Isaiah 14
1 But the Lord will be merciful to the descendants of Jacob. Once again he will choose Israel and he will bring them back to live once more in their own land. Foreigners will come and join them there, and they will unite with the descendants of Jacob.
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
2 Nations will go with them and escort them to their own land. The foreigners who stay in the Lord's land will serve the Israelites. In this way the captors become their captives, and they rule over their former oppressors.
The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.
3 At that time the Lord will give you relief from your pain and trouble, and from the hard labor you were forced to do.
On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,
4 You will mock the king of Babylon, saying, “How your oppressive rule has been ended, and your insolence stopped!
you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!
5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the rulers' scepter.
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
6 You kept on furiously hitting foreign peoples without stopping, and aggressively ruled nations with unrestrained persecution.
It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.
7 Now the whole earth rests peacefully, and everyone starts celebrating!
All the earth is at peace and at rest; they break out in song.
8 The cypress and cedar trees are glad you're gone. They sing, ‘Since you were cut down no woodcutters are coming to cut us down!’
Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon exult over you: “Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter comes against us.”
9 Those in the grave beneath are keen to meet you when you arrive. It wakes the spirits of the dead to welcome you, those of all the rulers of the earth. All the kings of the nations stand up from their thrones. (Sheol h7585)
Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you— all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. (Sheol h7585)
10 They will all speak up and tell you, ‘So you too are as weak as we are—you've become just like us!
They will all respond to you, saying, “You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!”
11 Your pride is now buried with you in the grave, along with the harp music you loved. Maggots are the bed you lie on, and worms are your blanket.’ (Sheol h7585)
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket. (Sheol h7585)
12 Morning star, son of the dawn, how you have fallen from heaven! Destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground!
How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.
13 You said to yourself: ‘I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mountain of meeting, the summit of the northern mountain.
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
14 I will ascend to the high places above the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. (Sheol h7585)
16 Those who see you will stare at you, examining you closely, asking, ‘Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble?
Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,
17 Is this the one who turned the world into a desert, destroyed cities, and never let his prisoners return home?’
who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”
18 All the other kings of the nations lie in splendor in their great mausoleums.
All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are thrown out of your grave like a branch nobody wants, buried underneath the bodies of those killed by the sword. You are like a corpse trodden underfoot. You are tossed into a pit full of rocks—
But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot.
20 you will not be buried like those other kings because you destroyed your own land and killed your own people. The descendants of those who do evil will never survive.
You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.
21 Get ready to execute his sons because of their fathers' sins. Don't let them take over the earth; don't let them fill the whole world with their cities.
Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.
22 I will come and attack them, declares the Lord Almighty. I will destroy everything: their reputation, those who remain, their children, and their descendants, says the Lord.
“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,”
23 I will make Babylon into a place for water birds and into marshland. I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction, declares the Lord Almighty.”
“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: It will be as I have planned. It will happen as I have decided.
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
25 I will smash the Assyrians when they are in my country Israel; I will trample them underfoot on my mountains. I will remove their yoke from my people, and take away the burdens they place on my people's shoulders.
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
26 This is the plan I have made regarding the whole earth; my hand stretches out to control all the nations.
This is the plan devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out over all the nations.
27 The Lord Almighty has made his plan, and who will block it? His hand stretches out, and who will push back against it?
The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
28 The following message came in the year King Ahaz died.
In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden was received:
29 All you Philistines, don't celebrate the fact that the rod that was hitting you is broken, because from the root of that snake will grow up a viper, its fruit will be a flying serpent.
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
30 The poor will have food, and the needy will live in safety, but you Philistines will die in a famine, and I will kill those who survive.
Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain.
31 Howl, gates! Weep, town! Melt away in feat, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke is approaching from the north—an army with no soldier hanging back.
Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
32 What will be the answer given to the messengers from that nation? “The Lord was the one who laid the foundations of Zion, and that's where his suffering people will be kept safe.”
What answer will be given to the envoys of that nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, where His afflicted people will find refuge.”
