< Isaiah 14 >
1 For YHWH loves Jacob, And has fixed again on Israel, And given them rest on their own land, And the sojourner has been joined to them, And they have been admitted to the house of Jacob.
For Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob, And will yet choose Israel, And will give them rest upon their own soil, —And the sojourner, shall join himself, unto them, And they shall attach themselves unto the house of Jacob;
2 And peoples have taken them, And have brought them to their place, And the house of Israel has inherited them, On the land of YHWH, For menservants and for maidservants, And they have been captors of their captors, And have ruled over their exactors.
And peoples shall take them, and bring them into their own place, And the house of Israel shall possess themselves of them upon the soil of Yahweh for servants and for handmaids, —Thus shall they be taking captive their captors, And shall tread down their oppressors.
3 And it has come to pass, In the day of YHWH’s giving rest to you, From your grief, and from your trouble, And from the sharp bondage, That has been served on you,
And it shall come to pass, in the day when Yahweh shall give thee rest from thy toil, and from thy disquiet, —and from the hard service which had been laid upon thee,
4 That you have taken up this allegory Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, “How the exactor has ceased,
that thou shalt take up this taunt over the king of Babylon, and shalt say: —How hath ceased the oppressor! Ceased the exactress!
5 The golden one has ceased. YHWH has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers.
Broke hath Yahweh the staff of the lawless, —The sceptre of despots;
6 He who is striking peoples in wrath, A striking without intermission, He who is ruling nations in anger, Pursuing without restraint!
Smiting peoples in passion With stroke unremitting, —Trampling, in anger, on nations, Persecution unhindered.
7 At rest—all the earth has been quiet, They have broken forth [into] singing.
Quiet, at rest, the whole earth, —Men have burst into shouting!
8 Even firs have rejoiced over you, Cedars of Lebanon, [saying], Since you have lain down, The hewer does not come up against us.
Yea the pine-trees, make mirth at thee, Cedars of Lebanon, Since thou wast laid low, No feller hath come up against us!
9 Sheol beneath has been troubled at you, To meet your coming in, It is waking up Rephaim for you, All chief ones of earth, It has raised up from their thrones All kings of nations. (Sheol )
Hades beneath, is excited about thee To meet thine arrival, —Rousing up, for thee Shades, All the he-goats of earth! Maketh rise from their thrones, All the kings of the nations. (Sheol )
10 All of them answer and say to you, Even you have become weak like us! You have become like to us!
All of them, answer, and say to thee, —Thou too, made strengthless, as we! Unto us, art thou like!
11 Your excellence has been brought down to Sheol, The noise of your stringed instruments, The worm has been spread out under you, Indeed, the worm is covering you. (Sheol )
Brought down to Hades, thy pride. The hum of thy harps, Beneath thee, is spread out corruption, And, thy coverlet—worms! (Sheol )
12 How you have fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.
How hast thou fallen from heaven, O Shining One—Son of the Dawn! Hewn down to the earth, O crusher of nations!
13 And you said in your heart: I go up into the heavens, I raise my throne above the stars of God, And I sit on the mountain of meeting in the sides of the north.
Yet, thou, didst say in thy heart—The heavens, will I ascend, Above the stars of GOD, will I lift up my throne, —That I may sit in the Mount of Assembly In the Recesses of the North:
14 I go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to the Most High.
I will mount on the hills of the clouds, I will match the Most High!
15 Only—you are brought down to Sheol, To the sides of the pit. (Sheol )
Howbeit, to Hades, shalt thou be brought down, —To the Recesses of the Pit! (Sheol )
16 Your beholders look to you, they attend to you, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking kingdoms?
They who see thee, upon thee, will gaze, Upon thee, will thoughtfully muse, —Is this the man who startled the earth? Who terrified kingdoms?
17 He has made the world as a wilderness, And he has broken down his cities, He did not open the house of his bound ones.
Who made the world like a desert? And its cities, brake down? Its prisoners, he loosed not, Each one to his home?
18 All kings of nations—all of them, Have lain down in glory, each in his house,
All the kings of the nations—they all, are lying in state Each one in his crypt;
19 And you have been cast out of your grave, As an abominable branch, raiment of the slain, Thrust through ones of the sword, Going down to the sons of the pit, As a carcass trodden down.
But, thou, art flung out from thy grave, Like a scion detested, Beshrouded with slain, the pierced of the sword, Like a carcase trod underfoot:
20 You are not united with them in burial, For you have destroyed your land, You have slain your people, The seed of evildoers is not named for all time.
As for them who go down to the stones of the Pit, Thou shalt not be united with them in burial; For thy land, thou didst ruin Thy people, didst slay, —Unnamed to times age-abiding, Be the seed of the wicked!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons; Because of the iniquity of their fathers, They do not rise, nor have possessed the land, Nor filled the face of the world [with] cities.
Prepare—for his sons—shambles. For the iniquity of their fathers, —They shall not rise nor possess the earth, Nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22 And I have risen up against them,” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts, “And have cut off, in reference to Babylon, Name and remnant, and continuator and successor,” A declaration of YHWH.
I will rise. Then. against them, Declareth Yahweh of hosts, —And will cut off from Babylon Record and remnant And scion and seed, Declareth Yahweh.
23 “And have made it for a possession of a hedgehog, And ponds of waters, And swept it with the broom of destruction,” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts!
And will make her a possession for the bittern, And marshes of water, —And will sweep it with the besom of destruction, Declareth Yahweh of hosts.
24 YHWH of Hosts has sworn, saying, “As I thought—so has it not been? And as I counseled—it stands;
Yahweh of hosts, hath sworn, saying, —Surely as I intended, so, hath it come to pass, And as I purposed, the same, shall stand: —
25 To break Asshur in My land, And I tread him down on My mountain, And his yoke has turned from off them, Indeed, his burden turns aside from off their shoulder.
That I will break in pieces the Assyrian in my land, Yea upon my mountains, will I tread him underfoot, —So shall be removed from off them his yoke, And his burden, from off their shoulder shall be removed.
26 This [is] the counsel that is counseled for all the earth, And this [is] the hand that is stretched out for all the nations.
This, is the purpose that is purposed upon all the earth, —And, this, the hand outstretched over all the nations;
27 For YHWH of Hosts has purposed, And who makes void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who turns it back?”
For, Yahweh of hosts, hath purposed, —And who shall frustrate? And, his, is the hand outstretched, And who shall turn it back?
28 In the year of the death of King Ahaz was this burden:
In the year that King Ahaz died, came this oracle: —
29 “Do not rejoice, Philistia, all of you, That the rod of your striker has been broken, For from the root of a serpent comes out a viper, And its fruit [is] a flying, burning serpent.
Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, —For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.
30 And the firstborn of the poor have delighted, And the needy lie down in confidence, And I have put to death your root with famine, And it slays your remnant.
Then shall feed the firstborn of the poor, And the needy, in confidence lie down, —And I will kill with famine thy root, And thy residue, shall be slain.
31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city, You are melted, Philistia, all of you, For smoke has come from the north, And there is none alone in his set places.”
Howl—O gate, Make outcry—O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, —For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.
32 And what does one answer the messengers of a nation? That YHWH has founded Zion, And the poor of His people take refuge in it!
What, then, shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Yahweh, hath founded Zion, And in her, shall seek refuge the oppressed of his people.