Isaiah 14:3-11

14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, ¹  and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ² 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ³  has ceased!

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

the scepter of rulers.

14:6 It ⁴  furiously struck down nations

with unceasing blows. ⁵ 

It angrily ruled over nations,

oppressing them without restraint. ⁶ 

14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;

they break into song.

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ⁷ 

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ⁸ 

‘Since you fell asleep, ⁹ 

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ¹⁰ 

14:9 Sheol ¹¹  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ¹²  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ¹³ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ¹⁴ 

14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:

‘You too have become weak like us!

You have become just like us!

14:11 Your splendor ¹⁵  has been brought down to Sheol,

as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. ¹⁶ 

You lie on a bed of maggots,

with a blanket of worms over you. ¹⁷ 

[14:3]  ¹ tn 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]  ² tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ³ tc 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]  ⁴ tn 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]  ⁵ tn 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8]  ⁸ tn 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

[14:9]  ¹¹ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ¹² tn 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ¹⁴ tn 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.

[14:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”

[14:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”