Isaiah 14
14
1But the Lord will be merciful to the descendants of Jacob. Once again he will choose Israel and he will bring them back to live once more in their own land. Foreigners will come and join them there, and they will unite with the descendants of Jacob. 2Nations will go with them and escort them to their own land. The foreigners who stay in the Lord's land will serve the Israelites. In this way the captors become their captives, and they rule over their former oppressors.
3At that time the Lord will give you relief from your pain and trouble, and from the hard labor you were forced to do. 4You will mock the king of Babylon, saying, “How your oppressive rule has been ended, and your insolence stopped! 5The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the rulers' scepter. 6You kept on furiously hitting foreign peoples without stopping, and aggressively ruled nations with unrestrained persecution. 7Now the whole earth rests peacefully, and everyone starts celebrating! 8The cypress and cedar trees are glad you're gone. They sing, ‘Since you were cut down no woodcutters are coming to cut us down!’
9Those in the grave beneath are keen to meet you when you arrive. It wakes the spirits of the dead to welcome you, those of all the rulers of the earth. All the kings of the nations stand up from their thrones.#14:9. These verses are poetic, and not to be taken literally. 10They will all speak up and tell you, ‘So you too are as weak as we are—you've become just like us! 11Your pride is now buried with you in the grave, along with the harp music you loved. Maggots are the bed you lie on, and worms are your blanket.’
12Morning star,#14:12. Literally, “shining one,” referring to the planet Venus whose rise in the sky promised the soon-coming dawn. In the Septuagint this was translated as “dawn bringer” which in Latin became “Lucifer,” (light bringer) which is the basis for the King James translation. son of the dawn, how you have fallen from heaven! Destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground! 13You said to yourself: ‘I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mountain of meeting, the summit of the northern mountain.#14:13. This fits with Babylonian mythology in which the gods were thought of as meeting on a mountain north of Babylon. 14I will ascend to the high places above the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15But you are dragged down to the grave, into the depths of the pit. 16Those who see you will stare at you, examining you closely, asking, ‘Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble? 17Is this the one who turned the world into a desert, destroyed cities, and never let his prisoners return home?’
18All the other kings of the nations lie in splendor in their great mausoleums. 19But you are thrown out of your grave like a branch nobody wants, buried underneath the bodies of those killed by the sword. You are like a corpse trodden underfoot. You are tossed into a pit full of rocks— 20you will not be buried like those other kings#14:20. “Like those other kings”: supplied for clarity. because you destroyed your own land and killed your own people. The descendants of those who do evil will never survive. 21Get ready to execute his sons because of their fathers'#14:21. “Fathers” is plural to suggest that the guilt was not just the immediate father, but his ancestors as well. sins. Don't let them take over the earth; don't let them fill the whole world with their cities.
22I will come and attack them, declares the Lord Almighty. I will destroy everything: their reputation, those who remain, their children, and their descendants, says the Lord. 23I will make Babylon into a place for water birds#14:23. Some suggest a species of owl, others the bittern. and into marshland. I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction, declares the Lord Almighty.”
24The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: It will be as I have planned. It will happen as I have decided. 25I will smash the Assyrians when they are in my country Israel; I will trample them underfoot on my mountains. I will remove their yoke from my people, and take away the burdens they place on my people's shoulders. 26This is the plan I have made regarding the whole earth; my hand stretches out to control all the nations.
27The Lord Almighty has made his plan, and who will block it? His hand stretches out, and who will push back against it?
28The following message came in the year King Ahaz died. 29All you Philistines, don't celebrate the fact that the rod that was hitting you is broken, because from the root of that snake will grow up a viper, its fruit will be a flying serpent. 30The poor will have food, and the needy will live in safety, but you Philistines will die in a famine, and I#14:30. “I”: Dead Sea Scroll reading. Traditional text, “he.” will kill those who survive. 31Howl, gates! Weep, town! Melt away in fear, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke is approaching from the north—an army with no soldier hanging back. 32What will be the answer given to the messengers from that nation? “The Lord was the one who laid the foundations of Zion, and that's where his suffering people will be kept safe.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 14
14
Israel Will Be Rescued from Babylon
1The Lord will have compassion for Jacob and again choose Israel.
He will resettle them in their own country.
Foreigners will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2People will take them
and bring them to their own place.
The nation of Israel will possess nations
as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land.
They will take their captors captive
and rule their oppressors.
3When that day comes, the Lord will give you relief
from your pain and suffering,
from the hard slavery you were forced to do.
4Then you will mock the king of Babylon with this saying,
“How the tyrant has come to an end!
How his attacks have come to an end!”
5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
6They struck the people with fury,
with blows that didn’t stop.
They ruled nations in anger,
persecuting them without restraint.
7The whole earth rests and is peaceful.
It breaks out into shouts of joy.
8Even the cypresses rejoice over you.
The cedars of Lebanon say,
“Since you have fallen,
no lumberjack has come to attack us.”
9Sheol below wakes up to meet you when you come.
It wakes up the ghosts of the dead,
all who were leaders on earth.
It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones.
10All of them will greet you,
“You also have become weak like us!
You have become like one of us!”
11Your pride has been brought down to Sheol
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are spread out ⌞like a bed⌟ under you,
and worms cover you.
12How you have fallen from heaven, you morning star, son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the ground, you conqueror of nations!
13You thought,
“I’ll go up to heaven and set up my throne above God’s stars.
I’ll sit on the mountain far away in the north
where the gods assemble.
14I’ll go above the top of the clouds.
I’ll be like the Most High.”
15But you’ve been brought down to Sheol,
to the deepest part of the pit.
16Those who see you stare at you; they look at you closely and say,
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook the kingdoms,
17who made the world like a desert and tore down its cities,
who didn’t let his prisoners go home?”
18All the kings of the nations, all of them,
have been buried with honor, each in his own tomb.
19But you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch.
You are covered with those who were killed in battle.
You go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse.
20You won’t be joined by the kings in the tomb,
because you have destroyed your land and killed your people.
The descendants of the wicked will never be mentioned again.
21Prepare a place to slaughter their sons
because of their ancestors’ guilt.
They won’t be able to rise, possess the earth,
and rebuild cities all over it.
22“I’ll rise up against them,” declares the Lord of Armies.
“I’ll cut off the name of the survivors from Babylon,
its offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord.
23“It will become the possession of herons.
It will become pools of water.
I’ll sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of Armies.
Assyria Will Be Punished
24The Lord of Armies has taken an oath:
“It will happen exactly as I’ve intended.
It will turn out exactly as I’ve planned.
25I’ll crush Assyria on my land.
I’ll trample it underfoot on my mountains.
Then its yoke #14:25 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts. will be removed from my people,
and its burden will be removed from their shoulders.”
26This is the plan determined for the whole earth.
This is how he will use his power against all the nations.
27The Lord of Armies has planned it. Who can stop it?
He is ready to use his power. Who can turn it back?
The Philistines Will Be Punished
28This was the divine revelation in the year King Ahaz died.
29All you Philistines, don’t rejoice
that the rod of the one who struck you is broken,
because a viper will come from that snake’s root,
and his descendant will be a flying, fiery serpent.
30The poorest of the poor will eat,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
But I will put your root to death with famine
and kill off your survivors.
31Cry loudly in the gate!
Cry out in the city!
Be frightened, all you Philistines!
Smoke comes from the north,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
32How should we answer the messengers from the nations?
⌞Tell them that⌟ the Lord has laid Zion’s foundation,
and his humble people will find refuge in it.
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