< 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.
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.
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].
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!
5 You evil ruler, Yahweh will get rid of your power, and you will oppress people no longer!
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.
7 [But soon] everything will be quiet and peaceful on the earth. Everyone [PRS] will sing [again]!
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].’
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 )
10 They will all shout to you [together], ‘Now you are as weak as we are!’
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 )
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.
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.
14 I will ascend above the clouds and become like the highest/greatest god!’
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 )
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?
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?’
18 All the kings of the earth [who have died] were greatly honored when they were buried,
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.
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.
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]!’”
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.
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.”
24 The Commander of the armies of angels has [also] solemnly promised this: “The things that I have planned will surely happen [DOU].
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.
26 I have a plan for everyone on the earth, a plan to show my power [MTY] to punish 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].”
28 I received this message [from Yahweh] during the year that King Ahaz died:
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.
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.
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.
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.”
