Verse

Isaiah chapter 14

English Standard Version

5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, 6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. 7The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. 8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ 9Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. 10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’ 11Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 16Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ 18All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. 20You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. "May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named! 21Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities." 22"I will rise up against them," declares the Lord of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity," declares the Lord. 23"And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.
New International Version

New American Standard Bible

4that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, 'How the oppressor has ceased, And how the onslaught has ceased! 5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers, 6Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution. 7The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break forth into shouts of joy. 8Even the juniper trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you have been laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’ 9Sheol below is excited about you, to meet you when you come; It stirs the spirits of the dead for you, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. 10They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have become weak as we, You have become like us. 11Your pride and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.’ 12How you have fallen from heaven, You star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who defeated the nations! 13But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. 16Those who see you will stare at you, They will closely examine you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’ 18All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb. 19But you have been hurled out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with those killed who have been pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse. 20You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have killed your people. May the descendants of evildoers never be mentioned.
Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

New King James Version

4that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! 5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; 6He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. 7The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. 8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, ‘Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.’ 9“Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. 10They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? 11Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’ 12“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. 16“Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ 18“All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; 19But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. 20You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. 21Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities.” 22“For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord. 23“I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy 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 it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: 25That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. 26This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 27For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?”

What does Isaiah chapter 14 mean?

Isaiah follows the oracle against Babylon from Chapter 13 with a brief explanation. He explains what this downfall will mean for the people of Judah and the house of Jacob. He then records a taunting song that future Israelites will sing to mock the fallen king of Babylon. This mockery is followed by oracles against Assyria and Philistia.

Following God's judgment against Babylon, the Lord will once more have compassion on His captive people. He will choose Israel again and return them to their own land. The Babylonian Gentiles who return with them will become their slaves, reversing Israel's status from captives to captors (Isaiah 14:1–3).

Once freed and returned to the land, Isaiah prophecies that the people of Judah will sing a mocking funeral dirge about the dead king of Babylon. Scholars call it a taunt-song. This song follows the normal pattern of a dirge for a fallen leader. But instead of praising the king's legacy, it celebrates his death and the end of his family line (Isaiah 14:4).

The song begins by noticing the peace and rest that have come on the earth. While alive, the king of Babylon was an unrelenting and cruel tyrant. Both humans and nature rejoice that he is gone (Isaiah 14:5–8).

In the afterlife of Sheol, the spirits of former kings, perhaps those this king defeated and killed, are roused to welcome the new king to the place of the dead. Instead of honoring him, they mock him for becoming as weak as they are. He is just another dead king with no pomp or ceremony sleeping on a bed of maggots with worms for his blanket (Isaiah 14:9–11).

The next segment of Isaiah's mocking song refers to the fallen king as "Day Star, son of Dawn." Many Christians see Satan's fall from heaven echoed in these words. The taunt song goes on to describe how short he has fallen from his ambition to reign in heaven like the Most High among the other gods. He has fallen so low that his body will not even be properly buried. Rather, his remains will be trampled on the ground, thrown in a pile of dead bodies tossed into a mass grave. Lastly, his sons will be slaughtered by his own people to keep his lineage from ever appearing again (Isaiah 14:12–23).

Next, Isaiah turns to the Assyrians of his own day. The oracle against them declares the Lord's decided purpose to break them in His land and break their oppression over His people. Nothing can interfere with the Lord's plans (Isaiah 14:24–27).

The chapter wraps up with an oracle against Philistia. The Philistine nation was settled along the Mediterranean coast west of the Dead Sea. Major cities included Ashdod and Gaza. Isaiah's prophecy against Philistia is thick with symbolism. He received it the year Judah's King Ahaz died, which was probably 715 BC. The Philistines had just scored a temporary victory over the Assyrians oppressing them in the region. Isaiah warns them not to rejoice, because an "adder will come from the serpent's root" and its "fruit will be a flying fire serpent." Most modern commentators read this as a prediction that the Assyrians will grow strong again and return to defeat Philistia. That's exactly what happened four years later in 711 BC. After a siege by Sargon II, Philistia became an official province of Assyria (Isaiah 14:28–31).

Chapter 14 ends with Isaiah's encouragement to the people of Judah that they can trust the Lord to protect them. He founded Zion, or Jerusalem, and the afflicted of His people can find refuge in her (Isaiah 14:32).
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