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1The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; he will again choose Israel as his special people and restore them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family of Jacob.[#tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.; #tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.; #tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).; #tn Heb “house.”]
2Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord ’s land. They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.[#tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”]
3When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,[#tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.]
4you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:[#tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”]
“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility has ceased!
5The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
6It furiously struck down nations[#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.]
with unceasing blows.
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint.
7The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
8The evergreens also rejoice over your demise,[#tn Heb “concerning you.”]
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing,
‘Since you fell asleep,
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’
9Sheol below is stirred up about you,[#sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.]
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth;
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
11Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol,[#tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”]
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments.
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you.
12Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror of the nations!
13You said to yourself,[#tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”]
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon.
14I will climb up to the tops of the clouds;[#tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.]
I will make myself like the Most High!”
15But you were brought down to Sheol,[#tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.]
to the remote slopes of the pit.
16Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking:
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
17Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’
18As for all the kings of the nations,[#sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.]
all of them lie down in splendor,
each in his own tomb.
19But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away.
You lie among the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for the stones of the pit,
as if you were a mangled corpse.
20You will not be buried with them,[#tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).]
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
21Prepare to execute his sons[#tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”]
for the sins their ancestors have committed.
They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,
or fill the surface of the world with cities.”
22“I will rise up against them,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people,
including the offspring she produces,”
says the Lord .
23“I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals[#tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).]
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
24The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:[#sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.]
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
25I will break Assyria in my land,[#tn Heb “to break Assyria.”]
I will trample them underfoot on my hills.
Their yoke will be removed from my people,
the burden will be lifted from their shoulders.
26This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;
my hand is ready to strike all the nations.”
27Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan,[#tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).]
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it?
28In the year King Ahaz died, this message was revealed:[#sn Perhaps 715 b.c., but the precise date is uncertain.; #tn Heb “this oracle came.”]
29Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,
just because the club that beat you has been broken!
For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,
and its fruit will be a darting adder.
30The poor will graze in my pastures;[#tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).]
the needy will rest securely.
But I will kill your root by famine;
it will put to death all your survivors.
31Wail, O city gate!
Cry out, O city!
Melt with fear, all you Philistines!
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
32How will they respond to the messengers of this nation?[#sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.]
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.