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The Restoration of Israel

14 But Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob,
    and he will again choose Israel
and set them on their land,
and the immigrant will join himself to them,
    and they will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
And the nations will take them
    and bring them to their place,
and the house of Israel will take possession of them[a] in the land of Yahweh
    as slaves and female slaves.

And this will happen:

they will take their captors captive
    and rule over their oppressors.

The Downfall of the King of Babylon

And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which you had to perform,[b]

that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon,
    and you will say:
“How the oppressor has ceased!
    his insolence[c] has ceased.
Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked,
    the scepter of rulers,
that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing,
    that ruled the nations in anger
    with unrestrained persecution.[d]
All of the earth rests and is quiet;
    they break forth into singing.
Even the cypresses rejoice over you,
    the cedars of Lebanon:
‘Since you were laid down,
    no wood cutter comes up against us.’
Sheol below is getting excited over you,
    to meet you when you come;[e]
it arouses the dead spirits for you,
    all of the leaders of the earth.
    It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 All of them will respond and say to you,
‘You yourself also were made weak like us!
    You have become the same as us!’
11 Your pride is brought down to Sheol,
    and the sound of your harps;
maggots[f] are spread out beneath you like a bed,
    and your covering is worms.[g]
12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn!
    You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations!

13 And you yourself said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;
    I will raise up my throne above the stars of God;
and I will sit on the mountain of assembly
    on the summit of Zaphon;[h]
14 I will ascend to the high places of the clouds,[i]
    I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
    to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
    they will look closely at you:
Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
    who caused kingdoms to shake,
17 who made the world like the desert
    and destroyed its cities,
    who would not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory,
    each one in his house.
19 But as for you, you are thrown away from your grave,
    like an abhorrent shoot,
clothed with the slain,
    those pierced by the sword,
those who go down to the stones of the pit,
    like a corpse that is trodden down.
20 You will not be united with them in burial
because you have destroyed your land,
    you have killed your people.

The descendants[j] of evildoers will not be mentioned for eternity!

21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
    because of the sin of their ancestors.[k]
Let them not rise and take possession of the earth
    or fill up the face of the world with cities.”
22 “And I will rise up against them,”

declares[l] Yahweh of hosts,

“and I will cut off name and a remnant from Babylon,
    and offspring and posterity,”

declares[m] Yahweh.

23 “And I will make her a possession of the hedgehog,
    and pools of water,
    and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,”

declares[n] Yahweh of hosts.

Oracle of Judgment on Assyria

24 Yahweh of hosts has sworn, saying,

Surely[o] just as I have intended, so it shall be.
    And just as I have planned, it shall stand:
25 to break Assyria in my land,
    and I will trample him down on my mountains;
and he shall remove his yoke from them,
    and he shall remove his burden from his[p] shoulders.”[q]
26 This is the plan that is planned concerning all of the earth;
    and this is the hand that is stretched out over all of the nations.
27 For Yahweh of hosts has planned, and who will frustrate it?
    And his hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

Oracle of Judgment on Philistia

28 In the year of the death of king Ahaz there was this oracle:

29 You must not rejoice, all you Philistines,
    that the rod that struck you is broken,
for a viper will come forth from the root of the snake,
    and its fruit will be a flying serpent.
30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze,
    and the needy will lie down in security;
but I will cause your root to die in famine,
    and it will kill your remnant.
31 Wail, gate! Cry, city!
    Melt,[r] Philistia, all of you!
For smoke is coming from the north,
    and there is no straggler in his ranks.

32 And what will one answer the messengers of the nation?

That Yahweh has founded Zion,
    and the needy of his people will take refuge in it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:2 That is, the nations
  2. Isaiah 14:3 Literally “was worked by you”
  3. Isaiah 14:4 The meaning of the word is uncertain; others translate it as “fury,” “hostility,” or even “golden city”
  4. Isaiah 14:6 Literally “persecution without withholding”
  5. Isaiah 14:9 Literally “your entrance”
  6. Isaiah 14:11 Hebrew “maggot”
  7. Isaiah 14:11 Hebrew “worm”
  8. Isaiah 14:13 Or “of the north”
  9. Isaiah 14:14 Hebrew “cloud”
  10. Isaiah 14:20 Hebrew “descendant”
  11. Isaiah 14:21 Or “fathers”
  12. Isaiah 14:22 Literally “declaration of”
  13. Isaiah 14:22 Literally “declaration of”
  14. Isaiah 14:23 Literally “declaration of”
  15. Isaiah 14:24 The oath formula begins literally “If not”
  16. Isaiah 14:25 That is, their
  17. Isaiah 14:25 Hebrew “shoulder”
  18. Isaiah 14:31 With fear or despair

14 The Lord will have compassion(A) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose(B) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.(C)
Foreigners(D) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
Nations will take them
    and bring(E) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(F)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(G) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.(H)

On the day the Lord gives you relief(I) from your suffering and turmoil(J) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(K) you will take up this taunt(L) against the king of Babylon:(M)

How the oppressor(N) has come to an end!
    How his fury[a] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(O) of the wicked,(P)
    the scepter(Q) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(R)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(S) nations
    with relentless aggression.(T)
All the lands are at rest and at peace;(U)
    they break into singing.(V)
Even the junipers(W) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(X)

The realm of the dead(Y) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(Z) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders(AA) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.(AB)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”(AC)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(AD)
    along with the noise of your harps;(AE)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms(AF) cover you.(AG)

12 How you have fallen(AH) from heaven,
    morning star,(AI) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(AJ)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(AK) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(AL)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(AM)
    on the utmost heights(AN) of Mount Zaphon.[b]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(AO)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(AP)
15 But you are brought down(AQ) to the realm of the dead,(AR)
    to the depths(AS) of the pit.(AT)

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

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(AZ)
19 But you are cast out(BA) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(BB)
    with those pierced by the sword,(BC)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(BD)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20     you will not join them in burial,(BE)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring(BF) of the wicked(BG)
    never be mentioned(BH) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(BI)
    for the sins of their ancestors;(BJ)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up(BK) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(BL) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,(BM)
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(BN)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(BO)
    declares the Lord Almighty.(BP)

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(BQ)

“Surely, as I have planned,(BR) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(BS)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(BT) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(BU) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(BV)

26 This is the plan(BW) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand(BX) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(BY) and who can thwart him?
    His hand(BZ) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(CA)

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(CB) came in the year(CC) King Ahaz(CD) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(CE)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(CF)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(CG)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(CH) will lie down in safety.(CI)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(CJ)
    it will slay(CK) your survivors.(CL)

31 Wail,(CM) you gate!(CN) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(CO)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(CP)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(CQ)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(CR) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(CS)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.