Isaiah 14:1-9

Context

14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob;¹ he will again choose Israel as his special people² and restore³ them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family⁴ of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land.⁵ They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety,⁶ and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:⁷

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility⁸ has ceased!

14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers.

14:6 It⁹ furiously struck down nations

with unceasing blows.¹⁰

It angrily ruled over nations,

oppressing them without restraint.¹¹

14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;

they break into song.

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise,¹²

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing,¹³

‘Since you fell asleep,¹⁴

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’¹⁵

14:9 Sheol¹⁶ below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses¹⁷ the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth;¹⁸

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones.¹⁹

[14:1] ¹tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.

[14:1] ²tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:1] ³tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[14:1] ⁴tn Heb “house.”

[14:2] ⁵tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”

[14:3] ⁶tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[14:4] ⁷tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4] ⁸tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[14:6] ⁹tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.

[14:6] ¹⁰tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:6] ¹¹tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:8] ¹²tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8] ¹³tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

[14:8] ¹⁴tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8] ¹⁵tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

[14:9] ¹⁶sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9] ¹⁷tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9] ¹⁸tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9] ¹⁹tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.