Isaiah 14:16

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Those who see you will stare at you;they will look closely at you:“Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble,who shook the kingdoms,

Hebrew Names Version
Those who see you shall gaze at you, they shall consider you, [saying], "Is this the man who made the eretz to tremble, who shook kingdoms;

King James Version
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

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

New American Standard Bible
"Those who see you will stare at you, They will closely examine you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,

New Century Version
Those who see you stare at you. They think about what has happened to you and say, "Is this the same man who caused great fear on earth, who shook the kingdoms,

Amplified Bible
"Those who see you will gaze at you, They will consider you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,

World English Bible
Those who see you shall gaze at you, they shall consider you, [saying], "Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;

Geneva Bible (1587)
They that see thee, shall looke vpon thee and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, and that did shake the kingdomes?

Legacy Standard Bible
Those who see you will gaze at you,They will carefully consider you, saying,‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who caused kingdoms to quake,

Berean Standard Bible
Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,

Contemporary English Version
Those who see you will stare and wonder, "Is this the man who made the world tremble and shook up kingdoms?

Complete Jewish Bible
Those who see you will stare at you, reflecting on what has become of you: ‘Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble,

Darby Translation
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee; they shall consider thee, [saying,] Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;

Easy-to-Read Version
People will come to look at your dead body. They will think about you and say, "Is this the same man who caused great fear in all the kingdoms on earth,

George Lamsa Translation
Those who see you shall stare at you and consider you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;

Good News Translation
The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?

Lexham English Bible
Those who see you will stare at you, they will look closely at you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who caused kingdoms to shake,

Literal Translation
They that see you shall stare and closely watch you, saying , Is this the man who made the earth tremble, shaking kingdoms,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They that se the, shal narowly loke vpo the, and thinke in them selues, sayenge: Is this the man, that brought all londes in feare, and made ye kingdomes afrayde:

American Standard Version
They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Bible in Basic English
Those who see you will be looking on you with care, they will be in deep thought, saying, Is this the troubler of the earth, the shaker of kingdoms?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
They that saw thee do narrowly look upon thee, they gaze earnestly at thee: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

King James Version (1611)
They that see thee shal narrowly looke vpon thee, and consider thee, saying; Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdomes?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They that see thee shall narowly loke vpon thee, and thinke in them selues, [saying:] Is this the man that brought all landes in feare, and made the kyngdomes afrayde?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
They that see thee shall wonder at thee, and say, This is the man that troubled the earth, that made kings to shake;

English Revised Version
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei that schulen se thee, schulen be bowid doun to thee, and schulen biholde thee. Whether this is the man, that disturblid erthe, that schook togidere rewmes?

Update Bible Version
Those that see you shall gaze at you, they shall consider you, [saying], Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;

Webster's Bible Translation
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying], [Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms:

New English Translation
Those 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?

New King James Version
"Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,

New Living Translation
Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?

New Life Bible
Those who see you will look hard at you and think about you, and say, ‘Is this the man who made the earth shake with fear, who shook nations?

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

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They who see thee, upon thee, will gaze, Upon thee, will thoughtfully muse, - Is this the man who startled the earth? Who terrified kingdoms?

Douay-Rheims Bible
They that shall see thee, shall turn toward thee, and behold thee. Is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms,

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

Young's Literal Translation
Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking kingdoms?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,

Contextual Overview

⁵Now You Are Nothing But not so with Jacob. God will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob. The nations among whom they lived will actually escort them back home, and then Israel will pay them back by making slaves of them, men and women alike, possessing them as slaves in God 's country, capturing those who had captured them, ruling over those who had abused them. When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure, you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations! You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!" But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down— Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated— no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion! Get a place ready to slaughter the sons of the wicked and wipe out their father's line. Unthinkable that they should own a square foot of land or desecrate the face of the world with their cities! "I will confront them"—Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies—"and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren." God 's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies. God -of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "Exactly as I planned, it will happen. Following my blueprints, it will take shape. I will shatter the Assyrian who trespasses my land and stomp him into the dirt on my mountains. I will ban his taking and making of slaves and lift the weight of oppression from all shoulders." This is the plan, planned for the whole earth, And this is the hand that will do it, reaching into every nation. God -of-the-Angel-Armies has planned it. Who could ever cancel such plans? His is the hand that's reached out. Who could brush it aside? In the year King Ahaz died, this Message came: Hold it, Philistines! It's too soon to celebrate the defeat of your cruel oppressor. From the death throes of that snake a worse snake will come, and from that, one even worse. The poor won't have to worry. The needy will escape the terror. But you Philistines will be plunged into famine, and those who don't starve, God will kill. Wail and howl, proud city! Fall prostrate in fear, Philistia! On the northern horizon, smoke from burned cities, the wake of a brutal, disciplined destroyer. What does one say to outsiders who ask questions? Tell them, " God has established Zion. Those in need and in trouble find refuge in her." ⁶Now You Are Nothing But not so with Jacob. God will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob. The nations among whom they lived will actually escort them back home, and then Israel will pay them back by making slaves of them, men and women alike, possessing them as slaves in God 's country, capturing those who had captured them, ruling over those who had abused them. When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure, you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. ⁷And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" ¹¹ This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. ¹² What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations! ¹³You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!" ¹⁵But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down— Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" ¹⁸Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated— no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion! ²¹ Get a place ready to slaughter the sons of the wicked and wipe out their father's line. Unthinkable that they should own a square foot of land or desecrate the face of the world with their cities! ²²"I will confront them"—Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies—"and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren." God 's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall narrowly: Psalms 58:10, Psalms 58:11, Psalms 64:9

Is this: Isaiah 14:4, Isaiah 14:5, Psalms 52:7, Jeremiah 50:23, Jeremiah 51:20-23

Reciprocal: Job 4:21 - excellency Psalms 10:2 - The wicked Psalms 37:10 - thou Isaiah 23:11 - stretched Isaiah 51:13 - where is Jeremiah 51:29 - the land Ezekiel 28:19 - they Ezekiel 32:23 - which Nahum 3:6 - will set Habakkuk 1:10 - they shall deride Habakkuk 1:17 - and Habakkuk 2:5 - gathereth

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I'll make you a great nation and bless you. I'll make you famous; you'll be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I'll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you."

1 Samuel 30:8
Then David prayed to God , "Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?" The answer came, "Go after them! Yes, you'll catch them! Yes, you'll make the rescue!"

Isaiah 41:2
"Who got things rolling here, got this champion from the east on the move? Who recruited him for this job, then rounded up and corralled the nations so he could run roughshod over kings? He's off and running, pulverizing nations into dust, leaving only stubble and chaff in his wake. He chases them and comes through unscathed, his feet scarcely touching the path.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They that see thee,.... These are the words of the dead, speaking of the living, who when they should see the carcass of the king of Babylon lying on the ground,

shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee; whether it is he or not, not knowing at first sight who he was, the alteration being so great; he that was but just now on his throne of glory, with all the ensigns of majesty about him, and on him, now cast to the earth, deprived of life, besmeared with blood, and so disfigured as scarcely to be known; these phrases are used to express the great change made in him, and in his state and condition:

[saying]; scarce believing what they saw, and as wondering at the sudden and strange alteration, and yet in an insulting manner:

[Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble: the inhabitants of it, when they heard of his coming against them, with his numerous and conquering army, dreading that he would do to them as he had done to others, destroy their cities, rob them of their substance, put them to the sword, or carry them captive, or make them tributary:

that did shake kingdoms; depose their kings, and set up others; alter their constitution, change their form of government, and added their kingdoms to his own.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They that see thee - That is, after thou art dead. The scene here changes, and the prophet introduces those who would contemplate the body of the king of Babylon after he should be slain - the passers-by arrested with astonishment, that one so proud and haughty was at last slain, and cast out among the common dead Isaiah 14:19.

Shall narrowly look upon thee - To be certain that they were not deceived. This denotes great astonishment, as if they could scarcely credit the testimony of their senses. It also expresses insult and contempt. They ask whether it is possible that one who so recently shook the kingdoms of the earth should now lie east out as unworthy of a burial.

That made the earth to tremble - That agitated the world by his ambition.