Yesaya 14:5-11

14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers.

14:6 It ¹  furiously struck down nations

with unceasing blows. ² 

It angrily ruled over nations,

oppressing them without restraint. ³ 

14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;

they break into song.

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ⁴ 

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ⁵ 

‘Since you fell asleep, ⁶ 

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ⁷ 

14:9 Sheol ⁸  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ⁹  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ¹⁰ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ¹¹ 

14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:

‘You too have become weak like us!

You have become just like us!

14:11 Your splendor ¹²  has been brought down to Sheol,

as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. ¹³ 

You lie on a bed of maggots,

with a blanket of worms over you. ¹⁴ 

[14:6]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.

[14:6]  ² tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:6]  ³ tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8]  ⁵ tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

[14:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

[14:9]  ⁸ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

[14:11]  ¹² tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”

[14:11]  ¹³ tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”