Isaiah 14:3-7 ASV

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 14:7

7. they—the once subject nations of the whole earth. HOUBIGANT places the stop after "fir trees" ( :-), "The very fir trees break forth," &c. But the parallelism is better in English Version. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:1-27

The first oracle against Babylon 13:1-14:27The reader would expect that Isaiah would inveigh against Assyria, since it was the most threatening enemy in his day, and since he referred to it many times in earlier chapters. However, he did not mention Assyria in this section but Babylon, an empire that came into its own about a century after Isaiah’s time. Babylon was a symbol of self-exalting pride, and its glory, dating back to the tower of Babel (cf. Isaiah 13:5; Isaiah 13:10-11). Thus what he... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:3-4

Having described the future destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13:17-22), Isaiah now related the coming destruction of Babylon’s king.After Yahweh gave Israel rest following her captivity, she would taunt (Heb. mashal, bring to light the truth about) Babylon’s proud ruler who had formerly taunted her (Isaiah 14:3-4 a; cf. Revelation 18). His death would be an occasion for joy, not sorrow. In view of the description that follows, Isaiah evidently did not describe one particular past king of Babylon,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:4-8

The first strophe of this poem rejoices in the peace on earth that would result from the king’s death. Both animate and inanimate creatures could rest and be quiet after his reign of terror. The measure of an ancient Near Eastern king’s power was how much he destroyed. [Note: See Oswalt, p. 317.] Mesopotamian kings regularly took parties of lumberjacks to the forests of Lebanon to cut timber to build their palaces and public buildings. Such timber was unavailable in Mesopotamia and Palestine.... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 14:1-23

The Judgment of Babylon and its KingThis is the first of a series of prophecies dealing mainly with foreign nations. Its subject is Babylon, where the Jews are represented as undergoing exile, from which they are about to be delivered (Isa 14:1-3) owing to the capture of Babylon by the Medes (Isa 13:17). The historical setting of the prophecy is thus much later than the age of Isaiah, in whose time the Assyrians were the great-enemies of God's people. On this ground most modern scholars regard... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 14:1-32

1. Strangers] The thought of the voluntary adhesion of strangers is prominent in the later chapters of the book (Isaiah 44:5; Isaiah 55:5; Isaiah 60:5).2. People] RV ’peoples.’ Similar anticipations are found in Isaiah 49:22; Isaiah 60:10; Isaiah 61:5: these were in some measure fulfilled in the time of Ezra: Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 6:7, Ezra 6:8.4. Proverb] RV ’parable’ (Habakkuk 2:6), or ’taunting-song.’ The King] Nabonidus was king of Babylon from 555 till its fall 549 b.c. Golden city] rather, RM,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:3

(3) It shall come to pass . . .—The condition of the exiles in Babylon is painted in nearly the same terms as in Habakkuk 2:13. A monarch bent on building towers and walls and palaces, who had carried off all the skilled labour of Jerusalem, was likely enough to vex their souls with “fear” and “hard bondage.” So Assurbanipal boasts that he made his Arabian prisoners carry heavy burdens and build brick-work (Records of the Past, i. 104). read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:4

(4) That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon.—The prophet appears once more (comp. Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 12:1) in his character as a psalmist. In the mashal or taunting-song that follows, the generic meaning of “proverb” is specialised (as in Micah 2:4; Habakkuk 2:6; Deuteronomy 28:37, 1 Kings 9:7, and elsewhere) for a derisive utterance in poetic or figurative speech. The LXX., singularly enough, renders the word here by “lamentation.”How hath the oppressor ceased.—If we... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:5

(5) The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked . . .—The “staff” and the “sceptre” are alike symbols of power, the former being that on which a man supports himself, the other that which he wields in his arm to smite those who oppose him. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:6

(6) He who smote . . .—Better, which smote, the whole verse being of the nature of a relative clause, with the “sceptre” for antecedent.A continual stroke.—Literally, a stroke without ceasing.Is persecuted, and none hindereth.—Better, completing the parallelism, with a trampling that is not stayed. read more

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 14:7

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:1-27

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:3-4

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 14:4-8

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 14:1-23

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 14:1-32

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:3

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:5

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 14:6

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