Isaiah 14:4-12

Other Translations of Isaiah 14:4-12

King James Version

⁴ That thou shalt take up this proverb proverb: or, taunting speech against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! ⁵ The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. ⁶ He who smote the people in wrath with a continual a continual...: Heb. a stroke without removing stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. ⁷ The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. ⁸ Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. ⁹ Hell Hell: or, The grave from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. ¹⁰ All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? ¹¹ Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. ¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, O Lucifer: or, O day star son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

English Standard Version

⁴ you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent furyDead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain ceased! ⁵ The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, ⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. ⁷ The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. ⁸ The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.' ⁹ Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. ¹⁰ All of them will answer and say to you: 'You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!' ¹¹ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. ¹² "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

The Message

⁴ you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! ⁵ God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers ⁶ That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. ⁷ And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! ⁸ Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." ⁹ And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones ¹⁰ With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" ¹¹ This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. ¹² What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations!

New King James Version

⁴ that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: "How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! ⁵ The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; ⁶ He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. ⁷ The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. ⁸ Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, 'Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.' ⁹ "Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. ¹⁰ They all shall speak and say to you: 'Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? ¹¹ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.' ¹² "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!

New Living Translation

⁴ you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, "The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended. ⁵ For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule. ⁶ You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny. ⁷ But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again! ⁸ Even the trees of the forest- the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon- sing out this joyous song: 'Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!' ⁹ "In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you. ¹⁰ With one voice they all cry out, 'Now you are as weak as we are! ¹¹ Your might and power were buried with you. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.' ¹² "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.