Isaiah 14:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD.

NIV: I will rise up against them,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,' declares the LORD.

NASB: I will rise up against them,' declares the Lord of armies, 'and eliminate from Babylon name and survivors, offspring and descendants,' declares the Lord.

CSB: "I will rise up against them"--this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies--"and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity"--this is the Lord's declaration.

NLT: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: 'I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children’s children,' says the Lord.

KJV: For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

NKJV: “For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord.

Isaha prophesied that after the death of the hated king of Babylon, the people will massacre his offspring. This mockery of a funeral dirge, or taunt-song, does not end with wishes for the king's descendants to rule on his throne forever. It is quite clear that the song wishes for the king's line to die out immediately (Isaiah 14:20–21).

Now Isaiah quotes the Lord as declaring that He will bring this wish to pass. The Lord will act against Babylon and cut off its entire future. This verse is a thorough way of saying that the Lord will make sure Babylon ceases to exist as the nation it was. The Lord's use of "them" for Babylon instead of "him" for the king suggests to some commentators that Isaiah's taunt-song is aimed at the position of king of Babylon and not any specific king. No king will ever take that throne again. This is because Babylon will no longer be the empire it had become.

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).