I shatter chariot(E) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(F)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(G)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(H) Babylon(I) and all who live in Babylonia[a] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35

16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
    clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!(A)

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16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(A)
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!(B)

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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!(A)
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;[a](B)
14 I will ascend to the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(C)
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
    to the depths of the Pit.(D)
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,(E)
17 who made the world like a desert
    and overthrew its cities,
    who would not let his prisoners go home?”(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.13 Or assembly in the far north

12 How you have fallen(A) from heaven,
    morning star,(B) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(C)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(D) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(E)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(F)
    on the utmost heights(G) of Mount Zaphon.[a]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(H)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(I)
15 But you are brought down(J) to the realm of the dead,(K)
    to the depths(L) of the pit.(M)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(N)
“Is this the man who shook(O) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(P)
    who overthrew(Q) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.

you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has ceased!
    How his insolence[a] has ceased!(A)
The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
    the scepter of rulers,
that struck down the peoples in wrath
    with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
    with unrelenting persecution.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.4 Q ms Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of MT uncertain

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)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.