이사야 Chapter 14

Translation: ESV

1

For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

Key Message

After God's judgment there will surely be restoration, and this restoration is grounded in God's compassion and election.

▸Following the declaration of Babylon's judgment comes the promise of Israel's restoration.

Following the declaration of Babylon's judgment comes the promise of Israel's restoration. God's compassion and renewed choosing are the basis for Israel's restoration. Sojourners joining the house of Jacob indicates that Gentiles also participate in Israel's restoration.

Related Verses

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.'
2

And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.

Key Message

God executes a judgment of reversal upon those who have oppressed his people, and this is God's justice manifested in history.

▸The principle of reversal is declared.

3

When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

Key Message

Singing with confident anticipation of God's salvation is an expression of faith, and liberation from oppression becomes the reason for praise.

▸The song that Israel will sing when it is restored and freed from sorrow, fear, and forced labor is introduced.

4

"How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!

Key Message

When oppression ends, that is the day God's justice has been realized—a reason for great joy.

▸The taunt song begins.

5

The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,

Key Message

All human power is under God's sovereignty, and God can break the power of wicked rulers.

▸The staff and scepter are symbols of royal power and authority.

6

that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.

Key Message

Those who rule with unrestrained violence will inevitably see their rule ended before God's judgment.

▸The Babylonian king's cruel rule is described in the past tense.

7

The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.

Key Message

The end of oppressive power brings peace and joy to the whole world, and this is the purpose of God's judgment.

▸The peace and joy of the world after the oppressor is gone are depicted.

8

The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'

Key Message

All of creation rejoices at the end of oppression, and the judgment of a proud empire that exploits even nature is also the liberation of the created world.

▸Even nature rejoices at the fall of the proud one.

9

Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.

Key Message

Even the proudest king cannot escape death, and in Sheol all become equal.

▸The world of the dead—Sheol—is depicted receiving the king of Babylon.

10

All of them will answer and say to you: 'You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'

Key Message

Death reduces even the proudest person to the same level as every other human, and human pride crumbles before death.

▸Those in Sheol speak to the king of Babylon.

11

Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers.

Key Message

No matter how magnificent the glory, before death it is nothing more than a corpse devoured by maggots, and the true nature of the proud is revealed.

▸The king of Babylon's pomp (glory) has descended to Sheol.

12

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

Key Message

One who in pride seeks to ascend to heaven will surely fall, and this principle applies not only to the king of Babylon but also to Satan, the originator of pride.

▸The 'Day Star, son of Dawn (Lucifer)' falling from heaven primarily describes the downfall of the king of Babylon, but church fathers and theologians have long interpreted this as alluding to the fall of Satan.

13

You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;

Key Message

The pride of seeking to take God's place is the fundamental sin of human rebellion, following the same pattern as the temptation in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:5).

▸The five 'I will' declarations of pride begin here (vv.

14

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

Key Message

The desire to be like God is the essence of pride, and this is Satan's sin and the core of all human arrogance.

▸The final and most dramatic declaration of pride: 'I will make myself like the Most High (God).

15

But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Key Message

One who proudly seeks to ascend to the heights will surely fall to the lowest place—this is the principle of God's just judgment.

▸This is the divine response to the five proud 'I will ascend' declarations of verses 13-14.

16

Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

Key Message

Even the power that once terrified the world becomes pitiful before God's judgment, and this is the end of all proud power.

▸The once-proud king who made the world tremble has now become a pitiable figure at whom people stare intently.

17

who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'

Key Message

Oppression, destruction, and holding prisoners—these are Babylon's sins and the cause of God's judgment.

▸The cruel acts of the king of Babylon are enumerated: making the world like a desert, overthrowing cities, not releasing prisoners.

18

All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

Key Message

A dignified burial is the minimum human dignity for the dead, but the most wicked can be deprived even of this.

▸Other kings, even in death, are buried gloriously in their own tombs.

19

but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a trampled corpse.

Key Message

Even the proud may in death be treated like a discarded branch, and God's judgment can strip away even a person's final human dignity.

▸The king of Babylon is cast out with no grave at all.

20

You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!

Key Message

One who destroyed his own land and people receives the ultimate judgment of having his very name erased from history.

▸The reason the king of Babylon is not buried with others is given: he destroyed his own land and slaughtered his own people.

21

Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.

Key Message

God's judgment, which completely eradicates the roots of evil, extends not only to individuals but to the full consequences of that evil.

▸The sons of the king of Babylon also become the subject of judgment.

22

"I will rise up against them," declares the LORD of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity," declares the LORD.

Key Message

When God says 'I will rise up against them,' that judgment is surely and completely carried out.

▸God himself declares, 'I will rise up against them.

23

"And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts.

Key Message

God's complete judgment makes the proud empire a haunt of wild animals, and this is what it means to be swept away with the broom of destruction.

▸Babylon will become a haunt of hedgehogs and pools of water.

24

The LORD of hosts has sworn: "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,

Key Message

History will certainly unfold according to God's plan, and God's oath is the most certain guarantee.

▸From verse 24 onward is an oracle against Assyria.

25

that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder."

Key Message

God defeats the enemy for his people and will surely remove the yoke imposed upon Israel.

▸This is a specific promise to defeat Assyria in the land of Israel.

26

This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

Key Message

God's judgment and salvation are part of a cosmic plan for the whole earth, transcending individual nations.

▸The judgment against Assyria is declared to be not an isolated event but part of God's cosmic plan for the whole earth.

27

For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

Key Message

God's plan cannot be stopped by any human being, and this is the heart of faith in God's absolute sovereignty.

▸Rhetorical questions declare God's absolute sovereignty.

28

In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle:

Key Message

Prophecy is given within history at specific times and places, demonstrating the historicity of God's word.

▸This is the date marker for the oracle concerning Philistia (vv.

29

Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.

Key Message

A momentary relief can be the prelude to a greater crisis, and joy without God does not last.

▸Do not rejoice, Philistia, that the rod that oppressed you—Assyria or the king of Judah—is broken.

30

And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.

Key Message

God feeds his people and gives them peace to rest, while simultaneously striking the enemy with famine and slaughter.

▸The contrast is drawn: God's people (the poor and needy) will graze and rest in peace, while Philistia will be destroyed by famine and slaughter.

31

Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

Key Message

Sounding the alarm when God's judgment is imminent is a responsibility, and for those unprepared it becomes catastrophe.

▸This is the alarm call of coming judgment against Philistia.

32

What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge."

Key Message

Zion, founded by God, is the refuge for the afflicted, and this is Israel's testimony to the nations.

▸This is the answer to give to messengers of the nations (diplomats): the LORD has founded Zion and the afflicted of his people find refuge there.