Isaiah 14:3

THE MESSAGE

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."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the Lord gives you rest from your pain, torment, and the hard labor you were forced to do,

Hebrew Names Version
It shall happen in the day that the LORD shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,

King James Version
And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

English Standard Version
When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

New American Standard Bible
And it will be on the day when the LORD gives you rest from your hardship, your turmoil, and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

New Century Version
The Lord will take away the Israelites' hard work and will comfort them. They will no longer have to work hard as slaves.

Amplified Bible
And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

World English Bible
It shall happen in the day that Yahweh shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And in that day when the Lord shal giue thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy feare, and from the sore bodage, wherein thou didest serue,

Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be in the day when Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh slavery in which you have been enslaved,

Berean Standard Bible
On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,

Contemporary English Version
The Lord will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then, when Adonai gives you rest from your suffering and trouble and from the hard service imposed on you,

Darby Translation
And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy trouble and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

Easy-to-Read Version
In the past, you were slaves. People forced you to work hard. But the Lord will take away the hard work you were forced to do.

George Lamsa Translation
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give you rest from your sorrow and from your anger and from the hard bondage wherein you were made to serve.

Good News Translation
The Lord will give the people of Israel relief from their pain and suffering and from the hard work they were forced to do.

Lexham English Bible
And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which you had to perform,

Literal Translation
And it shall be, in the day that Jehovah shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard bondage which was pressed on you,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
When ye LORDE now shal bringe ye to rest, fro ye trauayle, feare, & harde bondage yt thou wast laden withall:

American Standard Version
And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,

Bible in Basic English
And it will be, in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard yoke which they had put on you,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy travail, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,

King James Version (1611)
And it shall come to passe in the day that the Lord shal giue thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy feare, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serue,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When the Lorde nowe shall bryng thee to rest from thy trauayle, feare, and harde bondage that thou wast laden withall:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and vexation, and from thy hard servitude wherein thou didst serve them.

English Revised Version
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And it schal be in that dai, whanne God schal yyue to thee reste of thi trauel, and of thi shakyng, and of hard seruage, in which thou seruedist bifore,

Update Bible Version
And it shall come to pass in the day that Yahweh shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard service wherein you were made to serve,

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage in which thou wast made to serve,

New English Translation
When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,

New King James Version
It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve,

New Living Translation
In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,

New Life Bible
When the Lord gives you rest from your pain and trouble and the hard work which you were made to do,

New Revised Standard
When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it shall come to pass, in the day when Yahweh shall give thee rest flora thy toil, and from thy disquiet, - and from the hard service which had been laid upon thee,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith thou didst serve before,

Revised Standard Version
When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

Young's Literal Translation
And it hath come to pass, In the day of Jehovah's giving rest to thee, From thy grief, and from thy trouble, And from the sharp bondage, That hath been served upon thee,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

Contextual Overview

¹But 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. ³When 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."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Isaiah 12:1, Isaiah 32:18, Deuteronomy 28:48, Deuteronomy 28:65-68, Ezra 9:8, Ezra 9:9, Jeremiah 30:10, Jeremiah 46:27, Jeremiah 46:28, Jeremiah 50:34, Ezekiel 28:24, Zechariah 8:2, Zechariah 8:8, Revelation 18:20, Revelation 19:1-3

Reciprocal: Esther 9:22 - the days Job 3:18 - they Job 34:29 - When he giveth Psalms 72:6 - like Isaiah 9:4 - the staff Isaiah 14:15 - thou Jeremiah 17:4 - and I Ezekiel 34:27 - when I

Cross-References

Genesis 19:24
Then God rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah—a river of lava from God out of the sky!—and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow,.... In captivity, and on account of that, being out of their own land, deprived of the free exercise of their religion, and at a distance from the house of God, and continually hearing the reproaches and blaspheming of the enemy, and seeing their idolatrous practices, and their ungodly conversation; all which must create sorrow of heart to the sincere lovers and worshippers of God:

and from thy fear; of worse evils, most cruel usage, and death itself, under the terror of which they lived:

and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve; as before in Egypt, so now in Babylon; but what that was is not particularly expressed anywhere, as the former is, see Exodus 1:13 and when they had rest from all this in their own land, then they should do as follows:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And it shall come to pass - That is, then thou shalt take up a taunting song against the king of Babylon Isaiah 14:4.

That the Lord shall give thee rest - (compare Isaiah 38:12). The nature of this predicted rest, is more fully described in Ezekiel 28:25-26.

From thy sorrow - The long pain of thy captivity in Babylon.

And from thy fear - Hebrew, ‘Trembling.’ That is, the apprehension of the ills to which they were continually exposed. Trembling is usually one effect of fear.

And from thy hard bondage - The severe and galling servitude of seventy years.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 14:3. In the day - "In that day"] ביום ההוא bayom hahu. The word ההוא hahu is added in two MSS. of Kennicott's, and was in the copies from which the Septuagint and Vulgate translated: εν τῃ ἡμερᾳ εκεινῃ, in die illa, (ᾑ αναπαυσει, MS. Pachom. adding ה,) in that day. This is a matter of no great consequence: however, it restores the text to the common form, almost constantly used on such occasions; and is one among many instances of a word apparently lost out of the printed copies.