Isaiah 14
1 [But] Yahweh will act mercifully toward the Israeli people; he will choose [the people of] Israel [to be his people again], and he will allow them to [return here and] live in their own land again. Then people from [many] other countries will come here and unite with the Israeli people.
And the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and they shall rest on their land: and the stranger shall be added to them, yes, shall be added to the house of Jacob.
2 People of other nations will help them to return to their [own] land, and those who come from other countries will (work for/become the servants of) the Israeli people. Those who captured people of Israel will be captured by Israeli soldiers, and the people of Israel will rule over the people who [previously] oppressed them.
And the Gentiles shall take them, and bring them into their place: and they shall inherit them, and they shall be multiplied upon the land for servants and handmaidens: and they that took them captives shall become captives [to them]; and they that had lordship over them shall be under [their] rule.
3 Some day Yahweh will free you [Israeli people] from suffering and trouble and from being afraid, and from being cruelly treated as slaves [MTY].
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall give you rest from your sorrow and vexation, [and from] your hard servitude wherein you did serve them.
4 When that happens, you will make fun of the King of Babylon by saying this: “You treated us cruelly, but that has ended! Your insolently causing others to suffer is finished!
And you shall take up this lamentation against the king of Babylon, How has the extortioner ceased, and the taskmaster ceased!
5 You evil ruler, Yahweh will get rid of your power, and you will oppress people no longer!
The Lord has broken the yoke of sinners, the yoke of princes.
6 You attacked people many times because you were very angry with them, and you subdued/conquered [other] nations by causing them to suffer endlessly.
Having struck a nation in wrath, with an incurable plague, striking a nation with a wrathful plague, which spared [them] not, he rested in quiet.
7 [But soon] everything will be quiet and peaceful on the earth. Everyone [PRS] will sing [again]!
All the earth cries aloud with joy:
8 [It will be as though] even the trees in the forests will joyfully sing this song, the cyprus/pine [trees] and the cedar [trees] in Lebanon will sing it: ‘You (have been overthrown/are no longer a ruler), and now no one comes to get rid of us [MET].’
the trees also of Libanus rejoice against you, and the cedar of Libanus, [saying], From the time that you have been laid low, no one has come up to cut us down.
9 The dead people are [PRS] are eagerly waiting for you to come to the place where they are. The spirits of the world leaders will be delighted to welcome you; those who were kings of many nations [before they died] will stand up [to welcome you]. (Sheol h7585)
Hell from beneath is provoked to meet you: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against you, they that have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. (Sheol h7585)
10 They will all shout to you [together], ‘Now you are as weak as we are!’
All shall answer and say to you, You also have been taken, even as we; and you are numbered among us.
11 You were very proud and powerful, [but all] that ended when you died, along with the sounds of harps [being played in your palace]. [Now in your grave] maggots will be under you [like a sheet] [MET], and worms will cover you [like a blanket] [MET]. (Sheol h7585)
Your glory has come down to Hades, and your great mirth: under you they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be your covering. (Sheol h7585)
12 You have [disappeared from the earth like] [MET] a star which has fallen from the sky; you [were very well-known] [like] [MET] the morning star [which is seen by everyone]; you destroyed [many] nations, but now you have been destroyed.
How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent [orders] to all the nations is crushed to the earth.
13 You [proudly] said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven, to my throne above God’s stars. I will rule on the mountain where [the gods] gather together, far in the north.
But you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven: I will sit on a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north:
14 I will ascend above the clouds and become like the highest/greatest god!’
I will go up above the clouds: I will be like the Most High.
15 [But you were not able to do that]; instead, you were carried down to your grave, and you went to the place where the dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
But now you shall go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth. (Sheol h7585)
16 The [other dead] people there stare at you; they wonder what happened to you. [They say], ‘Is this the man who caused the earth to shake and caused the [people in many] kingdoms to tremble?
They that see you shall wonder at you, and say, This is the man that troubled the earth, that made kings to shake;
17 Is this the man who [tried to] cause the world to become a desert, who conquered its cities and did not allow the people whom he captured to return to their homes?’
that made the whole world desolate, and destroyed its cities; he loosed not those who were in captivity.
18 All the kings of the earth [who have died] were greatly honored when they were buried,
All the kings of the nations lie in honor, [every] man in his house.
19 but your [corpse will] not be buried; it will be thrown away like [SIM] a worthless branch [of a tree]. Your corpse will be under a heap of other corpses of soldiers that were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and [their corpses] were not buried; you will be with those who have gone down to the stony ground in a big pit.
But you shall be cast forth on the mountains, as a loathed carcase, with many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave.
20 Your [corpse] will not be buried because you have destroyed your nation and have caused your people to be killed. The descendants of wicked people [like you] will never be honored again.
As a garment defiled with blood shall not be pure, so neither shall you be pure; because you have destroyed my land, and have slain my people: you shall not endure for ever, —[you] an evil seed.
21 [People will say], ‘Slaughter this man’s children because of the sins that their ancestors committed! Do not allow them to become rulers and conquer [all the nations in] the world, and fill the world with the cities [that they rule]!’”
Prepare your children to be slain for the sins of their father; that they arise not, and inherit the earth, nor fill the earth with wars.
22 [This is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says: “I [myself] will cause Babylon to be conquered. I will get rid of Babylon and its people and their descendants.
And I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and I will destroy their name, and remnant, and seed: thus says the Lord.
23 I will cause Babylon to be a place where owls live, a place full of swamps; I will get rid of it completely [as though] [MET] I were sweeping it with a broom. [That is what I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say.”
And I will make the region of Babylon desert, so that hedgehogs shall dwell [there], and it shall come to nothing: and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction.
24 The Commander of the armies of angels has [also] solemnly promised this: “The things that I have planned will surely happen [DOU].
Thus says the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so [the matter] shall remain:
25 [When the army of] Assyria is in my land [of Israel], I will crush them. [It will be as though] I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be the slaves [MET] of the people of Assyria; [it will be as though] [MET] I will take away the burdens that are on their shoulders.
[even] to destroy the Assyrians upon my land, and upon my mountains: and they shall be for trampling; and their yoke shall be taken away from them, and their glory shall be taken away from their shoulders.
26 I have a plan for everyone on the earth, a plan to show my power [MTY] to punish all the nations.
This is the purpose which the Lord has purposed upon the whole earth: and this the hand that is uplifted against all the nations.
27 [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, have spoken, and no one can [RHQ] change my mind. When I raise my fist [to strike Assyria], no one [RHQ] will be able to stop me [from doing that].”
For what the Holy God has purposed, who shall frustrate? and who shall turn back his uplifted hand?
28 I received this message [from Yahweh] during the year that King Ahaz died:
In the year in which king Achaz died this word came.
29 You people of Philistia, do not rejoice that the enemy army [MET] that attacked you has been defeated and that their king is dead. He was [as dangerous as] [MET] a snake, but there will be another king, who will be more [dangerous] than a cobra; he will be [like] [MET] a quick-moving poisonous snake.
Rejoice not, all you Philistines, because the yoke of him that struck you is broken: for out of the seed of the serpent shall come forth the young asps, and their young shall come forth flying serpents,
30 Those of my people who are very poor will take care of their flocks of sheep, and the needy people will lie down safely, but I will cause you people [of Philistia] who are still alive [DOU] to die from famine.
And the poor shall be fed by him, and poor men shall rest in peace: but he shall destroy your seed with hunger, and shall destroy your remnant.
31 [So], you people of Philistia, wail at the gates of your cities! You should be extremely afraid, because [a very powerful army] will come from the north [to attack you]; [their chariots will stir up the dust like] [MET] a cloud of smoke. Each of their soldiers is ready to fight.
Howl, you gates of cities; let the cities be troubled and cry, [even] all the Philistines: for smoke is coming from the north, and there is no [possibility] of living.
32 If messengers [from Philistia] come to us [Israeli people], this is what we must [RHQ] tell them: “Yahweh has established Jerusalem, [not Philistia], and his people who are oppressed will be safe inside [the walls of] Jerusalem.”
And what shall the kings of the nations answer? That the Lord has founded Sion, and by him the poor of the people shall be saved.
