Isaiah 14
1 For Yhwh 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 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.
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 Yhwh for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
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.
3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Yhwh shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
At that time the Lord will give you relief from your pain and trouble, and from the hard labor you were forced to do.
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
You will mock the king of Babylon, saying, “How your oppressive rule has been ended, and your insolence stopped!
5 Yhwh hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the rulers' scepter.
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 kept on furiously hitting foreign peoples without stopping, and aggressively ruled nations with unrestrained persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Now the whole earth rests peacefully, and everyone starts celebrating!
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.
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!’
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)
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)
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 speak up and tell you, ‘So you too are as weak as we are—you've become just like us!
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)
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)
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!
Morning star, son of the dawn, how you have fallen from heaven! Destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground!
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 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.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
I will ascend to the high places above the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you are dragged down to the grave, into the depths of the pit. (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;
Those who see you will stare at you, examining you closely, asking, ‘Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms 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 one who turned the world into a desert, destroyed cities, and never let his prisoners return home?’
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
All the other kings of the nations lie in splendor in their great mausoleums.
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 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—
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.
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.
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.
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.
22 For I will rise up against them, saith Yhwh of Armies, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith Yhwh.
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.
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 Yhwh of Armies.
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.”
24 Yhwh of Armies hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: It will be as I have planned. It will happen as I have decided.
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.
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.
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.
This is the plan I have made regarding the whole earth; my hand stretches out to control all the nations.
27 For Yhwh of Armies hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
The Lord Almighty has made his plan, and who will block it? His hand stretches out, and who will push back against it?
28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
The following message came in the year 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? that Yhwh hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
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.”
