Isaiah 14:4

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ¹ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ²  has ceased!

Isaiah 14:12

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ³ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ⁴  of the nations! ⁵ 

[14:4]  ¹ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ² 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.

[14:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ⁵ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.