Isaiah 14

¹For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make Israel his special people, and will put them in their land; and the man from a strange country will take his place among them and be joined to the family of Jacob.

²And the people will take them with them to their place: and the children of Israel will give them a heritage in the Lord's land as men-servants and women-servants, making them prisoners whose prisoners they were; and they will be rulers over their masters.

³And it will be, in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard yoke which they had put on you,

⁴That you will take up this bitter song against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the cruel overseer come to an end! He who was lifted up in pride is cut off;

⁵The stick of the evil-doers, the rod of the rulers, is broken by the Lord;

⁶He whose rod was on the peoples with an unending wrath, ruling the nations in passion, with an uncontrolled rule.

⁷All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song.

⁸Even the trees of the wood are glad over you, the trees of Lebanon, saying, From the time of your fall no wood-cutter has come up against us with an axe.

⁹The underworld is moved at your coming: the shades of the dead are awake before you, even the strong ones of the earth; all the kings of the world have got up from their seats.

¹⁰They all make answer and say to you, Have you become feeble like us? have you been made even as we are?

¹¹Your pride has gone down into the underworld, and the noise of your instruments of music; the worms are under you, and your body is covered with them.

¹²How great is your fall from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the earth, low among the dead bodies!

¹³For you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will make my seat higher than the stars of God; I will take my place on the mountain of the meeting-place of the gods, in the inmost parts of the north.

¹⁴I will go higher than the clouds; I will be like the Most High.

¹⁵But you will come down to the underworld, even to its inmost parts.

¹⁶Those who see you will be looking on you with care, they will be in deep thought, saying, Is this the troubler of the earth, the shaker of kingdoms?

¹⁷Who made the world a waste, overturning its towns; who did not let his prisoners loose from the prison-house.

¹⁸All the kings of the earth are at rest in glory, every man in his house,

¹⁹But you, like a birth before its time, are stretched out with no resting-place in the earth; clothed with the bodies of the dead who have been put to the sword, who go down to the lowest parts of the underworld; a dead body, crushed under foot.

²⁰As for your fathers, you will not be united with them in their resting-place, because you have been the cause of destruction to your land, and of death to your people; the seed of the evil-doer will have no place in the memory of man.

²¹Make ready a place of death for his children, because of the evil-doing of their father; so that they may not come up and take the earth for their heritage, covering the face of the world with waste places.

²²For I will come up against them, says the Lord of armies, cutting off from Babylon name and offspring, son and son's son, says the Lord.

²³And I will make you a heritage for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will go through it with the brush of destruction, says the Lord of armies.

²⁴The Lord has taken an oath, saying, My design will certainly come about, and my purpose will be effected:

²⁵To let the Assyrian be broken in my land, and crushed under foot on my mountains: there will his yoke be taken away from them, and his rule over them come to an end.

²⁶This is the purpose for all the earth: and this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

²⁷For it is the purpose of the Lord of armies, and who will make it of no effect? when his hand is stretched out, by whom may it be turned back?

²⁸In the year of the death of King Ahaz this word came to the prophet:

²⁹Be not glad, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod which was on you is broken: for out of the snake's root will come a poison-snake, and its fruit will be a winged poison-snake.

³⁰And the poorest of the land will have food, and those in need will be given a safe resting-place: but your seed will come to an end for need of food, and the rest of you will be put to the sword.

³¹Send out a cry, O door! Make sounds of sorrow, O town! All your land has come to nothing, O Philistia; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and everyone keeps his place in the line.

³²What answer, then, will my people give to the representatives of the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and she will be a safe place for the poor of his people.

Isaiah 14

¹For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land. The foreigner will join himself with them, and they will unite with the house of Jacob.

²The peoples will take them, and bring them to their place. The house of Israel will possess them in the Lord's land for servants and for handmaids. They will take as captives those whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

³It will happen in the day that the Lord will give you rest from your sorrow, from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,

⁴that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased! How the attacker has ceased!"

⁵The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,

⁶who struck the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, who ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.

⁷The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet. They break out song.

⁸Yes, the fir trees rejoice with you, with the cedars of Lebanon, saying, "Since you are humbled, no lumberjack has come up against us."

⁹Sheol from beneath has moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, even all the rulers of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

¹⁰They all will answer and ask you, "Have you also become as weak as we are? Have you become like us?"

¹¹Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, with the sound of your stringed instruments. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you.

¹²How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!

¹³You said in your heart, "I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north!

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!"

¹⁵Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.

¹⁶Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, "Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;

¹⁷who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities; who did not release his prisoners to their home?"

¹⁸All the kings of the nations, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.

¹⁹But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, who are thrust through with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot.

²⁰You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people. The seed of evildoers will not be named forever.

²¹Prepare for slaughter of his children because of the iniquity of their fathers, that they not rise up and possess the earth, and fill the surface of the world with cities.

²²"I will rise up against them," says the Lord of hosts, "and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son," says the Lord.

²³"I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the Lord of hosts.

²⁴The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

²⁵that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains. Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave their shoulders.

²⁶This is the plan that is determined for the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

²⁷For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

²⁸This burden was in the year that king Ahaz died.

²⁹Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent's root an adder will emerge, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent.

³⁰The firstborn of the poor will eat, and the needy will lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant will be killed.

³¹Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

³²What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people will take refuge.