Isaiah 14:4–21

⁴you will take up this ^utaunt against the king of Babylon:

“How the oppressor has ceased,

^vthe insolent fury² ceased!

⁵The Lord has broken the ^wstaff of the wicked,

the ^wscepter of rulers,

^6xthat struck the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

⁷The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

^ythey break forth into singing.

^8zaThe cypresses rejoice at you,

^bthe cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low,

no woodcutter comes up against us.’

⁹Sheol 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.

^10cAll of them will answer

and say to you:

‘You too have become as weak as we!

You have become like us!’

¹¹Your 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 ^dyou are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, ^eson of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

¹³You said in your heart,

^f‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

^gI will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;³

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

^15hBut you are brought down to Sheol,

to the far reaches of the pit.

¹⁶Those who see you will stare at you

and ponder over you:

‘Is this ⁱthe man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

¹⁷who made the world like a desert

and overthrew its cities,

^jwho did not let his prisoners go home?’

¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in glory,

each in his own tomb;⁴

¹⁹but you are cast out, away from your grave,

like a loathed branch,

^kclothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,

who go down to the stones of the pit,

like a dead body trampled underfoot.

²⁰You will not be joined with them in burial,

because you have destroyed your land,

you have slain your people.

“May ^lthe offspring of evildoers

nevermore be named!

²¹Prepare slaughter for his sons

^mbecause of the guilt of their fathers,

lest they rise and possess the earth,

and fill the face of the world with cities.”