Isaiah 14 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

A Taunt for Babylon’s King

Isa 14:1But the LORD will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and unite with the people of Israel.[fn]

Isa 14:2

Isa 14:2The nations of the world will help the LORD’s people to return, and those who come to live in their land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will themselves be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies.

Isa 14:3

Isa 14:3In that wonderful day when the LORD gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,

Isa 14:4

Isa 14:4you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,
“The mighty man has been destroyed.
Yes, your insolence[fn] is ended.

Isa 14:5

Isa 14:5For the LORD has crushed your wicked power
and broken your evil rule.

Isa 14:6

Isa 14:6You struck the people with endless blows of rage
and held the nations in your angry grip
with unrelenting tyranny.

Isa 14:7

Isa 14:7But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.
Now it can sing again!

Isa 14:8

Isa 14:8Even the trees of the forest—
the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—
sing out this joyous song:
‘Since you have been cut down,
no one will come now to cut us down!’

Isa 14:9

Isa 14:9“In the place of the dead[fn] there is excitement
over your arrival.
The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead
stand up to see you.

Isa 14:10

Isa 14:10With one voice they all cry out,
‘Now you are as weak as we are!

Isa 14:11

Isa 14:11Your might and power were buried with you.[fn]
The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased.
Now maggots are your sheet,
and worms your blanket.’

Isa 14:12

Isa 14:12“How you are fallen from heaven,
O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
you who destroyed the nations of the world.

Isa 14:13

Isa 14:13For you said to yourself,
‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
far away in the north.[fn]

Isa 14:14

Isa 14:14I will climb to the highest heavens
and be like the Most High.’

Isa 14:15

Isa 14:15Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
down to its lowest depths.

Isa 14:16

Isa 14:16Everyone there will stare at you and ask,
‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?

Isa 14:17

Isa 14:17Is this the one who destroyed the world
and made it into a wasteland?
Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities
and had no mercy on his prisoners?’

Isa 14:18

Isa 14:18“The kings of the nations lie in stately glory,
each in his own tomb,

Isa 14:19

Isa 14:19but you will be thrown out of your grave
like a worthless branch.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
you will be dumped into a mass grave
with those killed in battle.
You will descend to the pit.

Isa 14:20

Isa 14:20You will not be given a proper burial,
for you have destroyed your nation
and slaughtered your people.
The descendants of such an evil person
will never again receive honor.

Isa 14:21

Isa 14:21Kill this man’s children!
Let them die because of their father’s sins!
They must not rise and conquer the earth,
filling the world with their cities.”

Isa 14:22

Isa 14:22This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
“I, myself, have risen against Babylon!
I will destroy its children and its children’s children,”
says the LORD.

Isa 14:23

Isa 14:23“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls,
filled with swamps and marshes.
I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction.
I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

A Message about Assyria

Isa 14:24

Isa 14:24The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath:
“It will all happen as I have planned.
It will be as I have decided.

Isa 14:25

Isa 14:25I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel;
I will trample them on my mountains.
My people will no longer be their slaves
nor bow down under their heavy loads.

Isa 14:26

Isa 14:26I have a plan for the whole earth,
a hand of judgment upon all the nations.

Isa 14:27

Isa 14:27The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—
who can change his plans?
When his hand is raised,
who can stop him?”

A Message about Philistia

Isa 14:28

Isa 14:28This message came to me the year King Ahaz died:[fn]

Isa 14:29

Isa 14:29Do not rejoice, you Philistines,
that the rod that struck you is broken—
that the king who attacked you is dead.
For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born,
a fiery serpent to destroy you!

Isa 14:30

Isa 14:30I will feed the poor in my pasture;
the needy will lie down in peace.
But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine
and destroy the few who remain.

Isa 14:31

Isa 14:31Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities!
Melt with fear, you Philistines!
A powerful army comes like smoke from the north.
Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.

Isa 14:32

Isa 14:32What should we tell the Philistine messengers? Tell them,
“The LORD has built Jerusalem[fn];
its walls will give refuge to his oppressed people.”

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(14:1)

Hebrew the house of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.

(14:4)

As in Dead Sea Scrolls; the meaning of the Masoretic Text is uncertain.

(14:9)

Hebrew Sheol; also in 14:15.

(14:11)

Hebrew were brought down to Sheol.

(14:13)

Or on the heights of Zaphon.

(14:28)

King Ahaz died in 715 B.C.

(14:32)

Hebrew Zion.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.