Add parallel Print Page Options

Restoration of Judah

14 But the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel and will settle them in their own land, and aliens will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.(A) And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess the nations[a] 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.(B)

Downfall of the King of Babylon

When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,(C) you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has ceased!
    How his insolence[b] has ceased!(D)
The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
    the scepter of rulers,
that struck down the peoples in wrath
    with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
    with unrelenting persecution.(E)
The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
    they break forth into singing.
The cypresses exult over you,
    the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
“Since you were laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(F)
Sheol 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.(G)
10 All of them will speak
    and say to you:
“You, too, have become as weak as we!
    You have become like us!”
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
    and the sound of your harps;
maggots are the bed beneath you,
    and worms are your covering.(H)

12 How you are fallen from heaven,
    O Morning Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
    you who laid the nations low!(I)
13 You said to yourself,
    “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;[c](J)
14 I will ascend to the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(K)
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
    to the depths of the Pit.(L)
16 Those who see you will stare at you
    and ponder over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
    who shook kingdoms,(M)
17 who made the world like a desert
    and overthrew its cities,
    who would not let his prisoners go home?”(N)
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
    each in his own tomb,
19 but you are cast out, away from your grave,
    like loathsome carrion,[d]
clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,
    who go down to the stones of the Pit
    like a corpse trampled underfoot.(O)
20 You 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!(P)
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
    because of the guilt of their father.[e]
Let them never rise to possess the earth
    or cover the face of the world with cities.(Q)

22 I 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.(R) 23 And I will make it a possession of the screech owl[f] and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.(S)

An Oracle concerning Assyria

24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
As I have designed,
    so shall it be,
and as I have planned,
    so shall it come to pass:(T)
25 I 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.(U)
26 This is the plan that is planned
    concerning the whole earth,
and this is the hand that is stretched out
    over all the nations.(V)
27 For the Lord of hosts has planned,
    and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
    and who will turn it back?(W)

An Oracle concerning Philistia

28 In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came:(X)

29 Do 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.(Y)
30 In my pastures the poor[g] will graze
    and the needy lie down in safety,
but I will make your root die of famine,
    and your remnant I[h] will kill.(Z)
31 Wail, 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.(AA)

32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
“The Lord has founded Zion,
    and the needy among his people
    will find refuge in her.”(AB)

Footnotes

  1. 14.2 Heb them
  2. 14.4 Q ms Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of MT uncertain
  3. 14.13 Or assembly in the far north
  4. 14.19 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like a loathed branch
  5. 14.21 Syr Compare Gk: Heb fathers
  6. 14.23 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  7. 14.30 Heb mss: MT the firstborn of the poor
  8. 14.30 Q ms Vg: MT he

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.