Isaiah 14:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

NASB: The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will make them their own possession in the land of the Lord as male and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.

CSB: The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.

NLT: The nations of the world will help the people of Israel to return, and those who come to live in the Lord’s land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will themselves be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies.

KJV: And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

NKJV: Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

In the middle of his prophecy against Babylon, Isaiah has paused to briefly describe the restoration of Israel. The fall of Babylon will lead to the release of God's people from captivity. That will be the Lord's doing. In compassion for His chosen nation, He will once more return the Israelites to the Promised Land (Isaiah 14:1).

Isaiah has added that "sojourners" will join them in the return to Israel. The term "sojourner" refers to a person who is not in their own home. This word is sometimes translated "foreigner" or "exile." The concept is the person is not in their own land. Isaiah writes that the Israelites will take slaves from these Gentiles, non-Jewish people, who are dependent on them for survival due to being in a foreign land. Instead of Israel being captives to the Babylonians, they will take Gentiles as their own captives and rule over them. The implication is that some of these Gentiles may have belonged to the Babylonian nation before it was defeated.

The message to Israel in Isaiah's day was clear: Do not attempt to save yourselves by becoming dependent on other nations. You are to depend on the Lord alone. In the future, the Lord will make you a powerful nation again. He will make other nations dependent on you. You are to trust in God alone to save you.

Chapter 14:1–2 describes the fate of the Israelite people after the destruction of their captors, the nation of Babylon. The Lord will have compassion on Israel them and will choose them as His people once more. God will return the people of Israel to the Promised Land. Some Gentiles from Babylon will come with them and will become slaves to the Israelites. This will reverse the status of God's people from captives to captors over those who had previously oppressed them.

After the oracle against Babylon in the previous chapter, Isaiah briefly describes what will follow for Judah. In compassion, the Lord will choose His people once more. He will return them to their homeland. They will sing a mocking taunt-song against the fallen king of Babylon. Isaiah pronounces oracles from the Lord against Assyria and Philistia. The Lord will break the Assyrians in His land. With heavy symbolism, Isaiah seems to prophecy that the Assyrians will defeat the Philistines with a siege four years before it happens. God's people will find refuge in Zion.

Chapter 14 follows the oracle about the destruction of Babylon with a brief encouragement to the people of Judah. The Lord will restore them to the land. They will taunt the fallen Babylonian king, using phrases many also associate with the fall of Satan. Isaiah pronounces oracles from the Lord against Assyria and Philistia. He declares that He will break the Assyrians in His land, freeing His people from their oppression. Philistia will fall at the Lord's hand to a famine inflicted on them by a power from the north. Next, Isaiah's prophecy will turn to Moab.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).