Isaiah 14
14
Restoration of Israel. 1But the Lord will take pity on Jacob and again choose Israel, and will settle them on their own land; foreigners will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.#Is 56:3; 60:4; Ps 102:14; Jer 24:6; Zec 1:17. 2The nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them#Possess them: Israel will make slaves of the nations who escort it back to its land. as male and female slaves on the Lord’s land; they will take captive their captors and rule over their oppressors.#Is 49:22–23; 60:14; 66:20.
Downfall of the King of Babylon. 3On the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow and turmoil, from the hard service with which you served,#Ex 33:14; Jos 1:13; Jer 30:10. 4you will take up this taunt-song#This taunt-song, a satirical funeral lament, is a beautiful example of classical Hebrew poetry. According to the prose introduction and the prosaic conclusion (vv. 22–23), it is directed against the king of Babylon, though Babylon is mentioned nowhere in the song itself. If the reference to Babylon is accurate, the piece was composed long after the time of Isaiah, for Babylon was not a threat to Judah in the eighth century. Some have argued that Isaiah wrote it at the death of an Assyrian king and the references to Babylon were made by a later editor, but this is far from certain. against the king of Babylon:#Hb 2:6.
How the oppressor has come to an end!
how the turmoil has ended!
5The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the staff of the tyrants#Is 10:24–27.
6That struck the peoples in wrath
with relentless blows;
That ruled the nations in anger,
with boundless persecution.#Is 10:5–7.
7The whole earth rests peacefully,
song breaks forth;
8The very cypresses rejoice over you,
the cedars of Lebanon:
“Now that you are laid to rest,
no one comes to cut us down.”#Is 37:24; 44:23; 55:12; Ez 31:16.
9Below, Sheol is all astir
preparing for your coming;
Awakening the shades to greet you,
all the leaders of the earth;
Making all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10All of them speak out
and say to you,
“You too have become weak like us,
you are just like us!
11Down to Sheol your pomp is brought,
the sound of your harps.
Maggots are the couch beneath you,
worms your blanket.”#Sir 10:11.
12How you have fallen from the heavens,
O Morning Star,#Morning Star: term addressed to the king of Babylon. The Vulgate translates as “Lucifer,” a name applied by the church Fathers to Satan. Son of the dawn: Heb., ben shahar, may reflect the name of a pagan deity. son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the earth,
you who conquered nations!#Jb 14:10.
13In your heart you said:
“I will scale the heavens;
Above the stars of God#God: not Elohim, the common word for God, but El, the name of the head of the pantheon in Canaanite mythology, a god who was early identified with the Lord in Israelite thought. Mount of Assembly: mountain where the council of the gods met, according to Canaanite mythology. Zaphon: the sacred mountain of Baal, originally the Jebel el-Aqra north of Ugarit, but other mountains have been identified with it, including Mount Zion in Jerusalem (Ps 48:3). The attempt to usurp the place of God (v. 14), coupled with the dramatic reversal (“above the stars of God” to “the depths of the pit”) occasioned the interpretation that saw here the rebellion and fall of Satan.
I will set up my throne;
I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly,
on the heights of Zaphon.#Jer 51:53; Am 9:2.
14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will be like the Most High!”#Ez 28:2; Zep 2:15; 2 Thes 2:4.
15No! Down to Sheol you will be brought
to the depths of the pit!#Ez 28:8–9; 32:23; Mt 11:23; Acts 12:23.
16When they see you they will stare,
pondering over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms?
17Who made the world a wilderness,
razed its cities,
and gave captives no release?”
18All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;#Jb 3:14–15.
19But you are cast forth without burial,
like loathsome carrion,
Covered with the slain, with those struck by the sword,
a trampled corpse,
Going down to the very stones of the pit.#Is 66:24.
20You will never be together with them in the grave,
For you have ruined your land,
you have slain your people!
Let him never be named,
that offshoot of evil!
21Make ready to slaughter his sons
for the guilt of their fathers;#Ex 20:5; Mt 23:35.
Lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the breadth of the world with cities.#Cities: if the text is correct, it presumably refers to cities as expressions of human pride, authority, and oppression (cf. Gn 11:1–9; Na 3:1–4).
22I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, progeny and offspring, says the Lord.#Jer 51:62; Jb 18:19. 23I will make it a haunt of hoot owls and a marshland; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, oracle of the Lord of hosts.
God’s Plan for Assyria#The motif of God’s plan or work is a recurring thread running through Isaiah’s oracles. The plans of Judah’s enemies will not come to pass (7:5–7; 8:9–10; 10:7), but God’s plan for his work of disciplining his own people (5:12, 19; 28:21), and then for punishing the foreign agents God used to administer that discipline (10:12) will come to pass.
24The Lord of hosts has sworn:
As I have resolved,
so shall it be;
As I have planned,
so shall it stand:
25To break the Assyrian in my land
and trample him on my mountains;
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
and his burden from their shoulder.#Is 9:3; 10:27a.
26This is the plan proposed for the whole earth,
and this the hand outstretched over all the nations.#Hand outstretched over all the nations: as it was once outstretched over Israel (9:11, 16, 20; 5:25).
27The Lord of hosts has planned;
who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out;
who can turn it back?#Is 23:8–9; Jb 40:8; Jer 4:28.
Philistia.#This oracle seems to reflect the political situation soon after the death of Ahaz in 715 B.C., when Ashdod and the other Philistine cities were trying to create a united front to rebel against Assyria. Ahaz had refused to join the rebels in 735 B.C. and remained loyal to Assyria during the rest of his reign, but the Philistines may have had higher hopes for his son Hezekiah. Judah, however, did not join in Ashdod’s disastrous revolt in 713–711 B.C. (cf. 20:1). 28In the year that King Ahaz died,#The year that King Ahaz died: 715 B.C. there came this oracle:
29#The occasion for this oracle is usually taken to be the death of an Assyrian king; the Philistines were vassals of Assyria, whereas no victories of Ahaz over the Philistines are recorded. The chronological notice (in the year that King Ahaz died) may be incorrect, for no Assyrian king died around 715, the date usually assigned for the death of Ahaz. Flying saraph: a winged cobra, often portrayed in Egyptian art and on Israelite seals. The Hebrew saraph means “to burn” and perhaps is applied to the cobra because of the burning sensation of its bite. Do not rejoice, Philistia, not one of you,
that the rod which struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s root shall come an adder,
its offspring shall be a flying saraph.
30In my pastures the poor shall graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
But I will kill your root with famine
that shall slay even your remnant.
31Howl, O gate; cry out, O city!
Philistia, all of you melts away!
For there comes a smoke from the north,#Smoke from the north: the dust raised from the approach of the Assyrian army.
without a straggler in its ranks.
32What will one answer the messengers of the nations?#Messengers of the nations: envoys from Philistia, and from Egypt and Ethiopia, the real powers behind the Philistine revolt (20:1–6; cf. 18:1–2).
“The Lord has established Zion,
and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 14
14
The Lord's People Will Come Home
1The Lord will have mercy on Israel and will let them be his chosen people once again. He will bring them back to their own land, and foreigners will join them as part of Israel. 2Other nations will lead them home, and Israel will make slaves of them in the land that belongs to the Lord. Israel will rule over those who once governed and mistreated them.
Death to the King of Babylonia!
3The Lord will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery. 4Then you will make fun of the King of Babylonia by singing this song:
That cruel monster is done for!
He won't attack us again.#14.4 He … again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5The Lord has crushed the power
of those evil kings,
6who were furious
and never stopped abusing
the people of other nations.
7Now all the world is at peace;
its people are celebrating
with joyful songs.
8King of Babylonia,
even the cypress trees
and the cedars of Lebanon
celebrate and say,
“Since you were put down,
no one comes along
to chop us down.”
9The world of the dead
eagerly waits for you.
With great excitement,
the spirits of ancient rulers
hear about your coming.
10Each one of them will say,
“Now you are just as weak
as any of us!
11Your pride and your music
have ended here
in the world of the dead.
Worms are your blanket,
maggots are your bed.”
12 #
Rev 8.10; 9.1. You, the bright morning star,
have fallen from the sky!
You brought down other nations;
now you are brought down.
13 #
Mt 11.23; Lk 10.15. You said to yourself,
“I'll climb to heaven
and place my throne
above the highest stars.
I'll sit there with the gods
far away in the north.
14I'll be above the clouds,
just like God Most High.”
15But now you are deep
in the world of the dead.
16Those who see you will stare
and wonder, “Is this the man
who made the world tremble
and shook up kingdoms?
17Did he capture every city
and make earth a desert?
Is he the one who refused
to let prisoners go home?”
18When kings die, they are buried
in glorious tombs.
19But you will be left unburied,
just another dead body
lying underfoot
like a broken branch.
You will be one of many
killed in battle and gone down
to the deep rocky pit.#14.19 deep rocky pit: The world of the dead.
20You won't be buried with kings;
you ruined your country
and murdered your people.
You evil monster!
We hope that your family
will be forgotten forever.
21We will slaughter your sons
to make them pay for the crimes
of their ancestors.
They won't take over the world
or build cities
anywhere on this earth.
22The Lord All-Powerful has promised to attack Babylonia and destroy everyone there, so that none of them will ever be remembered again. 23The Lord will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.
Assyria Will Be Punished
24 #
Is 10.5-34; Nh 1.1—3.19; Zep 2.13-15. The Lord All-Powerful
has made this promise:
Everything I have planned
will happen just as I said.
25I will wipe out every Assyrian
in my country,
and I will crush those
on my mountains.
I will free my people
from slavery
to the Assyrians.
26I have planned this
for the whole world,
and my mighty arm
controls every nation.
27I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have made these plans.
No one can stop me now!
The Philistines Will Be Punished
28 #
2 K 16.20; 2 Ch 28.27. This message came from the Lord in the year King Ahaz died:#14.28 King Ahaz died: 715 b.c.
29 #
Jr 47.1-7; Ez 25.15-17; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.6-8; Zep 2.4-7; Zec 9.5-7. Philistines, don't be happy
just because the rod
that punished you
is broken.
That rod will become
a poisonous snake, and then
a flying fiery dragon.
30The poor and needy will find
pastures for their sheep
and will live in safety.
But I will starve some of you,
and others will be killed.
31Cry and weep in the gates
of your towns,
you Philistines!
Smoke blows in from the north,#14.31 north: The Assyrian and Babylonian attacks came from the north.
and every soldier is ready.
32If a messenger comes
from a distant nation,
you must say:
“The Lord built Zion.
Even the poorest of his people
will find safety there.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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