Chapter Index

  Isaiah Institute Translation   Comparative Translation   Apocalyptic Commentary   Interactive Concordance   Isaiah Chapter Index

Vignette 1

Highlight Menu

APOCALYPTIC COMMENTARY

  Isaiah

14

Isaiah 14

The king of Assyria/Babylon conquers the world and ascends the heavens but his soul descends to Hell.
1 Jehovah will have compassion on Jacoband once again choose Israel;he will settle them in their own land,and proselytes will adhere to themand join the house of Jacob.

Jehovah’s people of the Jacob/Israel category may yet inherit the blessing of a Promised Land if they repent and renew their covenant relationship with Jehovah their God. His promise gives them hope, no matter in what circumstances they find themselves. The verbs “have compassion” and “choose” denote the elect status of those who prove faithful in keeping the terms of Jehovah’s covenant. For them, its blessings ultimately become unconditional (Isaiah 51:6; 54:6-10; 60:21; 65:17-22). Many who observe how Jehovah blesses his people unite with them to become one nation in the end.

2 The nations will take themand bring them to their own place.And the house of Israel will possess themas menservants and maidservantsin the land of Jehovah:they will take captive their captorsand rule over their oppressors.

Those who inherit “the land of Jehovah”—which, in a millennial context, becomes “their own place”—are escorted home by Jehovah’s servants from among the nations. Just as Joseph ministered to his brothers in the land of Egypt and saved them from the curse of a famine, so certain spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles minister to Jehovah’s people and escort them in a new exodus to Zion (Isaiah 49:22-23; 60:3-12). In a second exodus—after Jehovah has instituted his reign of peace on the earth—those who are thus gathered gather up the remaining remnants of his people (Isaiah 66:18-21).

They will take captive their captors and rule over their oppressors. Different spiritual categories—of both Jehovah’s people and the nations—exist side by side through the end-time and into Jehovah’s millennial reign of peace. The fact that all of the earth’s wicked perish in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment and only those who repent of transgression survive doesn’t preclude the survival of some former captors and oppressors of Jehovah’s people or their descendants. Many will convert to Israel’s God and serve him by serving his elect as they learn his ways (Isaiah 2:3; 5:16-17; 45:14; 60:12, 14; 61:5-6).

3 In the day Jehovah gives you relief from grief and anguish and from the arduous servitude imposed on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,
How the tyrant has met his end and tyrannya ceased!

Unlike Jehovah’s elect, who participate in an end-time exodus to Zion, and unlike the wicked who perish from the earth, a middle category of Jehovah’s people survives his Day of Judgment without his direct divine intervention. These suffer the curse of servitude to the Assyrian archtyrant, who here appears under his religious or cultic title “king of Babylon” in the pattern of ancient Assyrian conquerors of Babylon. In this parody of a lament—beginning with the word “How” (cf. Lamentations 1:1)—those who survive his servitude launch into a “taunt,” glad to see the end of him and his tyranny.

5 Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of those who ruled— 6 him who with unerring blowsstruck down the nations in anger,who subdued peoples in his wrathby relentless oppression.

The staff and rod whose power is now broken designate the king of Assyria (Isaiah 10:5, 15), alias the king of Babylon (v 4), who rules for a time when it serves Jehovah’s purpose to punish the wicked of the world (Isaiah 10:12). His personifying Jehovah’s anger and wrath toward a corrupt humanity accords with Jehovah’s design to convince the earth’s inhabitants to repent of evil. Jehovah thus uses the wicked to destroy the wicked and to induce those who might be persuaded to return to him. The archtyrant’s demise shatters the myth of his absolute power (vv 15-20; Isaiah 26:13-14; 30:30-33).

7 Now the whole earth is at rest and at peace;there is jubilant celebration! 8 The pine trees, too, rejoice over you,as do the cedars of Lebanon:Since you have been laid low,no hewer has risen against us!

After years of warfare and relentless oppression have worn people down, those of humanity left alive when the archtyrant perishes burst into jubilant celebration. Now can the earth rest and Jehovah’s millennial reign of peace begin. Jehovah’s axe and saw, his rod and staff (v 5; Isaiah 9:4; 10:15), has finished his work of destruction; the “hewer” of Jehovah’s people and the nations (Isaiah 10:33-34; 37:24) has himself been hewn down. The “pine trees” and “cedars of Lebanon”—here signifying a surviving middle category of Jehovah’s people—may now flourish unhindered (Isaiah 41:19-20; 60:13).

9 Sheol below was in commotion because of you,anticipating your arrival;on your account it roused all the spiritsof the world’s leaders,causing all who had ruled nationsto rise up from their thrones. 10 All alike were moved to say to you,Even you have become powerless as we are!You have become like us!

In Sheol—the underworld, Hell, or spirit prison—the spirits of dead rulers rise up from their thrones in anticipation of the arrival among them of the tyrannical king of Assyria/Babylon. These things imply (1) that the spirits of the departed in Hell maintain, or seek to maintain, a kind of anti-hierarchy; (2) that many leaders of nations end up in a lower world for having ruled their peoples unrighteously; (3) that the spirits of those who depart this world are apprised of the imminent arrival of people from this world who die; and (4) that, unlike the righteous, the wicked are rendered powerless in the end.

11 Your glory has been cast down to Sheol,along with the music of your lyres.Beneath you is a bed of maggots;you are covered with worms.

The archtyrant’s “glory”—his personality cult of ceremony, music, pageantry, and propaganda—comes to an end when he does. Like a common mortal, he who ruled the world, who inspired fear in men’s hearts, goes the way of all flesh, his body consumed by maggots and worms. With his passing, a millennial age of peace begins for surviving humanity: “Tyranny shall no more be heard of in your land, nor dispossession or disaster within your borders” (Isaiah 60:18); “The insolent people are not to be seen, a nation of incomprehensible speech, whose babbling tongue was unintelligible” (Isaiah 33:19).

12 How you have fallen from the heavens,O morning star, son of the dawn!You who commanded the nationshave been hewn down to earth!

Twin laments (vv 4-11, 12-20) create a single tyrannical figure who combines several ancient types: (1) a militaristic Assyrian world conqueror from the North; (2) a Babylonian idol ruler; and (3) a Mesopotamian mythological god. This composite figure combines allusions to a fallen angel with an earthbound despot who “commands the nations” but who—as a human demi-god—is “hewn down to earth.” The terms “morning star, son of the dawn” (helel ben-sahar) denote a category of “sons of God” who attained exalted status before the creation of the earth (Genesis 6:1-4; Job 38:4-7).

13 You said in your heart, I will rise in the heavensand set up my throne above the stars of God;I will seat myselfin the mount of assembly of the gods,in the utmost heights or Zaphon. 14 I will ascend above the altitude of the clouds;I will make myself like the Most High!

The king of Assyria/Babylon’s boundless ambition extends to being even as the Most High God. Resembling the gods of ancient Near Eastern myth, he seeks to “rise” or “ascend” (’e‘eleh) above the “stars of God”—that is, above those sons of God who have attained celestial glory or exaltation (Psalm 82:6; Isaiah 40:26, 31). The mythological “mount of assembly” of the gods is identified with “Zaphon,” the North or Pole Star. Of course, ascent “in the heavens . . . . above the altitude of the clouds”—as in a counterfeit of celestial exaltation—is possible to attain with today’s space technology.

15 But you have been brought down to Sheol,to the utmost depths of the Pit.

The king of Assyria/Babylon’s descent below all occurs in direct proportion to his preceding ascent above all, his gratuitous self-exaltation leading inevitably to his utter humiliation. As the exemplar of the wicked, he establishes a pattern of pride, ambition, oppression, injustice, and all things reprehensible. To the degree people emulate his character traits, to that degree they suffer a similar fate. Belonging to Isaiah’s Perdition category—a spiritual point of no return—the archtyrant’s spirit descends to the Pit of Dissolution (Isaiah 38:17-18; 51:14), there eventually to undergo extinction (Isaiah 26:13-14).

16 Those who catch sight of youstare at you, wondering,Is this the man who made the earth shakeand kingdoms quake, 17 who turned the world into a wilderness,demolishing its cities,permitting not his captives to return home?

In his humiliating downfall, the tyrannical “man” who lorded it over the nations is a sight to wonder at. Although he gained the whole world, it profited him nothing as he suffers the loss of his own soul (cf. Matthew 16:26). Instead of being a power of creation—a god who benefits humanity—he is a power of chaos who orchestrates horrific destruction of life and property. He who made the earth “shake” and kingdoms “quake” (Isaiah 5:25; 24:18; 54:10), who turned the world into a “wilderness” and demolished its “cities” (Isaiah 7:20-25; 32:19; 64:10-11), has become an object of derision.

18 All rulers of nations lie in state,each among his own kindred. 19 But you are cast away unburiedlike a repugnant fetus,exposed like the slain disfigured by the sword,whose mangled remains are thrown in a gravel pit.
20 You shall not share burial with them,for you have destroyed your landand murdered your people.May the brood of miscreantsnever more be mentioned!

While the dead remains of the world’s dignitaries are honored in death by lying in state, the archtyrant’s corpse lies unburied like an abhorrent excretion exposed to the elements. As the one who served as Jehovah’s sword did to others, so it is done to him. Instead of being a protector of his people and their land, as befits a king, he engineered their destruction by taking them to war against Jehovah’s elect. As a mass murderer, he suffers the covenant curse of no burial for his carcass, becoming the poster child for a “brood of miscreants” whose memory is erased from the earth (Isaiah 26:13-14).

21 Prepare for the massacre of their sons,in consequence of their fathers’ deeds,lest they rise up againand take possession of the world,and fill the face of the earth with cities.

While on the one hand those who transgress the terms of Jehovah’s covenants suffer the curses of his covenants, on the other, persons who violate the rights of those who keep the terms of Jehovah’s covenants suffer the same covenant curses. By seeking to destroy Jehovah’s righteous people together with the wicked of the world, the king of Assyria/Babylon and his legions suffer the curses of Jehovah’s covenants. Because offspring and descendants constitute the foremost covenant blessing pertaining to Jehovah’s covenants, those who violate the rights of his elect inherit no offspring or descendants.

22 I will rise up against them, says Jehovah of Hosts.I will cut off Babylon’s name and remnant,its offspring and descendants, says Jehovah. 23 I will turn it into swamplands, a haunt for ravens;I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,says Jehovah of Hosts.

Jehovah’s “rising up”—as in his “rising up” on Mount Perazim (Exodus 19:16-24; 2 Samuel 5:20)—spells doom for his enemies (Isaiah 2:19, 21; 28:21-22; 31:2). An appendage to chapter 13’s destruction of Babylon, verses 22-23 appear in the context of the archtyrant’s indirect murder of his own people (v 21). While Jehovah—the King of Zion—delivers his loyal people, the king of Assyria/Babylon slays his own kind. As a broom of destruction, he sweeps the earth clean of the wicked, leaving none of their offspring or descendants, so that the very name Babylon fades from people’s memory.

24 Jehovah of Hosts made an oath, saying,
As I foresaw it, so shall it happen;as I planned it, so shall it be: 25 I will break Assyria in my own land,trample them underfoot on my mountains;their yoke shall be taken from them,their burden removed from their shoulders.

As Jehovah “foresaw” and “planned” from the beginning, the destruction of the wicked would precede the earth’s transformation to a paradisiacal state (Isaiah 33:1-20; 37:26). Although an end-time Assyria—of whom ancient Assyria is a type—would carry out that destruction, Assyria itself would be destroyed “in my own land” and “on my mountains.” Only remnants of the Ten Tribes who went captive into ancient Assyria would be left (Isaiah 19:23-25). By invading the lands of Jehovah’s people, Assyria would seal its own fate, and its yoke—the archtyrant—would be broken (Isaiah 9:4; 10:27).

26 These are things determined upon the whole earth;this is the hand upraised over all nations. 27 For what Jehovah of Hosts has determined,who shall revoke?When his hand is upraised, who can turn it away?

The things Jehovah has determined or decreed upon the whole earth are the destruction of the wicked and the deliverance of the righteous (Isaiah 10:23; 13:4-5; 35:3-4; 49:25-26), one being inseparable from the other. The hand that is upraised over all nations denotes the king of Assyria/Babylon at the height of his power: “Yet for all this his anger is not abated; his hand is upraised still” (Isaiah 5:25; 9:12, 17, 21; emphasis added; cf. 10:4-5; 13:2). In the end, he who puts down the archtyrant is Jehovah’s servant—his right hand—whom Jehovah likewise raises up (Isaiah 11:10-15; 41:10-13).

28 In the year King Ahaz died, came this oracle:
29 Rejoice not, all you Philistines,now that the rod which struck you is broken.From among the descendants of that snakeshall spring up a viper,and his offspring shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Within its historical context, the rod that smote the Philistines is King Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3, 10-12), who is here identified as a snake or serpent—a messianic symbol (Numbers 21:9). Ahaz’ death serves as the occasion for Isaiah to predict a three-part end-time scenario similar to Isaiah 11:1: from the descendants of David, represented by Ahaz, springs up a viper, a second messianic figure represented by King Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:4-6). Lastly, from the latter’s offspring comes a fiery flying serpent or “flying seraph”—a messianic figure pertaining to Isaiah’s seraph category—Jehovah’s servant.

30 The elect poor shall have pasture,and the needy recline in safety.But your descendants I will kill with famine,and your survivors shall be slain.

When Jehovah’s servant gathers Jehovah’s people as a flock to Zion (Isaiah 40:11; 63:11-14), Jehovah comes and the earth’s millennium of peace begins (Isaiah 11:10-12:Isaiah 11:10-12:33:17-24; 33:17-24; 49:1-233:17-24; 52:7-15; 33:17-24; 49:1-2Isaiah 11:10-12:33:17-24; 33:17-24; 49:1-233:17-24; 52:7-15; 52:7-15). While on the one hand Jehovah’s elect poor and needy inherit the earth, on the other, the world’s wicked peoples—represented by the Philistines—die of famine and foreign invasion, which are covenant curses. All three components of Isaiah’s Zion ideology appear in verses 29-30: (1) the destruction of the wicked; (2) the deliverance of the righteous; and (3) the presence of Jehovah’s servant.

31 Wail at the gates; howl in the city!Utterly melt away, you Philistines!From the North shall come pillars of smoke,and no place he has designated shall evade it.

The enemies of Jehovah’s people have cause to “wail,” “howl,” and “melt away” when destruction comes “from the North”—from beyond the horizon (Isaiah 5:26; 13:5)—as conspired by the king of Assyria/Babylon (cf. Isaiah 54:16). The pillars of “smoke” form a word link to the “mushrooming clouds of smoke” that billow upward when “the earth is scorched and people are but fuel for the fire” in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment (Isaiah 9:18-19). While the wicked of the world suffer the fire and smoke of destruction, Jehovah protects his repentant people beneath his cloud of glory (Isaiah 4:5-6; 25:4-5).

32 What shall then be told the envoys of the nation?Jehovah has founded Zion;let his longsuffering people find refuge there.

The “envoys” or messengers of Jehovah’s people who participate in the establishment of Zion go forth among the nations to invite them to ascend there (Isaiah 2:2-3; 52:7-12). As Israel was born as a nation following its exodus out of Egypt—when it covenanted with Jehovah in the Sinai wilderness—so those who return from exile are born as a new nation identified with Zion (Isaiah 55:5, 12; 66:8-10). Jehovah’s “founding” of Zion—as a people of God and a place of refuge (Isaiah 1:27; 35:10)—paves the way for him to reside there when Israel’s exiles repent and return (Isaiah 59:20; 62:10-12).

  • a4 Or, rage; so 1QIsaa; LXX. MT rendering is unknown.


Isaiah Video Vignettes




Support IsaiahExplained.com!

Help spread Isaiah’s end-time message to the world!


Testimonials


Isaiah Video Vignettes




Support IsaiahExplained.com!

Help spread Isaiah’s end-time message to the world!


Testimonials


Isaiah Explained

Home
About
KJV Bible
Testimonials
Study Tools

Isaiah Institute Translation
Comparative Translation
Apocalyptic Commentary
Interactive Concordance
Social



Mobile Apps




© 2021 Hebraeus Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Isaiah Explained