Isaiah 14

¹It is niy that the tyme therof come, and the daies therof schulen not be maad fer; for whi the Lord schal haue merci of Jacob, and he schal chese yit of Israel, and schal make them for to reste on her lond; a comelyng schal be ioyned to them, and schal cleue to the house of Jacob.

²And puplis schulen holde hem, and schulen brynge hem in to her place. And the hous of Israel schal haue hem in possessioun in to seruauntis and handmaidis on the lond of the Lord; and thei schulen take tho men that token hem, and thei schulen make suget her wrongful axeris.

³And it schal be in that dai, whanne God schal yyue to thee reste of thi trauel, and of thi shakyng, and of hard seruage, in which thou seruedist bifore,

⁴thou schalt take this parable ayens the kyng of Babiloyne, and thou schalt sei, Hou ceesside the wrongful axere, restide tribute?

⁵The Lord hath al to-broke the staf of wickid men, the yerde of lordis,

⁶that beet puplis in indignacioun, with vncurable wounde, that sugetide folkis in woodnesse, that pursuede cruely.

⁷Ech lond restide, and was stille; it was ioiful, and made ful out ioie.

⁸Also fir trees and cedris of the Liban weren glad on thee; sithen thou sleptist, noon stieth that kittith vs doun.

⁹Helle vndur thee is disturblid for the meeting of thi comyng; he schal reise giauntis to thee; alle the princes of erthe han rise fro her seetis, alle the princes of naciouns.

¹⁰Alle thei schulen answere, and thei shulen seie to thee, And thou art woundid as and we, thou art maad lijk vs.

¹¹Thi pride is drawun doun to hellis, thi deed careyn felle doun; a mouyte schal be strewyd vndur thee, and thin hilyng schal be wormes.

¹²A! Lucifer, that risidist eerli, hou feldist thou doun fro heuene; thou that woundist folkis, feldist doun togidere in to erthe.

¹³Which seidist in thin herte, Y schal stie in to heuene, Y schal enhaunse my seete aboue the staris of heuene; Y schal sitte in the hil of testament, in the sidis of the north.

¹⁴Y schal stie on the hiynesse of cloudis; Y schal be lijk the hiyeste.

¹⁵Netheles thou schalt be drawun doun to helle, in to the depthe of the lake.

¹⁶Thei that schulen se thee, schulen be bowid doun to thee, and schulen biholde thee. Whether this is the man, that disturblid erthe, that schook togidere rewmes?

¹⁷that settide the world desert, and distried the citees therof, and openyde not the prisoun to the boundun men of hym?

¹⁸Alle the kyngis of hethene men, alle slepten in glorie, a man in his hous.

¹⁹But thou art cast out of thi sepulcre, as an vnprofitable stok, as defoulid with rot; and wlappid with hem that ben slayn with swerd, and yeden doun to the foundement of the lake.

²⁰As a rotun careyn, thou schalt not haue felouschipe, nethir with hem in sepulture, for thou hast lost thi lond, thou hast slayn the puple; the seed of the worst men schal not be clepid with outen ende.

²¹Make ye redi hise sones to sleying, for the wickidnesse of her fadris; thei schulen not rise, nether thei schulen enherite the lond, nether thei schulen fille the face of the roundenesse of citees.

²²And Y schal rise on hem, seith the Lord of oostis, and Y schal leese the name of Babyloyne, and the relifs, and generacioun, and seed, seith the Lord.

²³And Y schal sette that Babiloyne in to possessioun of an irchoun, and in to mareisis of watris; and Y schal swepe it with a beesme, and Y schal stampe, seith the Lord of oostis.

²⁴The Lord of oostis swoor, seiynge, Whether it schal not be so, as Y gesside, and it schal bifalle so, as Y tretide in soule?

²⁵That Y al to-breke the kyng of Assiriens in my lond, and that Y defoule hym in myn hillis; and his yok schal be takun awei fro hem, and his birthun schal be takun awei fro the schuldur of hem.

²⁶This is the councel which Y thouyte on al the lond, and this is the hond stretchid forth on alle folkis.

²⁷For whi the Lord of oostis hath demed, and who mai make vnstidfaste? and his hond is stretchid forth, and who schal turne it awei?

²⁸The birthun of Filisteis. In the yeer wheryne kyng Achas diede, this birthun was maad.

²⁹Al thou Filistea, be not glad, for the yerde of thi smytere is maad lesse; for whi a cocatrice schal go out of the roote of an eddre, and his seed schal soupe up a brid.

³⁰And the firste gendrid of pore men schulen be fed, and pore men schulen reste feithfuli; and Y schal make thi throte to perisch in hungur, and Y schal sle thi relifs.

³¹Yelle, thou yate; cry, thou citee, al Filistea is cast doun; for whi smoke schal come fro the north, and noon is that schal ascape his oost.

³²And what schal be answerid to the messangeris of folk? for the Lord hath foundid Sion, and the pore men of his puple schulen hope in hym.

Isaiah 14

¹For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

²And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

³And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

⁴That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

⁵The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

⁶He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

⁷The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

⁸Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

⁹Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

¹⁰All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

¹¹Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

¹²How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

¹⁵Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

¹⁶They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

¹⁷That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

¹⁸All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

¹⁹But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

²⁰Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

²¹Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

²²For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

²³I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

²⁴The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

²⁵That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

²⁶This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

²⁷For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

²⁸In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

²⁹Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

³⁰And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

³¹Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

³²What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.