ⓘThis message for Israel separates two prophecies of...
This message for Israel separates two prophecies of judgment against Babylon (ch 13; 14:3–23).
1For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. 2The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.
The Fall of the King of Babylon
ⓘThis taunting song for the king of Babylon...
This taunting song for the king of Babylon is in the form of a funeral dirge (cp. Rev 18).
3On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced, 4you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has ceased,and how his fury† has ended!5The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,the scepter of the rulers.6It struck the peoples in angerwith unceasing blows;it subdued the nations in ragewith relentless persecution.ⓘThe land and people will be at rest...
The land and people will be at rest and quiet because the oppression has ended and the king of Babylon has died.
The whole creation will join in praise, able to sing again (see also 42:11; 44:23; cp. Rom 8:22).
7All the earth is at peace and at rest;they break out in song.8Even the cypresses†and cedarsof Lebanonexult over you:“Since you have been laid low,no woodcutter comes against us.”9Sheol beneath is eagerto meet you upon your arrival.It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth.It makes all the kings of the nationsrise from their thrones.10They will all respond to you, saying,“You too have become weak, as we are;you have become like us!”11Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol,along with the music of your harps.Maggots are your bedand worms your blanket.12How you have fallen from heaven,O day star,† son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the ground,O destroyer of nations.13You said in your heart:“I will ascend to the heavens;I will raise my throneabove the stars of God.I will sit on the mount of assembly,in the far reaches of the north.†14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;I will make myself like the Most High.”ⓘThis is a restatement of 14:9–11. The dead...
This is a restatement of 14:9–11. The dead spirits inhabiting the place of the dead will be startled and amazed that the Babylonian king, who ruled the world with his merciless might, has absolutely no power in death.
15But you will be brought down to Sheol,to the lowest depths of the Pit.16Those who see you will stare;they will ponder your fate:“Is this the man who shook the earthand made the kingdoms tremble,17who turned the world into a desertand destroyed its cities,who refused to let the captivesreturn to their homes?”ⓘThe absence of a proper burial was a...
The absence of a proper burial was a sign of great shame and dishonor. Unlike other kings, the king of Babylon would be disgraced in judgment.
18All the kings of the nations lie in state,each in his own tomb.†19But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch,covered by those slain with the sword,and dumped into a rocky pitlike a carcass trampled underfoot.20You will not join them in burial,since you have destroyed your landand slaughtered your own people.The offspring of the wickedwill never again be mentioned.21Prepare a place to slaughter his sonsfor the iniquities of their forefathers.They will never rise up to possess a landor cover the earth with their cities.ⓘIsaiah summarized the previous taunt (14:3–21) with this...
Isaiah summarized the previous taunt (14:3–21) with this prophecy, spoken in the first person. God decrees the destruction and desolation of Babylon.
22“I will rise up against them,”declares the LORDof Hosts.“I will cut off from Babylonher name and her remnant,her offspring and her posterity,”declares the LORD.23“I will make her a placefor owls and for swamplands;I will sweep her awaywith the broom of destruction,”declares the LORDof Hosts.
God’s Purpose against Assyria
ⓘThis prophecy resumes declaring judgment on Assyria (see...
This prophecy resumes declaring judgment on Assyria (see ch 10). The placement of this prophecy after the judgment against Babylon suggests close connections between Assyria and Babylon.
24The LORDof Hostshas sworn:
“Surely, as I have planned, so will it be;as I have purposed, so will it stand.25I will break Assyria in My land;I will trample him on My mountain.His yoke will be taken off My people,and his burden removed from their shoulders.”26This is the plan devised for the whole earth,and this is the hand stretched out over all the nations.27The LORDof Hosts has purposed,and who can thwart Him?His hand is outstretched,so who can turn it back?
Philistia Will Be Destroyed
28In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden was received:
29Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,that the rod that struck you is broken.For aviper will spring from the root of the snake,and a flying serpent from its egg.30Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture,and the needy will lie down in safety,but I will kill your root by famine,and your remnant will be slain.31Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city!Melt away, all you Philistines!For a cloud of smoke comes from the north,and there are no stragglers in its ranks.32What answer will be givento the envoys of that nation?“The LORD has founded Zion,where His afflicted people will find refuge.”
Commentary
Isaiah 14:1
The Hebrew word here translated mercy draws from the imagery of a woman’s maternal care for her child to illustrate God’s merciful love for his people (see also 49:15; 66:13).
God had initially chosen Israel as his special people when he called Abraham (see 41:8; Gen 12:1–3). Although their status did not change during the Exile, they faced God’s wrath like any other wicked nation because they had rejected him.
settle once again in their own land: This promise began to be fulfilled in 538 BC (see Ezra 1:1–11).
Just as Israel was subject to the Lord, so the nations of the world would submit themselves to the Lord through Israel (45:14; 49:7, 23; 60:12, 14; 66:23).
The oppressed nation of Israel will rule over its enemies, assuming a position of power and favor with God.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:3
God gives . . . rest (i.e., relief;28:12; see Deut 25:19; 2 Sam 7:11) from the sorrow and fear, . . . slavery and chains Israel experienced under foreign oppressors (see Isa 9:4).
Commentary
Isaiah 14:4
A taunt is a mocking comparison in song form. In this instance, the king of Babylon is compared to a dead man entering the world of the dead.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:9
The Babylonians saw the place of the dead (Hebrew Sheol) as a place of no return.
stand up (literally get up from their thrones): The thrones reflect the Babylonian concept of the life hereafter as a continuation of the same mode of existence as the present life. It appears that the other kings are honoring the great king of Babylon, but the next verses tell a different story.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:10
weak as we are: The Babylonian king had no power over anyone after death and was unable to leave Sheol. The Israelites will mock this great king who on earth appeared to have no weaknesses.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:11
Babylon’s might and power and the sound of the harp were ended, and its magnificence was destroyed (see also Rev 18:22).
Maggots and worms symbolized death and decomposition (Isa 66:24).
fallen from heaven, O shining star: These words allude to the Canaanite story of the god Helel’s rebellion against the god El (chief deity of the Canaanite pantheon) and his fall from heaven. Some see the fall of the king of Babylon here as symbolizing the fall of Satan (see Ezek 28; Luke 10:18; Rev 12:9). However, there is little to suggest that Isaiah understood it in that way. He was thinking of the historical king of Babylon.
son of the morning: The battle took place under the early morning sun. The Latin Vulgate translates the term as Lucifer (morning star), a name for Satan in Christian tradition, but the Hebrew text makes no apparent reference here to Satan.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:13
This verse alludes to the Canaanite belief that the chief god El and the other gods were enthroned on Mount Zaphon, a northern mountain (see Ps 48:2; for a New Testament application, see Matt 11:23; Luke 10:15).
As another sign of disgrace, the king of Babylon would have no children to provide a future legacy.
because of their father’s sins: God looks at individuals in relationship to their families and their people. Here, the Babylonian king’s children had joint responsibility for their father’s actions (see also Deut 5:9–10).
Commentary
Isaiah 14:24
I have planned . . . I have decided: No nation can either diminish or resist God’s plans to bring judgment against Assyria or his plans in general. The prophets understood and communicated God’s plan so that his people could respond appropriately.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:25
This prophecy told what would happen when Sennacherib attacked Hezekiah some years later in 701 BC (see chs 36–37).
Commentary
Isaiah 14:26
The Lord’s power over Assyria is just one example of his sovereignty over the whole earth.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:29
The king who attacked Philistia was probably Ahaz (14:28).
a more poisonous snake: This probably refers to one of the later Assyrian kings, either Sennacherib (701 BC), Esarhaddon (680 BC), or Ashurbanipal (668 BC).
Commentary
Isaiah 14:31
The advancing army, probably Assyria, would stir up clouds of dust like smoke that were ominously visible in the north.
Commentary
Isaiah 14:32
The Lord has built Jerusalem: God was fully willing and capable of defending Judah, and he did not want the kingdom to make alliances with nations such as the Philistines to protect themselves from the invading Assyrians.