19 Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.(A)

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19 The small and the great are there,(A)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

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Everything is the same for everyone:(A) there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked,(B) for the good and the bad,[a] for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live(C)—after that they go to the dead.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 LXX, Aq, Syr, Vg; MT omits and the bad

All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(A)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(B) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(C) and afterward they join the dead.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.

Downfall of the King of Babylon

When the Lord gives you rest from your pain,(A) torment, and the hard labor(B) you were forced to do, you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon(C) and say:

How the oppressor has quieted down,
and how the raging[a] has become quiet!
The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers.
It struck the peoples in anger
with unceasing blows.
It subdued the nations in rage
with relentless persecution.
All the earth is calm and at rest;
people shout with a ringing cry.
Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon
rejoice over you:(D)
“Since you have been laid low,
no woodcutter has come against us.”

Sheol below is eager to greet your coming.
He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you—
all the rulers[b] of the earth.
He makes all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10 They all respond to you, saying:
“You too have become as weak as we are;
you have become like us!
11 Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol,
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are spread out under you,
and worms cover you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 DSS; Hb uncertain
  2. Isaiah 14:9 Lit rams

On the day the Lord gives you relief(A) from your suffering and turmoil(B) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(C) you will take up this taunt(D) against the king of Babylon:(E)

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.