Isaiah 14
1 FOR the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
[But] Yahweh will act mercifully toward the Israeli people; he will choose [the people of] Israel [to be his people again], and he will allow them to [return here and] live in their own land again. Then people from [many] other countries will come here and unite with the Israeli people.
2 And the people 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 handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
People of other nations will help them to return to their [own] land, and those who come from other countries will (work for/become the servants of) the Israeli people. Those who captured people of Israel will be captured by Israeli soldiers, and the people of Israel will rule over the people who [previously] oppressed them.
3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
Some day Yahweh will free you [Israeli people] from suffering and trouble and from being afraid, and from being cruelly treated as slaves [MTY].
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
When that happens, you will make fun of the King of Babylon by saying this: “You treated us cruelly, but that has ended! Your insolently causing others to suffer is finished!
5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
You evil ruler, Yahweh will get rid of your power, and you will oppress people no longer!
6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
You attacked people many times because you were very angry with them, and you subdued/conquered [other] nations by causing them to suffer endlessly.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
[But soon] everything will be quiet and peaceful on the earth. Everyone [PRS] will sing [again]!
8 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.
[It will be as though] even the trees in the forests will joyfully sing this song, the cyprus/pine [trees] and the cedar [trees] in Lebanon will sing it: ‘You (have been overthrown/are no longer a ruler), and now no one comes to get rid of us [MET].’
9 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)
The dead people are [PRS] are eagerly waiting for you to come to the place where they are. The spirits of the world leaders will be delighted to welcome you; those who were kings of many nations [before they died] will stand up [to welcome you]. (Sheol h7585)
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
They will all shout to you [together], ‘Now you are as weak as we are!’
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. (Sheol h7585)
You were very proud and powerful, [but all] that ended when you died, along with the sounds of harps [being played in your palace]. [Now in your grave] maggots will be under you [like a sheet] [MET], and worms will cover you [like a blanket] [MET]. (Sheol h7585)
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
You have [disappeared from the earth like] [MET] a star which has fallen from the sky; you [were very well-known] [like] [MET] the morning star [which is seen by everyone]; you destroyed [many] nations, but now you have been destroyed.
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
You [proudly] said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven, to my throne above God’s stars. I will rule on the mountain where [the gods] gather together, far in the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
I will ascend above the clouds and become like the highest/greatest god!’
[But you were not able to do that]; instead, you were carried down to your grave, and you went to the place where the dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
The [other dead] people there stare at you; they wonder what happened to you. [They say], ‘Is this the man who caused the earth to shake and caused the [people in many] kingdoms to tremble?
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Is this the man who [tried to] cause the world to become a desert, who conquered its cities and did not allow the people whom he captured to return to their homes?’
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
All the kings of the earth [who have died] were greatly honored when they were buried,
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
but your [corpse will] not be buried; it will be thrown away like [SIM] a worthless branch [of a tree]. Your corpse will be under a heap of other corpses of soldiers that were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and [their corpses] were not buried; you will be with those who have gone down to the stony ground in a big pit.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
Your [corpse] will not be buried because you have destroyed your nation and have caused your people to be killed. The descendants of wicked people [like you] will never be honored again.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
[People will say], ‘Slaughter this man’s children because of the sins that their ancestors committed! Do not allow them to become rulers and conquer [all the nations in] the world, and fill the world with the cities [that they rule]!’”
22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.
[This is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says: “I [myself] will cause Babylon to be conquered. I will get rid of Babylon and its people and their descendants.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
I will cause Babylon to be a place where owls live, a place full of swamps; I will get rid of it completely [as though] [MET] I were sweeping it with a broom. [That is what I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say.”
24 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:
The Commander of the armies of angels has [also] solemnly promised this: “The things that I have planned will surely happen [DOU].
25 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 shoulders.
[When the army of] Assyria is in my land [of Israel], I will crush them. [It will be as though] I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be the slaves [MET] of the people of Assyria; [it will be as though] [MET] I will take away the burdens that are on their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
I have a plan for everyone on the earth, a plan to show my power [MTY] to punish all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, have spoken, and no one can [RHQ] change my mind. When I raise my fist [to strike Assyria], no one [RHQ] will be able to stop me [from doing that].”
28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
I received this message [from Yahweh] during the year that King Ahaz died:
29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
You people of Philistia, do not rejoice that the enemy army [MET] that attacked you has been defeated and that their king is dead. He was [as dangerous as] [MET] a snake, but there will be another king, who will be more [dangerous] than a cobra; he will be [like] [MET] a quick-moving poisonous snake.
30 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 he shall slay thy remnant.
Those of my people who are very poor will take care of their flocks of sheep, and the needy people will lie down safely, but I will cause you people [of Philistia] who are still alive [DOU] to die from famine.
31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
[So], you people of Philistia, wail at the gates of your cities! You should be extremely afraid, because [a very powerful army] will come from the north [to attack you]; [their chariots will stir up the dust like] [MET] a cloud of smoke. Each of their soldiers is ready to fight.
32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
If messengers [from Philistia] come to us [Israeli people], this is what we must [RHQ] tell them: “Yahweh has established Jerusalem, [not Philistia], and his people who are oppressed will be safe inside [the walls of] Jerusalem.”
