Isaiah 14:26-28

The Voice

²⁶    Because I, God of earth and heaven,
        have devised a plan for the whole earth;
    I have reached out and am ready to effect change among the nations.

²⁷And who can argue with that or stand in God’s way?
The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has determined
That this is how it should be.
And so it will be.

While most of Isaiah’s messages are directed to the people of Judah, he pronounces other oracles against neighboring nations and empires. This is typical of most prophets. Chapters 13–23 contain a number of oracles (or prophetic messages) addressed to the nations and cities such as Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Babylon, and others. Each message is distinct, for the sins of their citizens and the threats they face are unique to them. Still each message contains an overriding, dominant claim: God is sovereign over all the earth; and although He has a special relationship with Israel and Judah, all the nations must ultimately bow before God.

²⁸When our king, Ahaz, died having endured and survived Assyria’s attacks against us, the prophet received this message.

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