Isaiah 14
1 Because Jehovah loveth Jacob, And hath fixed again on Israel, And given them rest on their own land, And joined hath been the sojourner to them, And they have been admitted 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 peoples have taken them, And have brought them in unto their place, And the house of Israel have inherited them, On the land of Jehovah, For men-servants and for maid-servants, And they have been captors of their captors, And have ruled over their exactors.
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 hath come to pass, In the day of Jehovah's giving rest to thee, From thy grief, and from thy trouble, And from the sharp bondage, That hath been served upon thee,
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 hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor ceased,
You will mock the king of Babylon, saying, “How your oppressive rule has been ended, and your insolence stopped!
5 Ceased hath the golden one. Broken hath Jehovah the staff of the wicked, The sceptre of rulers.
The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the rulers' scepter.
6 He who is smiting peoples in wrath, A smiting without intermission, He who is ruling in anger nations, Pursuing without restraint!
You kept on furiously hitting foreign peoples without stopping, and aggressively ruled nations with unrestrained persecution.
7 At rest — quiet hath been all the earth, They have broken forth [into] singing.
Now the whole earth rests peacefully, and everyone starts celebrating!
8 Even firs have rejoiced over thee, Cedars of Lebanon — [saying]: Since thou hast lain down, The hewer cometh not 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 Sheol beneath hath been troubled at thee, To meet thy coming in, It is waking up for thee Rephaim, All chiefs ones of earth, It hath raised up from their thrones All kings of 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 of them answer and say unto thee, Even thou hast become weak like us! Unto us thou hast become like!
They will all speak up and tell you, ‘So you too are as weak as we are—you've become just like us!
11 Brought down to Sheol hath been thine excellency, The noise of thy psaltery, Under thee spread out hath been the worm, Yea, covering thee is the worm. (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 hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of 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 And thou saidst in thy heart: the heavens I go up, Above stars of God I raise my throne, And I sit in the mount of meeting 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 go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to 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 Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking 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 He hath made the world as a wilderness, And his cities he hath broken down, Of his bound ones he opened not the house.
Is this the one who turned the world into a desert, destroyed cities, and never let his prisoners return home?’
18 All kings of nations — all of them, Have lain down in honour, each in his house,
All the other kings of the nations lie in splendor in their great mausoleums.
19 And — thou hast been cast out of thy grave, As an abominable branch, raiment of the slain, Thrust through ones of the sword, Going down unto the sons of the pit, As a carcase trodden down.
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 art not united with them in burial, For thy land thou hast destroyed, Thy people thou hast slain, Not named to the age is the seed of evil doers.
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 ye for his sons slaughter; Because of the iniquity of their fathers, They rise not, nor have possessed the land, Nor filled 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 And I have risen up against them, (The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, ) And have cut off, in reference to Babylon, Name and remnant, and continuator and successor, The affirmation of Jehovah.
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 And have made it for a possession of a bittern, And ponds of waters, And daubed it with the mire of destruction, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!
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 Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts, saying, 'As I thought — so hath it not been? And as I counselled — it standeth;
The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: It will be as I have planned. It will happen as I have decided.
25 To break Asshur in My land, And on My mountains I tread him down, And turned from off them hath his yoke, Yea, his burden from off their shoulder turneth aside.
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 counsel that is counselled for all the earth, And this [is] the hand that is stretched out for 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 Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, And who doth make void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who doth 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 of the death of king Ahaz was this burden:
The following message came in the year King Ahaz died.
29 Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit [is] a flying saraph.
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 delighted have the first-born of the poor, And the needy in confidence lie down, And I have put to death with famine thy root, And thy remnant it slayeth.
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, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
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 And what doth one answer the messengers of a nation? 'That Jehovah hath founded Zion, And in it do the poor of His people trust!'
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.”
