Isaiah 14:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

NIV: I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

NASB: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

CSB: I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

NLT: I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’

KJV: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

NKJV: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Here is the ultimate arrogance of humanity. On any human scale, the king of Babylon was far more powerful than other men. His word was law. He conquered one nation after another. He was feared by tens of thousands. For a time, he took whatever he wanted and made it his own. Human nature, though, is to never be satisfied. Having bested the world of men, Babylon's king set his ambition on the world of the gods. He believed in his heart he could make himself one of them. Not just one of the gods, he would make himself like the Most High. He did not see himself as just a mortal man.

The word for "Most High," Elyon, is usually used in the Bible to mean Yahweh, the God of Israel. Since the king's ambition seems to have been to sit on the sacred mountain of the Canaanite gods, he was likely referring to Baal (Isaiah 14:13). Isaiah will continue to mock just how far short of that goal the king has fallen.

Translation choices inspired the traditional belief that Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) is a proper name for Satan, and that Isaiah's description also applies to the Devil's fall from heaven (Ezekiel 28:12–19; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:7–9). Scripture offers truly little information about Satan, or why exactly he was cast out of God's presence. Some look to this verse as a motive: that Satan wanted to take God' place. This is possible, but Isaiah's real purpose here is to predict the ruin of Babylon.

Chapter 14:3–23 contains a mocking, sarcastic dirge for the fallen king of Babylon. The song imitates the respects otherwise paid to honor a fallen king. Instead, this song describes celebration of both people and trees at his death. The fallen kings in Sheol rise to mock the man for his weakness. The king is sarcastically referred to as the "Day Star"—leading to speculation that this is also a description of Satan's fall from heaven. The fallen one had ambition to become like the Most High among the gods, but instead was cut down to nothing in his death.

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).