Isaiah 14:3-23

Other Translations of Isaiah 14:3-23

New International Version

³ On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you,

⁴ you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his furyDead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain. has ended! ⁵ The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, ⁶ which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. ⁷ All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. ⁸ Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, "Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down." ⁹ The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you- all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones- all those who were kings over the nations. ¹⁰ They will all respond, they will say to you, "You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us." ¹¹ All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. ¹² How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! ¹³ You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.Or "of the north" ; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." ¹⁵ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. ¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, ¹⁷ the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?" ¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. ¹⁹ But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, ²⁰ you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again. ²¹ Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities. ²² "I will rise up against them," declares the Lord Almighty. "I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants," declares the Lord. ²³ "I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord Almighty.

English Standard Version

³ When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

⁴ you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent furyDead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain ceased! ⁵ The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, ⁶ that 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; they break forth into singing. ⁸ The cypresses rejoice at you, the 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 All 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 you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! ¹³ You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;Or in the remote parts of Zaphon ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' ¹⁵ But 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 the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, ¹⁷ who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?' ¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;Hebrew house ¹⁹ but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed 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 the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named! ²¹ Prepare slaughter for his sons because 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 remnant, descendants and posterity," declares the Lord. ²³ "And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,Possibly porcupine, or owl and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.

The Message

³ When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure,

⁴ you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! ⁵ God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers ⁶ That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. ⁷ And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! ⁸ Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." ⁹ And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones ¹⁰ With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" ¹¹ This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. ¹² What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations! ¹³ You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. ¹⁴ I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!" ¹⁵ But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down - Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. ¹⁶ People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, ¹⁷ turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" ¹⁸ Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. ¹⁹ But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated - ²⁰ no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion! ²¹ Get a place ready to slaughter the sons of the wicked and wipe out their father's line. Unthinkable that they should own a square foot of land or desecrate the face of the world with their cities! ²² "I will confront them" - Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies - "and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren. ²³ " God's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Who Could Ever Cancel Such Plans?

New King James Version

³ It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve,

⁴ that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: "How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! ⁵ The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; ⁶ He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. ⁷ The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. ⁸ Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, 'Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.' ⁹ "Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. ¹⁰ They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? ¹¹ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.' ¹² "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! ¹³ For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' ¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. ¹⁶ "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, ¹⁷ Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?' ¹⁸ "All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; ¹⁹ But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. ²⁰ You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. ²¹ Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities." ²² "For I will rise up against them," says the Lord of hosts, "And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity," says the Lord. ²³ "I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the Lord of hosts.

New Living Translation

³ In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,

⁴ you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, "The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended. ⁵ For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule. ⁶ You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny. ⁷ But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again! ⁸ Even the trees of the forest- the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon- sing out this joyous song: 'Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!' ⁹ "In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you. ¹⁰ With one voice they all cry out, 'Now you are as weak as we are! ¹¹ Your might and power were buried with you. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.' ¹² "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. ¹³ For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. ¹⁴ I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' ¹⁵ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. ¹⁶ Everyone there will stare at you and ask, 'Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble? ¹⁷ Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world's greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?' ¹⁸ "The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb, ¹⁹ but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit. ²⁰ You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. The descendants of such an evil person will never again receive honor. ²¹ Kill this man's children! Let them die because of their father's sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities." ²² This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: "I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children's children," says the Lord . ²³ "I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!"