Isaiah 14:4-23

4 you will take up this ¹taunt against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, ²the insolent fury^[a] ceased!

5 The LORD has broken the ³staff of the wicked, the ⁴scepter of rulers,

6 ⁵that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; ⁶they break forth into singing.

8 The cypresses rejoice at you, ⁷the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'

9 Sheol 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 ⁸All of them will answer and say to you: 'You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'

11 Your 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 ⁹you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, ¹⁰son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

13 You said in your heart, ¹¹'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God ¹²I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;^[b]

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

15 ¹³But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: 'Is this ¹⁴the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, ¹⁵who did not let his prisoners go home?'

18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;^[c]

19 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, ¹⁶clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.

20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people."May ¹⁷the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!

21 Prepare slaughter for his sons ¹⁸because 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 ¹⁹remnant, ²⁰descendants and posterity," declares the LORD.

23 "And I will make it a possession of the ²¹hedgehog,^[d] and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 14:4-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 14

This chapter contains prophecies of the restoration of the Jews, of the fall of the king of Babylon, and the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and of the ruin of Palestine. The moving cause of the restoration of the Jews, and their settlement in their own land, is the distinguishing mercy of God towards them; the accomplishment of it, proselytes joined unto them; the means, people of other nations, who should bring them into it, and whom they should possess and rule over; and the consequence of it, rest from sorrow, fear, and hard bondage, Isa 14:1-3 upon which they are introduced as taking up a proverb, or a triumphant song, concerning the king of Babylon, wondering at his fall, and ascribing it to the Lord, Isa 14:4,5 representing the inhabitants of the earth, and great men of it, as at peace, and rest, and rejoicing, who before were continually disturbed, and smitten by him, Isa 14:6-8 introducing the dead, and those in hell, meeting him, and welcoming him into their regions, with taunts and jeers; upbraiding him with his weakness, shame, and disgrace he was come into; putting him in mind of his former pomp and splendour, pride, arrogance, and haughtiness, Isa 14:9-15 spectators are brought in, as amazed at the low, mean, and despicable condition he was brought into, considering what he had done in the world, in kingdoms and cities, but was now denied a burial, when other kings lay in their pompous sepulchres, Isa 14:16-20 and then it is foretold that that whole royal family should be cut off, and Babylon, the metropolis of his kingdom, should be utterly destroyed, Isa 14:21-23 all which was settled and fixed by the purpose of God, which could not be made void, Isa 14:24-27 and next follows a prophecy of the destruction of Palestine; the date of the prophecy is given Isa 14:28 the inhabitants of Palestine are bid not to rejoice at the death of one of the kings of Judah, since another should arise, who would be fatal to them, Isa 14:29 and while the Jews would be in safety, they would be destroyed by famine and war, Isa 14:30,31 from all which it would appear, and it might be told the messengers of the nations, or any inquiring persons, that Zion is of the Lord's founding, and under his care and protection, and that his people have great reason and encouragement to trust in him, Isa 14:32.

Cross References

• 1. Micah 2:4; Habakkuk 2:6
• 2. [Jeremiah 51:13; Revelation 18:16]
• 3. [Isaiah 9:4]
• 4. [Isaiah 9:4]
• 5. [Jeremiah 50:23]
• 6. Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 55:12
• 7. See Isaiah 2:13
• 8. [Jeremiah 51:48]
• 9. [Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 34:3]
• 10. [Job 38:7]
• 11. Jeremiah 51:53; Amos 9:2; [Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15]
• 12. Daniel 5:22, 23; [2 Thessalonians 2:4]
• 13. Ezekiel 32:23; Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15
• 14. [Jeremiah 50:23]
• 15. [Jeremiah 50:33]
• 16. [Ezekiel 32:20]
• 17. Job 18:19; Psalms 21:10; Psalms 109:13
• 18. [Exodus 20:5; Matthew 23:35]
• 19. [Jeremiah 51:50, 62]
• 20. Job 18:19; [Genesis 21:23]
• 21. Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14

Footnotes

• [a]. Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain
• [b]. Or in the remote parts of Zaphon
• [c]. Hebrew house
• [d]. Possibly porcupine, or owl