Isaiah 14:25

25 I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him under foot; his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden from their shoulders.

Isaiah 14:25 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 14:25

That I will break the Assyrian in my land
This was his thought, counsel, purpose, and decree; which must be understood either of the king of Babylon, as before, called the Assyrian; as the king of Babylon seems to be called the king of Assyria in ( 2 Chronicles 33:11 ) ( Nehemiah 9:32 ) , but then his destruction was not in the land of Israel, or on the mountains of Judea, as is here predicted; or rather, therefore, this is a new prophecy, or a return to what is foretold in the tenth chapter ( Isaiah 10:1-34 ) concerning Sennacherib and his army, and the destruction of it; which, coming to pass long before the destruction of Babylon, is mentioned for the comfort of God's people, as a pledge and assurance of the latter: though some think that it was now past, and is observed to strengthen the faith of the Jews, with respect to the preceding prediction, and read the words thus, as "in breaking the Assyrian in my land"; and then the sense is, what I have thought, purposed, and sworn to, to come to pass, concerning the fall of Babylon, shall as surely be accomplished, and you may depend upon it, as I have broke the Assyrian army in my land before your eyes, of which ye yourselves are witnesses. Some think that Gog and Magog are intended by the Assyrian, of whom it is predicted that they should fall upon the mountains of Israel, as here, ( Ezekiel 39:4 ) it may be, that as the king of Babylon was a type of the Romish antichrist in the preceding prophecy, the Assyrian here may represent the Turks, who now possess the land of Israel, and shall be destroyed: and upon my mountains tread him under foot;
the mountainous part of Judea, particularly the mountains which were round about Jerusalem, where the Assyrian army under Sennacherib was, when besieged by him, and where they fell and were trodden under foot; and now the Lord may be said to break the Assyrian troops, and trample upon them, because it was not only done according to his will, but without the use of men, by an angel that was sent immediately from heaven, and destroyed the whole host, ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) : there shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart
from off their shoulders:
meaning, that hereby the siege of Jerusalem would be broken up, and the city rid of such a troublesome enemy; and the parts adjacent eased of the burden of having such a numerous army quartered upon them; and the whole land freed from the subjection of this monarch, and from paying tribute to him. The same is said in ( Isaiah 10:27 ) (See Gill on Isaiah 10:27). This, in the Talmud F13, is interpreted of Sennacherib.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 2.

Isaiah 14:25 In-Context

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, says the Lord of hosts.
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn: As I have designed, so shall it be; and as I have planned, so shall it come to pass:
25 I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him under foot; his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden from their shoulders.
26 This is the plan that is planned concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.