Isaiah 14:13-14

14:13 You said to yourself, ¹ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ² 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ³ 

14:14 I will climb up to the tops ⁴  of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High!” ⁵ 

Psalms 89:44

89:44 You have brought to an end his splendor, ⁶ 

and have knocked ⁷  his throne to the ground.

Haggai 2:22

2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ⁸  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁹ 

[14:13]  ¹ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ² sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ³ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[14:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.

[14:14]  ⁵ sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.

[89:44]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text appears to read, “you have brought to an end from his splendor,” but the form מִטְּהָרוֹ (mittÿharo) should be slightly emended (the daghesh should be removed from the tet [ת]) and read simply “his splendor” (the initial mem [מ] is not the preposition, but a nominal prefix).

[89:44]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb מָגַר (magar) occurs only here and perhaps in Ezek 21:17.

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”