Isaiah 14:18–23

¹⁸“All of the kings of the nations are buried with honor.

Each of them lies in his own tomb.

¹⁹But you have been thrown out of your tomb.

You are like a branch that is cut off and thrown away.

You are covered with the bodies

of those who have been killed with swords.

You have been tossed into a stony pit along with them.

You are like a dead body that people have walked on.

²⁰You won’t be buried like other kings.

That’s because you have destroyed your land.

You have killed your people.

“The children of that evil man will be killed.

None of them will be left to carry on the family name.

²¹So prepare a place to kill his children.

Kill them because of the sins of the rulers

who lived before them.

They must not rise to power.

They must not rule over the world.

They must not cover the earth with their cities.”

²²“I will rise up against them,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

“I will destroy Babylon.

It will not be remembered anymore.

No one will be left alive there.

I will destroy its people and their children after them,”

announces the Lord.

²³“I will turn it into a place where nothing but owls can live.

I will turn it into a swamp.

I will sweep through it like a broom and destroy everything,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.