< Isaiah 14 >

1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make Israel his special people, and will put them in their land; and the man from a strange country will take his place among them and be joined to the family of Jacob.
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people will take them with them to their place: and the children of Israel will give them a heritage in the Lord's land as men-servants and women-servants, making them prisoners whose prisoners they were; and they will be rulers over their masters.
And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
3 And it will be, in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard yoke which they had put on you,
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,
4 That you will take up this bitter song against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the cruel overseer come to an end! He who was lifted up in pride is cut off;
that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5 The stick of the evil-doers, the rod of the rulers, is broken by the Lord;
The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers;
6 He whose rod was on the peoples with an unending wrath, ruling the nations in passion, with an uncontrolled rule.
that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.
7 All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song.
The whole earth is at rest, [and] is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8 Even the trees of the wood are glad over you, the trees of Lebanon, saying, From the time of your fall no wood-cutter has come up against us with an axe.
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, [and] the cedars of Lebanon, [saying], Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9 The underworld is moved at your coming: the shades of the dead are awake before you, even the strong ones of the earth; all the kings of the world have got up from their seats. (Sheol h7585)
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. (Sheol h7585)
10 They all make answer and say to you, Have you become feeble like us? have you been made even as we are?
All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Your pride has gone down into the underworld, and the noise of your instruments of music; the worms are under you, and your body is covered with them. (Sheol h7585)
Thy pomp is brought down to hell, [and] the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee. (Sheol h7585)
12 How great is your fall from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the earth, low among the dead bodies!
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst lay low the nations!
13 For you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will make my seat higher than the stars of God; I will take my place on the mountain of the meeting-place of the gods, in the inmost parts of the north.
And thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north:
14 I will go higher than the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
15 But you will come down to the underworld, even to its inmost parts. (Sheol h7585)
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the uttermost parts of the pit. (Sheol h7585)
16 Those who see you will be looking on you with care, they will be in deep thought, saying, Is this the troubler of the earth, the shaker of kingdoms?
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, they shall consider thee, [saying], Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 Who made the world a waste, overturning its towns; who did not let his prisoners loose from the prison-house.
that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
18 All the kings of the earth are at rest in glory, every man in his house,
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But you, like a birth before its time, are stretched out with no resting-place in the earth; clothed with the bodies of the dead who have been put to the sword, who go down to the lowest parts of the underworld; a dead body, crushed under foot.
But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under foot.
20 As for your fathers, you will not be united with them in their resting-place, because you have been the cause of destruction to your land, and of death to your people; the seed of the evil-doer will have no place in the memory of man.
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.
21 Make ready a place of death for his children, because of the evil-doing of their father; so that they may not come up and take the earth for their heritage, covering the face of the world with waste places.
Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.
22 For I will come up against them, says the Lord of armies, cutting off from Babylon name and offspring, son and son's son, says the Lord.
And I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son’s son, saith the LORD.
23 And I will make you a heritage for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will go through it with the brush of destruction, says the Lord of armies.
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
24 The Lord has taken an oath, saying, My design will certainly come about, and my purpose will be effected:
The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
25 To let the Assyrian be broken in my land, and crushed under foot on my mountains: there will his yoke be taken away from them, and his rule over them come to an end.
that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder.
26 This is the purpose for all the earth: and this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
27 For it is the purpose of the Lord of armies, and who will make it of no effect? when his hand is stretched out, by whom may it be turned back?
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
28 In the year of the death of King Ahaz this word came to the prophet:
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
29 Be not glad, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod which was on you is broken: for out of the snake's root will come a poison-snake, and its fruit will be a winged poison-snake.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
30 And the poorest of the land will have food, and those in need will be given a safe resting-place: but your seed will come to an end for need of food, and the rest of you will be put to the sword.
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.
31 Send out a cry, O door! Make sounds of sorrow, O town! All your land has come to nothing, O Philistia; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and everyone keeps his place in the line.
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and none standeth aloof at his appointed times.
32 What answer, then, will my people give to the representatives of the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and she will be a safe place for the poor of his people.
What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.

< Isaiah 14 >