Yesaya 14:12-15

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ¹ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ²  of the nations! ³ 

14:13 You said to yourself, ⁴ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ⁵ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ⁶ 

14:14 I will climb up to the tops ⁷  of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High!” ⁸ 

14:15 But you were brought down ⁹  to Sheol,

to the remote slopes of the pit. ¹⁰ 

Yehezkiel 28:14-16

28:14 I placed you there with an anointed ¹¹  guardian ¹²  cherub; ¹³ 

you were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked about amidst fiery stones.

28:15 You were blameless in your behavior ¹⁴  from the day you were created,

until sin was discovered in you.

28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, ¹⁵  and you sinned;

so I defiled you and banished you ¹⁶  from the mountain of God –

the guardian cherub expelled you ¹⁷  from the midst of the stones of fire.

Matius 11:23

11:23 And you, Capernaum, ¹⁸  will you be exalted to heaven? ¹⁹  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ²⁰  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.

Lukas 10:15

10:15 And you, Capernaum, ²¹  will you be exalted to heaven? ²²  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ²³ 

Lukas 10:18

10:18 So ²⁴  he said to them, “I saw ²⁵  Satan fall ²⁶  like lightning ²⁷  from heaven.

Wahyu 12:7-9

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ²⁸  war broke out in heaven: Michael ²⁹  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 12:8 But ³⁰  the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, ³¹  so there was no longer any place left ³²  in heaven for him and his angels. ³³  12:9 So ³⁴  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

[14:12]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).

[14:12]  ² tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ³ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.

[14:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ⁵ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ⁶ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[14:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.

[14:14]  ⁸ sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.

[14:15]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.

[14:15]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.

[28:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “winged”; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[28:14]  ¹² tn The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is uncertain. The word translated here “guards” occurs in Exod 25:20 in reference to the cherubim “covering” the ark.

[28:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you.” In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb “I placed you” is taken with what follows (“on the holy mountain of God”). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun “you” at the beginning of verse 14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deut 5:24; Num 11:15) or defectively written (see 1 Sam 24:19; Neh 9:6; Job 1:10; Ps 6:3; Eccl 7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition “with” (see the LXX). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb “I placed you” belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of “I placed you” is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse. For a defense of the proposed emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[28:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ways.”

[28:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they filled your midst with violence.”

[28:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I defiled you.” The presence of the preposition “from” following the verb indicates that a verb of motion is implied as well. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[28:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and I expelled you, O guardian cherub.” The Hebrew text takes the verb as first person and understands “guardian cherub” as a vocative, in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the verb. However, if the emendation in verse 14a is accepted (see the note above), then one may follow the LXX here as well and emend the verb to a third person perfect. In this case the subject of the verb is the guardian cherub. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[11:23]  ¹⁸ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[11:23]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[11:23]  ¹⁹ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ²⁰ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[10:15]  ²¹ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[10:15]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[10:15]  ²² tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[10:15]  ²³ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[10:18]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

[10:18]  ²⁵ tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

[10:18]  ²⁶ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

[10:18]  ²⁷ tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

[12:7]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ²⁹ sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:8]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.

[12:8]  ³¹ tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:8]  ³² tn Grk “found.”

[12:8]  ³³ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.