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] 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 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.
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 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,
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 hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor 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 Ceased hath the golden one. Broken hath Jehovah the staff of the wicked, The sceptre of rulers.
You evil ruler, Yahweh will get rid of your power, and you will oppress people no longer!
6 He who is smiting peoples in wrath, A smiting without intermission, He who is ruling in anger nations, Pursuing without restraint!
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 At rest — quiet hath been all the earth, They have broken forth [into] singing.
[But soon] everything will be quiet and peaceful on the earth. Everyone [PRS] will sing [again]!
8 Even firs have rejoiced over thee, Cedars of Lebanon — [saying]: Since thou hast lain down, The hewer cometh not 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 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)
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 of them answer and say unto thee, Even thou hast become weak like us! Unto us thou hast become like!
They will all shout to you [together], ‘Now you are as weak as we are!’
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)
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 hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of 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 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 [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 go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to 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 Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking 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 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 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 kings of nations — all of them, Have lain down in honour, each in his house,
All the kings of the earth [who have died] were greatly honored when they were buried,
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 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 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.
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 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.
[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 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.
[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 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 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 Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts, saying, 'As I thought — so hath it not been? And as I counselled — it standeth;
The Commander of the armies of angels has [also] solemnly promised this: “The things that I have planned will surely happen [DOU].
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.
[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 counsel that is counselled for all the earth, And this [is] the hand that is stretched out for 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 Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, And who doth make void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who doth 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 of the death of king Ahaz was this burden:
I received this message [from Yahweh] during the year that 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.
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 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.
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, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
[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 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!'
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.”
