Isaiah 14:1-23 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

ISAIAHa 13

It’s Not So Good to Be Kingb

(Isaiah 14:1-23)

Restoration of Judah

14 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and aliens will join them and will cleave to the house of Jacob.c 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord’s land as male and female slaves; they will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.d

Downfall of the King of Babylone

3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,f 4 you will take up this tauntg against the king of Babylonh:

“How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent furyi ceased!j 5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,k 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.l 7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.m 8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no hewer comes up against us.’n 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.o 10 All of them will speak and say to you:

1 ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’p 11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.q 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!r 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far norths;t 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.’u 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.v 16 Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,w 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’x 18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away from your sepulchre, like a loathed untimely birthy, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the Pit, like a dead body trodden under foot.z 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the descendants of evildoers nevermore be named!aa 21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.”ab 22 “I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the Lord.ac 23 And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.”ad Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© Copyright 2017 by Whitman H. Brisky, all rights reserved. No copyright claimed on text of Scripture quoted above which is owned by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

3 a The Titles of the lessons in this study are borrowed from those given by Jhan Moskowitz of Jews for Jesus to the chapter titles in his recorded study of Isaiah upon which much of this study is based. I owe a great debt to Jhan, my late friend and brother in the Lord, who was called Home before his time, not only for much of the work in this study, but also for giving me a whole new perspective on the Scriptures and the Jewish Messiah. Jhan’s original recordings may be downloaded from the Jews for Jesus web site. http://jewsforjesus.org/jhan-moskowitz We must approach our study of Isaiah from the standpoint of humility, and recognize that we study from faith and not knowing all the answers. While there are parts that seem fairly clear, there are other parts that are debated. This study will attempt to identify where the scholarship is essentially in agreement, and where there are debated passages and meanings. There are a number of recurring images or “motifs” in Isaiah, including (1) the Holiness of God, (2) David’s City, Jerusalem, Zion or God’s Holy Mountain, (3) a restoration to the conditions of the Garden that will reverse the curse of Original Sin (Gn 3), (4) the “seed” or descendant of Abraham and David, and judgment upon the nations, and (5) faith in God. Isaiah’s overall theme appears to be that God will judge sin, but at the end of the day, He will use His Messiah to bring reconciliation and healing and establish the Messianic Kingdom. While there is some debate among scholars regarding the date and authorship of the Book, this study will assume that Isaiah is the primary author, and that it is relatively contemporaneous with the times it describes. Even if others had a hand in authoring some parts of the Book, or in editing, arranging and copying the Book, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit need not be limited to those men and women who actually wrote the text of Scripture. It can extend also to those who may have edited or copied the original text, those who compiled it, and those who decided which texts were to be included within the Scriptural Canon. There is good reason to believe that Isaiah may be a sort of “greatest hits”, with various writings of Isaiah throughout his ministry arranged in the final form to make a point about Judah, Jerusalem, the coming Jewish Messiah and the plan of salvation. It is also likely that much of Isaiah was first spoken, or recited, in the form of sermons or prophetic statements, and then written down and collected into the form we have today. We cannot know whether we have, in the compiled book, the complete original sermons or poems. Nor do we know the context in which they were preached or recited, though in some cases we can make a good guess about that context. It is possible, even likely, that at least some of them were created in a specific context of time and place, endowing them with a specific contemporary meaning, but that when recombined into the final product we have today, the individual pieces take on a new meaning in this new context. Thus we may find multiple meanings for the same passage, including, e.g. a meaning in the original context in which it was spoken (if that can be determined), a meaning in the context of the short term history of the Judah, Assyria and Babylon, and a Messianic or eschatological meaning. Much of the Book is in the form of Hebrew poetry. While the translation into English causes a loss of many of the poetic elements, some of those that remain will be identified as we go along. One thing that is apparent is that poetry, in Hebrew and English, allows the use of images which can paint a powerful picture of what is going on without being a literal description. Isaiah will make liberal use of these images. In addition, verse, even unaccompanied by music, is easier to remember, and recite, than is prose. These two aspects of poetry may help explain why many of the Prophets, including Isaiah, wrote in verse. It is not clear that Isaiah’s verse was ever set to music, though music was an aspect of at least some of the Prophets, 1Sm 10:5; 2Ki 3:15. If any of Isaiah’s verse were set to music, none of the actual music has survived. Isaiah himself does not appear in the Book until Chapter 6 when the beginning of his ministry is described. In verse 1:1 he tells us that his ministry began in the year King Uzziah (783-742 B.C.; 2Ki 15:1-7,2Ch 26:1-23) died and continued through the time of Kings Jotham (742-735 B.C.; 2Ki 15:32-38, 2Ch 27:1-9), Ahaz (735-715 B.C.; 2Ki 16:1-17:41, 2Ch 28:1-27) and Hezekiah (715- 687 B.C.; 2Ki 18:1-20:21, 2Ch 29:1-32:33). In 721 B.C., the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria and carried away the citizens of the northern kingdom into captivity. The virtual destruction of Israel left the southern kingdom, Judah, to fend for itself among warring Near Eastern kingdoms. At the time of Samaria's fall, there existed two kings in Judah — Ahaz and his son Hezekiah — who ruled as co-regents. After the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the kings of Judah tried to extend their influence and protection to those inhabitants who had not been exiled. They also sought to extend their authority northward into areas previously controlled by the Kingdom of Israel. The latter part of the reign of Ahaz, and most of that of Hezekiah were periods of stability during which Judah was able to consolidate both politically and economically. Although Judah was a vassal of Assyria during this time and paid an annual tribute to the powerful empire, it was the most important state between Assyria and Egypt. In 715 B.C., following the death of Ahaz, Hezekiah became the sole regent of Judah and initiated widespread religious reforms, including the breaking of religious idols. During 2016 archaeological evidence of these reforms was discovered in Israel, http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/09/28/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-gate-shrine-in-israel.html. Hezekiah built Hezekiah’s tunnel, still in existence today, to insure that water was available during a siege, http://www.biblicalarchaeologytruth.com/hezekiahs- tunnel.html. He re-captured Philistine-occupied lands in the Negev desert, formed alliances with Ashkelon and Egypt, and made a stand against Assyria by refusing to pay tribute. In response, Sennacherib attacked Judah, laying siege to Jerusalem in 721 B.C. God destroyed Sennacherib’s army outside Jerusalem and the siege was broken. The records of royal Assyria state that while Sennacherib captured many cities in Judah, Jerusalem was only besieged, not captured, thus agreeing with the Biblical account. Archaeologists have also discovered a royal seal of Hezekiah picturing a winged sun which may refer to the events of Is 38:8 in which the sun appeared to move backward in the sky, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/jerusalem/king-hezekiah-in- the-bible-royal-seal-of-hezekiah-comes-to-light/ . After being saved from the Assyrians, Judah survived until c. 600 B.C. when the Babylonians destroyed the City and carried the leaders into exile. The Exiles were first allowed to return to Jerusalem in 539 B.C. after Babylon fell to the Persians. The entire Book of Isaiah is identified in 1:1 as a “vision” meaning, in a broad sense, divine revelation, 2Ch 32:32, Ob 1, Nah 1:1, Am 1:1, Mi 1:1, Hab 1:1. The visions in Isaiah are not arranged chronologically. In order to understand Isaiah, we always need to ask how the text relates to the rest of the text of the section in which it appears, how the sections of the Book are connected, and why they are arranged the way they are. The central theme of Chapters 1-39 is the “King.” Chapters 40-55 have to do with the “Suffering Servant.” And Chapters 56-66 have to do with a restored Jerusalem, with the key theme in those chapters being the “Conqueror.” The initial section on the “King” may also be divided into separate sections. Chapters 1-5 describe the overall background of a sinful time in Judah of greed, hypocrisy, and judgment. Even in these chapters, there were hints of a restoration. Isaiah 6 is Isaiah’s call. Chapters 7-12 (the Book of Emmanuel) are all about the birth of a son, explicitly in 7-9 and 11 and implicitly in 6 and 10, who will be Emmanuel. Chapter 12 is a hymn of thanksgiving for what God has done, and has promised to do. The other sub- sections are Chapters 13-23 and 24-37. The first 5 chapters could have taken place during any, or all, of the time of Isaiah’s ministry and are perhaps best understood as setting the scene, or painting a picture, of the spiritual condition of Judah during Isaiah’s ministry. In Chapter 6, Isaiah is given his ministry by God, a ministry to preach to a people who will not hear, and who will continue to be estranged from God and His law, that is, an unsuccessful ministry. Indeed, in some way, the failure to respond to Isaiah’s preaching will be used to help convict the people of Judah, Rm 10:14-21. Yet even here, there is a hope of redemption for the remnant. The context for Chapters 7 and 8 are a rebellion by Syria and Israel against their overlord Assyria. Syria and Israel wish to attack Judah, remove Ahaz of the line of David, and replace him with a King who will join them in an alliance against Assyria. Isaiah warns Ahaz against doing so, but Ahaz chooses to protect himself against Syria and Israel by making an alliance with Assyria thus becoming a vassal of Assyria. Thereafter except for brief periods, Judah will have lost its existence as an independent state. In Chapter 7, Emmanuel is referred to, but remains a mystery. We learn a little more about in in Chapter 8, and in Chapters 9 and 11 we get a much fuller picture. Chapter 11 ends with images from the Exodus which is the touchstone of the salvation history in the Hebrew Scriptures. By using that image, Isaiah calls up the story of God as redeemer of Israel, and all of its implication for salvation history. Chapter 12 is a Psalm of thanksgiving for God’s help and rescue and the conclusion of, or coda for, the Book of Emmanuel, which was introduced in Chapter 6. In some way, not clearly defined because this is poetry, the song expresses that the wrath of God is turned away and the relationship with God restored in joy and thanksgiving. This Psalm should be compared to Chapter 6, in which Isaiah himself confesses his sin to God (a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips), and God brings forgiveness for Isaiah through the touch of a hot coal to his lips. Now, in Chapter 12, for the remnant, something of the same sort has happened, the sin of the remnant has been forgiven so that the relationship with God can be restored. Similar to the Passover itself, where God saw the blood on the doorposts and stayed His hand, God will recognize His people and leave a remnant. Although the details are not clear, we know from the intervening chapters that this child, Emmanuel, will be instrumental in this restoration. Chapter 13 begins a new subsection of the “King” section of the Book which will run through Chapter 24. The theme of this section is the goyim, or the Nations, including Judah, and contains prophecies about various nations. In this subsection judgment upon individual nations are linked with scenes of universal and cosmic Doom and assurances of better times for God’s people. The link with 8th Century Judah is not broken altogether, but the historical horizon is extended far into the future. The first nation, in Chapters 13 and 14, is Babylon. Isaiah in Chapter 13 prophesies the conquest and eventual destruction and abandonment of Babylon, an event, over a century in the future, in 539 BC, with several specific details about that event including that the destruction will be at the hands of the Medes. During Isaiah’s time, the Medes were allied with Babylon against Assyria. The Chapter consists of two poems, vs. 2-16, which do not mention Babylon, and vs. 17-22 which makes specific reference to conquest by the Medes. There is debate about whether the first poem is about Babylon specifically, or has a more general application. Both poems share, however, the fact that they describe the coming Day of the Lord. Jhan reminds us that the meaning of most stories is found in its end. We know the end of the story is Jesus, which allows us to interpret Isaiah in light of that ending. The central theme of Isaiah, and indeed all of Scripture, is that, after the Fall, God still desired to live with mankind, but could not do so because of Sin. Scripture discloses that Jesus the Messiah is that plan by which God will bring us back from corruption and sin, and His anger will turn to comfort. b The beginning of Chapter 14 (vs. 1-23) continues the oracle against Babylon. c (1) Ps 102:13; Is 49:13-15, 54:7-8, 41:8-9, 44:1, 49:7; 2Ch 36:22-23; Zec 1:17, 2:12, 8:22-23; Is 56:3-6; Ex 15; Eph 2:12-19. The Lord shows compassion for His people Jacob not because of anything that they did to deserve it, but because of God’s mercy, or root of Yiddish rachmonus. Racham is derived from the word for womb, or the issue of a woman. The implication is ,(רחח חםם) racham that God will have parental love for his people Jacob. d (2) Is 45:14, 49:22-23, 54:3, 60:9-14, 61:5, 66:20; Eph 2:12-15; Jl 3:8; Dn 7:18, 7:27. e This satire (mashal) on a fallen tyrant is presumed by many scholars to have been written after the Exile about a King of Babylon, presumably Nebuchadnezzar or Nabonidus. Other scholars contend the poem was written earlier about a King of Assyria such as Sargon II or Sennacherib. If it was written or assembled by Isaiah, it represents a prophecy of the end of the Babylonian Empire centuries before it occurred. f (3) Ez 9:8-9; Is 11:10, 40:2; Jr 30:10, 46:27. to be like”, or proverb, parable, satire, or allegory; Ps 78:2; Ezk 17:2, 24:3. When a comparison is“ (מחשחל) g Taunt, Hebrew mashal generally accepted as true it is a “proverb”; Ps 49:4; Pr 1:1; Ezk 12:22-23. When the comparison is a mocking one, it is a taunt; Jr 24:9; Hab 2:6; Mi 2:4. h King of Babylon – There is some debate among scholars as to whether this mashal is about a King of Babylon, a King of Assyria or any earthly tyrant. Sargon II (721-705 B.C.) called himself “Lord of the Universe” because of the power that Assyria obtained during his reign. Unprecedented for an Assyrian monarch, Sargon II was killed in battle far from the capital and disgraced. Because he was killed so far from home, as a practical matter he could not be buried among his ancestors, a sign of being cursed, Ezk 37:1-14. His son, Sennacherib, unlike other Assyrian rulers, did not identify himself as Sargon’s son. Sargon’s defeat brought hope to the nations of the region that they could successfully rebel against Assyria. Indeed, many rebellions against Assyria are recorded in the annals following Sennacherib’s assumption of the throne in 704 B.C. The description in vs. 4-23 thus would fit Sargon II fairly well. Yet the King was described in the text as the King of Babylon, not of Assyria. i Insolent fury, or arrogance, from the Qumran scrolls. The Masoretic text is corrupt. j (4) Mi 2:4; Hb 2:6; Is 9:4, 16:4, 49:26, 51:13, 54:14; Jr 50:23-24, 51:13; Rv 18:9-19. k (5) Is 9:4. The staff and scepter are symbols of royal power and authority which were destroyed by God. l (6) Is 10:14, 47:6; Jr 50:23. The Septuagint reads, “Having smitten a nation in wrath, with an incurable plague, smiting a nation with a wrathful plague, which spared [them] not, he rested in quiet.” m (7) Hab 2:20; Is 44:23, 49:13, 54:1, 55:12; Ps 47:1-3, 98:1-9, 126:1-3; Jr 51:48; Rv 18:20, 19:1-2. The boast of a conqueror and tyrant is replaced by the song of the redeemed. n (8) Is 55:12, 37:24, 2:13; Ezk 31:16. The Kings of Babylon and Assyria exploited the forests of Lebanon for building their public buildings. Tyrants through the ages have had less regard for the protection of the natural world so that even the natural world groans from the tyranny; Gn 2:15; Dt 20:19. o (9) Is 5:14; Nb 16:33; Ezk 32:18-32. p (10) Ezk 32:21; Jr 51:48. The Septuagint is translated as follows, “All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us.” q (11) Is 5:14; Ezk 32:18. The worm is sometimes described as an agent of God’s Justice, Dt 28:39, and a vicious consumer of human remains; Is 66:24; Mk 9:47-48. r (12) Is 34:3-4, 24:21; 1Tm 3:6; Rv 20:3; Jn 12:31; Rv 8:10, 9:1; 2Pt 1:19, Rv 2:28, 22:16; Jb 38:7. The Messiah likely referred to this passage; Lk 10:15-18; Rv 12:8-9. The “Day Star” is likely the planet Venus whose translation into Latin was likely the source of the name Lucifer, or light-bearer. “Son of Dawn” is a synonym for Day Star. The Septuagint is translated, “How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent [orders] to all the nations is crushed to the earth.” In many ancient mythologies the stars and constellations are seen as gods or angels (i.e. messengers). s In the far North or in the remote parts of Zaphon. t (13) Is 47:8; Ezk 28:2; Jr 51:53; Am 9:2-3; Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15; Dn 5:22-23, 8:10; 2Th 2:4; Lk 10:15; Ps 48:1-2; Gn 11:1-9. Verses 13 and 14 contain five phrases beginning with “I will” including (1) ascend into heaven, (2) raise his throne above the stars of God, (3) sit among the Assembly of the gods, (4) ascend above the clouds, and (5) make himself an equal to God. Whether these verses, and verse 12, refer to Lucifer or Satan, or they refer simply to the King of Babylon, they show a person wanting to become the equal of God. Ex 16:10; Gn 14:18. u (14) Gn 3:5; Ps 48:2; Ezk 28:2; Dn 11:3-6; 2Th 2:4; Ezk 31:16-18, 32:18-32; Dn 10:13. v (15) Ezk 28:8, 32:23; Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15; Is 30:33. w (16) Jr 50:23. x (17) Jl 2:3; Is 45:13; Jr 50:33. It was the practice in the ancient Middle East, and elsewhere, to take captives into permanent exile, particularly the wealthy and powerful, to insure the compliance of subject peoples. To the extent this poem should be seen in an eschatological sense, the prisoners could be those held captive by Satan who the Messiah came to release, Lk 4:18.

;or branch. Not being buried was a horrible curse in this culture; 1Ki 13:21-22; Jr 22:19 (נצח צרר) y Birth translates the Hebrew netzer Ezk 37:1-14. This is the same Hebrew word used by Isaiah of the Messiah in Is 11:1. But because this shoot or branch is broken off it will never bear any fruit. z (19) Is 22:16-18; Jr 41:7-9, 5:25; Ezk 32. aa (20) Jb 18:16-19; Ps 21:10, 37:28; Is 1:4, 31:2; Ps 109:13. The Septuagint is translated as follows, “As a garment defiled with blood shall not be pure, so neither shalt thou be pure; because thou hast destroyed my land, and hast slain my people: thou shalt not endure for ever,-- [thou] an evil seed.” ab (21) Ex 20:5; Lv 26:39; Is 13:16; Mt 23:35. The Hebrew Scriptures prohibited the Jews from punishing children for the sins of their fathers; Dt 24:16; Ezk 18. But the Lord Himself may end royal lines to prevent others from being led astray; 1Ki 15:25-30, 16:2-13, 21:17-29 or cut off an entire evil people leaving only a remnant as in the time of Noah; Gn 6:5-7; 2Pt 2:4-9. ac (22) Jr 51:50, 51:62; Pr 10:7; Jb 18:19; Is 47:9; Gn 21:23. ad (23) Is 4:3, 34:11; Zep 2:14; 1Ki 14:10; Is 13:6. A hedgehog is a porcupine. The Septuagint is translated as follows, “And I will make the region of Babylon desert, so that hedgehogs shall dwell [there], and it shall come to nothing: and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction.”