Isaiah 14
14
Restoration of Judah
1But the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land; and aliens will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess the nations#14.2 Heb them 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.
Downfall of the King of Babylon
3When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has ceased!
How his insolence#14.4 Q Ms Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of MT uncertain has ceased!
5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers,
6that struck down the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
7The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
they break forth into singing.
8The cypresses exult over you,
the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
“Since you were laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”
9Sheol 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.
10All of them will speak
and say to you:
“You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!”
11Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
and the sound of your harps;
maggots are the bed beneath you,
and worms are your covering.
12How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13You said in your heart,
“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;#14.13 Or assembly in the far north
14I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit.
16Those who see you will stare at you,
and ponder over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
17who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who would not let his prisoners go home?”
18All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;
19but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like loathsome carrion,#14.19 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like a loathed branch
clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the Pit,
like a corpse trampled underfoot.
20You 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!
21Prepare slaughter for his sons
because of the guilt of their father.#14.21 Syr Compare Gk: Heb fathers
Let them never rise to possess the earth
or cover the face of the world with cities.
22I 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. 23And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.
An Oracle concerning Assyria
24The Lord of hosts has sworn:
As I have designed,
so shall it be;
and as I have planned,
so shall it come to pass:
25I 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.
26This is the plan that is planned
concerning the whole earth;
and this is the hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.
27For the Lord of hosts has planned,
and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?
An Oracle concerning Philistia
28In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came:
29Do 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.
30The firstborn of the poor will graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
but I will make your root die of famine,
and your remnant I#14.30 Q Ms Vg: MT he will kill.
31Wail, 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.
32What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
“The Lord has founded Zion,
and the needy among his people
will find refuge in her.”
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Isaiah 14: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 14
14
A Taunt for Babylon’s King
1But the Lord will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and unite with the people of Israel.#14:1 Hebrew the house of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation. 2The nations of the world will help the people of Israel to return, and those who come to live in the Lord’s land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will themselves be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies.
3In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, 4you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,
“The mighty man has been destroyed.
Yes, your insolence#14:4 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; the meaning of the Masoretic Text is uncertain. is ended.
5For the Lord has crushed your wicked power
and broken your evil rule.
6You struck the people with endless blows of rage
and held the nations in your angry grip
with unrelenting tyranny.
7But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.
Now it can sing again!
8Even 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#14:9 Hebrew Sheol; also in 14:15. there is excitement
over your arrival.
The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead
stand up to see you.
10With one voice they all cry out,
‘Now you are as weak as we are!
11Your might and power were buried with you.#14:11 Hebrew were brought down to Sheol.
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.
13For 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.#14:13 Or on the heights of Zaphon.
14I will climb to the highest heavens
and be like the Most High.’
15Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
down to its lowest depths.
16Everyone there will stare at you and ask,
‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
17Is 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,
19but 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.
20You 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.
21Kill 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.”
22This 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!”
A Message about Assyria
24The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath:
“It will all happen as I have planned.
It will be as I have decided.
25I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel;
I will trample them on my mountains.
My people will no longer be their slaves
nor bow down under their heavy loads.
26I have a plan for the whole earth,
a hand of judgment upon all the nations.
27The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—
who can change his plans?
When his hand is raised,
who can stop him?”
A Message about Philistia
28This message came to me the year King Ahaz died:#14:28 King Ahaz died in 715 b.c.
29Do not rejoice, you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken—
that the king who attacked you is dead.
For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born,
a fiery serpent to destroy you!
30I will feed the poor in my pasture;
the needy will lie down in peace.
But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine
and destroy the few who remain.
31Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities!
Melt with fear, you Philistines!
A powerful army comes like smoke from the north.
Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.
32What should we tell the Philistine messengers? Tell them,
“The Lord has built Jerusalem#14:32 Hebrew Zion.;
its walls will give refuge to his oppressed people.”
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