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1The Lord Yahweh will most certainly
show tender mercy to the Israelites.
He will choose them again and settle them in their own land.
Even foreigners will accompany them
and join with the Jewish people.
2Nations will take them back to their own place,[#14:2 See Isa. 49:22; 60:9; 66:20. They will bring them to their own place; that is, into the body of Christ (see John 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 12:18; Eph. 4:16).]
and the Jews will own their enemies as their inheritance
in the land Yahweh gave them.
They will take their captors captive
and rule over those who once oppressed them.
3In that day, when the Lord Yahweh has given you rest from your pain, trouble, and cruel bondage,[#14:3 See Matt. 11:28–30; Rom. 6:1–14; Heb. 3–4.]
4you will jeer at the king of Babylon and recite this proverb:[#14:4 “Proverb” is the Hebrew word mashal , a homonym for both “proverb” ( Prov. 1:1) and “to rule [as king],” “to triumph,” or “to take dominion.” The life and power of “Babylon” (confusion) is conquered by the indwelling life of Christ.]
“Your oppressor has been stilled and your onslaught is over!
5The Lord Yahweh has shattered the staff of the wicked,
the brutal rod of the rulers.
6With their unceasing blows they used it cruelly
to strike down nations.
They subdued nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.
7But now the whole earth rests and is at peace.
It bursts out with singing;
8even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon join in,[#14:8 In the Christian tradition, the cypress is a symbol of death, life, and resurrection. The cypress supplied boards and timber for doors (see 1 Kings 6:15, 33) and beams for roofing the temple (see 2 Chron. 3:5). The towering cedars of Lebanon speak of God’s anointed servants standing tall and upright, bringing favor to the world (see footnote on Ps. 92:12).]
rejoicing over your demise, saying,
‘Now that you were laid low,
no woodsman comes to cut us down.’ ”
9The underworld is all astir in preparation,[#14:9 Or “Sheol,” which represents both the underworld and the personification of the evil it represents.]
ready to meet you when you show up.
It rouses the spirits of the dead to greet you!
All the former tyrants and despots
rise from their thrones!
10One and all will say to you:
“Look at you! You’ve become as weak as we are.
Now you’re just like us!
11Your pompous pride brought you down to the underworld
with the hum of harps.
But you will lie on a bed of maggots,
and a blanket of worms will cover you!”
12“Look how you have fallen from your heavenly place,
O shining one, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
you who conquered nations.
13You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend into heaven
and exalt my throne above the stars of God.
I will rule on the mountain of the congregation,
on the highest place of the sacred mountain.
14I will rise past the tops of the clouds
and rival the Most High God!’
15Yet down to the underworld you go—
into the depths of the pit!
16Everyone will stare at you and ponder your fate, saying,[#14:16 Or “peer at you closely.”]
‘Is this the man who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms tremble?
17Is this the man who made the world a desert
and overthrew its cities and refused to free his prisoners
and let them return home?’
18Every king at death lies in state,
each in his crypt of splendor,
19but you are an unburied, trampled corpse,
thrown out of your grave like a rotten stick
and wrapped in the bloody clothing
of those slain by the sword.
20You will not have a burial like them,
because you destroyed both your land and your people.
May your wicked descendants never be mentioned again!
21Prepare to execute his sons because of the sins of their father.[#14:21 As translated from the Syriac and the Septuagint. Hebrew is “fathers [ancestors].” See Ezek. 18:20.]
May they never rise to conquer the earth
and cover the world with their cities.”
22“I will rise up against them,”
declares the Lord Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies.
“I will blot out the name Babylon and her survivors,
her offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord Yahweh .
23“I will turn it into a swampland and a place for wild animals.[#14:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word qippod is uncertain. Some translate it as “hedgehog,” “porcupine,” or “owl.”]
Like dirt on the floor I will sweep it away
with the broom of destruction,”
declares the Lord Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies.
24The Lord Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies,
makes this solemn decree:
“Be sure of this: Just as I have planned, so it will be.
Every purpose of my heart will surely come to pass.
25I will crush the Assyrians who invade my land.
I will trample them on my mountains.
Their yoke of slavery will be removed from my people
and their heavy burden from their shoulders.
26This is the plan that I have determined for the entire world.
I will accomplish it by the demonstration of my mighty power
throughout the earth!”
27For the Lord Yahweh , the Commander of Angel Armies,
has an amazing strategy, and who can thwart him?
When he moves in power, who can stop him?
28This prophecy came to Isaiah in the year King Ahaz died:[#14:28 This prophecy is one of three that are dated in the book. See Isa. 6; 20:1–2.]
Don’t rejoice too soon, you Philistines,
just because the rod that beat you is broken!
29A snake will sprout from the root of that serpent,[#14:29 The “snake” is possibly Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, who would have been like a snake to the Philistines, ready to strike them.]
and his descendant will be like a flying, fiery, burning one.
30And through him the poorest of the poor will find pasture[#14:30 Or “the firstborn [or firstfruits] of the poor will graze [in my pastures].” The “firstborn of the poor” is likely a figure of speech for “the poorest of the poor.”]
and the needy will lie down in peace.
The Lord will starve the root of the Philistines with a famine
that will annihilate your survivors.
31Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, Philistia!
For a cloud of smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler among them.
32And what will be the answer of the messengers of the nations?
That the Lord has laid the foundation of Zion,
and in her his needy ones will find shelter.