Isaiah 14
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make choice of Israel, and replace them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined unto them, and they shall attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
Her time is drawing near, and her days will not be prolonged. For the Lord will take pity on Jacob, and he will still choose from Israel, and he will cause them to rest upon their own soil. And the new arrival will be joined to them, and he will adhere to the house of Jacob.
2 And nations shall take them, and bring them to their own place; but the house of Israel shall obtain possession of them in the land of the Lord for men-servants and for maid-servants; and they shall take captive their captors, and they shall rule over their oppressors.
And the people will take them, and lead them to their place. And the house of Israel will possess them, in the land of the Lord, as men and women servants. And they will take captive those who had taken them captive. And they will subjugate their oppressors.
3 And it shall come to pass on the day when the Lord will give thee rest from thy trouble, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
And this shall be in that day: when God will have given you rest from your labor, and from your oppression, and from the difficult servitude under which you served before,
4 That thou wilt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath ceased the oppressor! ceased the exactress of gold!
you will accept this parable against the king of Babylon, and you will say: “How is it that the oppressor has ceased, along with his tribute?
5 Broken hath the Lord the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of rulers;
The Lord has crushed the staff of the impious, the scepter of despots,
6 He who smote people in wrath, blows without intermission, he that ruled in anger nations, persecuting without restraint.
which struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, which subjugated the nations in fury, which persecuted with cruelty.
7 At rest, quiet is all the earth; men break forth into loud song.
All the earth has become quiet and still; it has been gladdened and has rejoiced.
8 Also, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, “Since thou wast laid low, no feller is come up against us.”
The evergreens, too, have rejoiced over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying: ‘Since you have slept, no one has ascended who would cut us down.’
9 The nether world from below is in motion concerning thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the departed for thee, all the chief ones of the earth; it hath caused to rise up from their thrones all the kings of nations. (Sheol h7585)
Hell below was stirred up to meet you at your advent; it has awakened the giants for you. All the leaders of the earth have risen from their thrones, all the leaders among the nations.” (Sheol h7585)
10 They all will commence and say unto thee, “Thou—thou also art become weak like us; similar unto us art thou become!”
Everyone will respond and will say to you: “Now you are wounded, just as we were; you have become like us.
11 Into the nether world is brought down thy pride, the clatter of thy psalteries: beneath thee is spread the worm, and thy cover is the moth. (Sheol h7585)
Your arrogance has been dragged down to Hell. Your body has fallen dead. The moths will be strewn beneath you, and the worms will be your covering. (Sheol h7585)
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O morning-star, son of the dawn! how art thou hewn down to the ground, crusher of nations!
How is it that you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who used to rise like the sun? How is it that you have fallen to the earth, you who wounded the peoples?
13 And thou—thou hadst said in thy heart, “Into heaven will I ascend, above the stars of God will I exalt my throne; and I will sit also upon the mount of the assembly, in the farthest end of the north;
And you said in your heart: ‘I will climb up to heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be enthroned upon the mountain of the covenant, on the northern parts.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be equal to the Most High.”
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.’
Yet truly, you shall be dragged down to Hell, into the depths of the pit. (Sheol h7585)
16 They that see thee will gaze at thee, will regard thee well, [saying, ] “Is this the man that caused the earth to tremble, that made kingdoms quake?
Those who see you, will lean toward you, and will gaze upon you, saying: ‘Could this be the man who disturbed the earth, who shook kingdoms,
17 That rendered the world as a wilderness, and pulled down its cities: never opened the prison-house of his prisoners?”
who made the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who would not even open a prison for his prisoners?’”
18 All the kings of nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own [eternal] house.
All the kings of the nations throughout the whole world have slept in glory, each man in his own house.
19 But thou—thou art cast out of thy grave like a discarded offshoot, as a garment of those that are slain, pierced by the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot.
But you have been rejected from your grave, like a useless polluted plant, and you have been bound up with those who were slain by the sword, and who descended to the bottom of the pit, like a rotting carcass.
20 Thou shalt not be united with them in burial; because thy land hast thou destroyed, thy people hast thou slain: to eternity shall not be called the seed of evil-doers.
You will not be associated with them, even in the grave. For you have destroyed your own land; you have slain your own people. The offspring of the wicked ones will not be called upon for eternity.
21 Prepare for his children the slaughter, for the iniquity of their fathers: that they may not rise, and possess the land, and fill the face of the world with enemies [of mankind].
Prepare his sons for the slaughter, according to the iniquity of their fathers. They will not rise up, nor inherit the earth, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22 And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will cut off from Babylon name, and remnant, and son, and grandson, saith the Lord.
But I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts. And I will perish the name of Babylon and its remnants: both the plant and its progeny, says the Lord.
23 I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
And I will appoint it as a possession for the hedgehog, with swamps of water. And I will sweep it out and wear it away with a brush, says the Lord of hosts.
24 Sworn hath the Lord of hosts, saying, Surely as I have purposed, so doth it come to pass; and as I have resolved, so shall it occur:
The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying: Surely, just as I have considered it, so shall it be, and in the same manner as I have drawn it through my mind,
25 To break Asshur in my own land, and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot; then shall his yoke be removed from off them, and his burden from off their shoulders.
so shall it occur. So shall I crush the Assyrian in my land, and I will trample him upon my mountains, and his yoke will be taken away from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulder.
26 This is the resolve that is resolved over all the earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
This is the plan that I have decided, concerning the entire earth, and this is the hand which is extended over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts hath resolved, and who shall frustrate it? and it is his hand which is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
For the Lord of hosts has decreed it, and who is able to weaken it? And his hand is extended, so who can avert it?
28 In the year king Achaz died was this prophecy [given].
In the year in which king Ahaz died, this burden was given:
29 Rejoice not, thou entire Palestine, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and its fruit shall be a flying dragon.
You should not rejoice, all you of Philistia, that the rod of him who struck you has been crushed. For from the root of the serpent will go forth a king snake, and his offspring will engulf that which flies.
30 And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall rest in safety: and I will kill with famine thy root, and men shall slay thy remnant.
And the firstborn of the poor will be pastured, and the poor will rest in faithfulness. And I will cause your root to pass away by famine, and I will put to death your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; thou art dissolved, O thou entire Palestine; for from the north a smoke is coming, and there is no one solitary among those that are bidden to come.
Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! All of Philistia has been prostrated. For a smoke will arrive from the north, and there is no one who will escape his army.
32 And what will each one of the messengers of the nation answer? That the Lord hath founded Zion; and that therein shall find protection the poor of his people.
And what will be the response to this news among the nations? It will be that the Lord has established Zion, and that the poor of his people will hope in him.
