THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH
Isaiah 14 ©
A promise concerning the deliverance of the people of God out of the Babylonian captivity, and likewise concerning the calling of the Gentiles, v. 1. Words wherewith the Babylonians are jeered and mocked, 4. God stirs up the Persians and the Medes for their destruction, 21. And their ruin is again foretold, 22. A threat against the Philistines, 29.
FOR1 the LORD will have 2mercy 3on Jacob, and 4will 5yet 6choose Israel, and 7set them 8in their own land: and 9the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
And 10the people shall take them, and bring them 11to their place: and 12the house of Israel shall possess them 13in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and 14they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give 15thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and froma the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
¶That thou shalt 16take up this proverb 17against the king of Babylon, and say, 18How hath 19the oppressor ceased! 20the golden city ceased!
The LORD hath broken 21the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
He who smote the people in wrath 22with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is 23persecuted, and none hindereth.
The whole 24earth is 25at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
26Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art 27laid down, no fellerb is 28come up against us.
29Hell from beneath is moved for thee 30to meet thee 31at thy coming: 32it stirreth up 33the dead for thee, even 34all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from 35their thrones all the kings of the nations.
All they shall 36speak and say unto thee, 37Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Thy pomp is 38brought down 39to the grave, 40and the noise of thy viols: 41the worm is spread under thee, and 42the worms cover thee.
How art thou fallen 43from heaven, 44O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, 45which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, 46I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above 47the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of 48the congregation, 49in thec sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
50Yet thou shalt be 51brought down 52to hell, to the sides of the pit.
53They that see thee 54shall narrowly look upon thee, and 55consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; 56that opened not the house of his prisoners?
All the kings of the nations, even 57all of them, 58lie in glory, every one in his own house.
But thou art cast out 59of thy grave like 60an abominable branch, and 61as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through 62with a sword, 63that go down 64to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Thou shalt not be joined 65with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed 66thy land, and slain 67thy people: thed68seed 69of evildoers shall 70never be 71renowned.
72Prepare slaughter for his children fore the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor 73possess the land, nor 74fill the face of the world 75with cities.
For I will rise up 76against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and 77remnant, andf78son, and nephew,g saith the LORD.
I will also 79make it 80a possessionh81for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besomi of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
¶The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, 82Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have 83purposed, so shall it stand:
That I will break the 84Assyrian 85in my land, and upon 86my mountains tread him under foot: 87then shall 88his yoke depart 89from off them, and 90his burden depart from off 91their shoulders.
This is the purpose that 92is purposed 93upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out 94upon all the nations.
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and whoj shall 95disannul it? and hisk hand is stretched out, and who shall 96turn it back?97
In the year thatl king Ahaz died 98was this 99burden.
¶Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because 100the rod of him 101that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth 102a cockatrice,m and 103his 104fruit shall be 105a fiery flying serpent.
And 106the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy 107shall lie down in safety: and I will kill 108thy root with famine, and 109he shall slay thy remnant.
Howl, 110O gate; cry, 111O city; thou, whole Palestina, art 112dissolved: for there shall come 113from the north 114a smoke, and 115none shall be alone 116in his appointed times.
What shall one then answer 117the messengers of the nation? 118That the LORD hath founded 119Zion, 120and the poor of his people shall trust in it.