Isaiah 14:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

NIV: This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

NASB: This is the plan devised against the entire earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations.

CSB: This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations.

NLT: I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations.

KJV: This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

NKJV: This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

This verse, and the following, seem to conclude the oracle against Babylon and the Mesopotamian powers. This prophecy from the Lord began at the start of Chapter 13. Isaiah states simply that the Lord's purpose will be carried out over the entire world. There is no nation outside of His reach. His hand will touch all the nations (Psalm 22:28; 47:8; 148:13).

Isaiah is making a controversial claim in that era of history. He means that the God of the tiny nation of Israel was the One and only True God. He implies that the Lord of Israel executes His own purposes for the world and carries out His own plans for every nation, not just His own. The prophet Isaiah wants the people of Judah and Israel to understand that their God is not just one of the gods of the world. He is the God over all the world and He will accomplish what He sets out to do with every nation.

Chapter 14:24–27 presents a brief prophecy against the Assyrians living in Isaiah's own time. The Lord openly declares His purpose to break the Assyrians in His land. He will break their oppression of His people. This likely happened in 701 BC when Assyrian King Sennacherib held Jerusalem in a siege. The angel of the Lord struck down massive numbers of Assyrians in a single night (2 Kings 19:35–36). Nobody can alter what the Lord has purposed or annul His plans. The Lord will do as He said He will do.

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).

Accessed 4/28/2024 12:02:53 AM