Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
1 The Lord will once again be merciful to his people Israel and choose them as his own. He will let them live in their own land again, and foreigners will come and live there with them.
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For Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 Many nations will help the people of Israel return to the land which the Lord gave them, and there the nations will serve Israel as slaves. Those who once captured Israel will now be captured by Israel, and the people of Israel will rule over those who once oppressed them.
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The peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Yahweh for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
3 The Lord will give the people of Israel relief from their pain and suffering and from the hard work they were forced to do.
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It shall happen in the day that Yahweh shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,
4 When he does this, they are to mock the king of Babylon and say: "The cruel king has fallen! He will never oppress anyone again!
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that you shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5 The Lord has ended the power of the evil rulers
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Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers;
6 who angrily oppressed the peoples and never stopped persecuting the nations they had conquered.
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who struck the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, who ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.
7 Now at last the whole world enjoys rest and peace, and everyone sings for joy.
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The whole earth is at rest, [and] is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8 The cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king, because there is no one to cut them down, now that he is gone!
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Yes, the fir trees rejoice at you, [and] the cedars of Lebanon, [saying], Since you are laid low, no lumberjack is come up against us.
9 "The world of the dead is getting ready to welcome the king of Babylon. The ghosts of those who were powerful on earth are stirring about. The ghosts of kings are rising from their thrones.
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Sheol from beneath is moved for you to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, even all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 They all call out to him, "Now you are as weak as we are! You are one of us!
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All they shall answer and tell you, Are you also become weak as we? are you become like us?
11 You used to be honored with the music of harps, but now here you are in the world of the dead. You lie on a bed of maggots and are covered with a blanket of worms.' "
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Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, [and] the noise of your viols: the worm is spread under you, and worms cover you.
12 King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground.
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How you are fallen from heaven, day-star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
13 You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble.
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You said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on the mountain of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
14 You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.
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I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
15 But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.
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Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
16 The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?
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Those who see you shall gaze at you, they shall consider you, [saying], "Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;
17 Is this the man who destroyed cities and turned the world into a desert? Is this the man who never freed his prisoners or let them go home?"
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who made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities of it; who didn't let loose his prisoners to their home?"
18 All the kings of the earth lie in their magnificent tombs,
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All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.
19 but you have no tomb, and your corpse is thrown out to rot. It is covered by the bodies of soldiers killed in battle, thrown with them into a rocky pit, and trampled down.
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But you are cast forth 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; as a dead body trodden under foot.
20 Because you ruined your country and killed your own people, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive.
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You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named forever.
21 Let the slaughter begin! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.
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Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they not rise up, and possess the earth, and fill the surface of the world with cities.
22 The Lord Almighty says, "I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing - no children, no survivors at all. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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I will rise up against them, says Yahweh of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, says Yahweh.
23 I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken."
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I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says Yahweh of Hosts.
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn an oath: "What I have planned will happen. What I have determined to do will be done.
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Yahweh of Hosts has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
25 I will destroy the Assyrians in my land of Israel and trample them on my mountains. I will free my people from the Assyrian yoke and from the burdens they have had to bear.
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that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder.
26 This is my plan for the world, and my arm is stretched out to punish the nations."
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This is the purpose that is purposed on the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out on all the nations.
27 The Lord Almighty is determined to do this; he has stretched out his arm to punish, and no one can stop him.
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For Yahweh of Hosts has purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
28 This is a message that was proclaimed in the year that King Ahaz died.
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In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
29 People of Philistia, the rod that beat you is broken, but you have no reason to be glad. When one snake dies, a worse one comes in its place. A snake's egg hatches a flying dragon.
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Don't rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The Lord will be a shepherd to the poor of his people and will let them live in safety. But he will send a terrible famine on you Philistines, and it will not leave any of you alive.
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The firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant shall be killed.
31 Howl and cry for help, all you Philistine cities! Be terrified, all of you! A cloud of dust is coming from the north - it is an army with no cowards in its ranks.
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Howl, gate; cry, city; you are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 How shall we answer the messengers that come to us from Philistia? We will tell them that the Lord has established Zion and that his suffering people will find safety there.
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What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.