Chapter 14
14:1 Her time is near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose out of Israel, and will make them rest upon their own ground: and the stranger shall be joined with them, and shall adhere to the house of Jacob.
14:2 And the people shall take them, and bring them into their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall make them captives that had taken them, and shall subdue their oppressors.
14:3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give you rest from your labor, and from your vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith you didst serve before,
14:4 you shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shall say: how is the exactor come to nothing, the tribute has ceased?
14:5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers,
14:6 that struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.
14:7 The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and has rejoiced.
14:8 The fir trees also have rejoiced over you, and the cedars of Libanus, saying: since you have slept, there has none come up to cut us down.
14:9 Hell below was in an uproar to meet you at your coming, it will stir up the giants for you. All the princes of the earth are risen up from their thrones, all the princes of nations.
14:10 All shall answer, and say to you: you also are wounded as well as we, you are become like unto us.
14:11 Your pride is brought down to hell, your carcass is fallen down: under you shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be your covering.
14:12 How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? How are you fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations?
14:13 And you said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north.
14:14 I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
14:15 But yet you shall be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.
14:16 They that shall see you, shall bend to you, and behold you. Is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms,
14:17 That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to his prisoners?
14:18 All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house.
14:19 But you are cast out of your grave, as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that were slain by the sword, and are gone down to the bottom of the pit, as a rotten carcass.
14:20 You shall not keep company with them, even in burial: for you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people: the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever.
14:21 Prepare his children for slaughter in the iniquity of their fathers: they shall not rise up, nor inherit the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
14:22 And I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts: and I will destroy the name of Babylon, and the remains, and the bud, and the offspring, says the Lord.
14:23 And I will make it a possession for the hedgehog and pools of waters, and I will sweep it and wear it out with a besom, says the Lord of hosts.
14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying: surely as I have thought, so shall it be: and as I have purposed,
14:25 So shall it fall out: that I will destroy the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulder.
14:26 This is the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.
14:27 For the Lord of hosts has decreed, and who can disannul it? And his hand is stretched out: and who shall turn it away?
14:28 In the year that king Achaz died, was this burden:
14:29 Rejoice not you, whole Philistia, that the rod of him that struck you is broken in pieces: for out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk, and his seed shall swallow the bird.
14:30 And the firstborn of the poor shall be fed, and the poor shall rest with confidence: and I will make your root perish with famine, and I will kill your remnant.
14:31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city: all Philistia is thrown down: for a smoke shall come from the north, and there is none that shall escape his troop.
14:32 And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nations? That the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall hope in him.
409. Her time is near at hand . In this part, he promises liberation to the Jews through the destruction of Babylon, which he threatened above. And this is divided into three parts:
in the first, he promises liberation;
in the second, he foretells the insults of the liberated against their oppressor: and it shall come to pass in that day (Isa 14:3);
in the third, he sets out the confirmation of the insult: the seed of the wicked shall not be named (Isa 14:20).
410 . Concerning the first, he sets out three things:
the shortness of time: near at hand is the day of the Lord, to whom all things are present, or after our subjugation, her days , of subjugation: the day of destruction is at hand, and the time makes haste to come (Deut 32:35).
Second, he sets out the manner and order of liberation,
and first, as to the relief of their misery: for the Lord will have mercy : he will turn again, and have mercy on us (Mic 7:19);
as to the recovery of divine favor: and will yet choose , namely, some of them: the Lord your God has chosen you (Deut 7:6);
as to the restoration of their homeland: and will make them rest : I will bring them to their own land: and I will feed them in the mountains of Israel (Ezek 34:13).
Third, he describes the dignity of the liberated,
as to the adhering of strangers to them: the stranger shall be joined : draw nigh to God: and he will draw nigh to you (Jas 4:8);
as to honorable retention: the people , among whom they were taken captive, shall take them , namely, the Jews, as though to carry them in their arms, below: and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and carry your daughters upon their shoulders (Isa 49:22);
or otherwise, as to the leading away of those who adhered to them, the people , namely, the Jews, shall take , that is, retain, them , leading those who adhered to them with themselves; as to the subjugation of the enemy or of those who adhered to them: and the house of Israel shall possess them , as they once possessed Israel: I will return your recompense upon your own heads (Joel 3:7).
411 . And it shall come to pass . Here the insult of the liberated people against their captor, who has now been destroyed, is set out.
And first, the title or the inscription is set out, containing three things:
the time, when God shall give you rest from your labor , by which you have labored in waging war;
and from your vexation , of captivity, by which you were kept in prison;
and from bondage , by which you were oppressed in the land of your captivity.
You shall take up this parable , that is, a sermon of similitudes, which says one thing and signifies another: for the things spoken of in the parable signify the condition of Nabuchodonosor, as to his power, his fault and his punishment, because of which these things could have happened, even if they did not happen: against the king of Babylon ; in that day a parable shall be taken up upon you, and a song shall be sung with melody (Mic 2:4); shall not all these take up a parable against him? (Hab 2:6).
412 . Second, the insult itself is set out: how ,
and first, of the living;
second, of the dead: hell below (Isa 14:9).
The insult of the living contains three things:
his destruction with the fault which he committed in exacting tributes: how is the exactor come to nothing ; in inflicting punishments on men: the Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, that struck the people in wrath , as though in reply to a preceding question; in attacking kingdoms: that brought nations under : how is the hammer of the whole earth broken, and destroyed (Jer 50:32).
Second, it contains the ensuing peace: the whole earth is quiet , ceasing from that tumult, and still , ceasing from weeping, it is glad , in your destruction, and has rejoiced , in its liberation: the just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge (Ps 57:11[58:10]).
Third, it contains the eagerness of the princes: the fir trees also , which signify those elevated in dignity; similar to this is what is found in Ezekiel 31:8: the cedars in the paradise of God were not higher than he . You have slept , with the sleep of the dead; cut us down , that is, kill us.
413 . Hell below . Here the insult of the dead against Nabuchodonosor is set out,
and first, that of the princes and the powerful,
second, of the others: they that shall see you (Isa 14:16).
Concerning the first, he does two things.
First, he sets out the meeting with the lower regions, as to the ministers of punishments or officials: hell , that is, the devil, who is set over hell, below , for hell is below, was in an uproar , that is, turned to tumult, as if this could happen, below (ch. 30). Likewise as to other powers rushing in: it will stir up the giants for you , as though to rise to you with them; giants , as to the strong in body, below: let not the dead live, let not the giants rise again (Isa 26:14).
All the princes of the earth , as to kings, to whom it belongs to sit in thrones; the princes of the nations , as other power; but they are risen up .
All , namely, all the giants of hell, shall answer , as if you had summoned them, or as though crying.
414 . Second, he sets out their reproach. And they reproach him with three things:
namely, the punishment which he found, as to his death: you also are wounded , in death, by the force of divine power: you have humbled the proud one, as one that is wounded (Ps 88:11[89:10]). Then as to the humiliation of the dead man, both in soul, your pride is brought down to hell , and in body, your carcass of death is fallen down ; then also as to the affliction of the dead man in hell: under you shall the moth be strewed ; worms , in which all the punishments of hell are designated: he will give fire, and worms into their flesh, that they may burn, and may feel for ever (Jdt 16:21).
415 . Second, they reproach him with the glory he has lost. Both as to the dignity of the king: O Lucifer , beautiful among all other kings, in the morning , monarch before all others; and as to the power of war: how are you fallen to the earth : you, therefore, are the head of gold. And after you shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to you (Dan 2:38–39).
416 . Third, they reproach him with the pride of heart which he had, as to three things:
as to his proud thought;
second, as to his perverse intention: I will be like the most high (Isa 14:14);
third, as to the frustration of his proposal: but yet you shall be brought down to hell (Isa 14:15).
Now his thought was proud because he thought to usurp what belongs to God, according to the error of the gentiles, who believed that men are turned into gods, and that stars come to be from princes, as it says in 2 Maccabees 11:23: our father being translated amongst the gods ; he also thought to usurp the divine place: I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of God , as if to say: for as I am above other the princes on earth, so will I be above other the stars in heaven; and divine worship: I will sit , as though receiving sacrifice, in the mountain of the covenant , that is, in the temple of God, which was on mount Zion, and in which was the testament of the law, in sides of the north , that is, in Jerusalem, which was on the north part of the mountain. And divine action: above the height of the clouds ; as if to say: that I might send thunder and lightning. Or the clouds signify the prophets; heaven, the kingdom of the Jews; the stars, the Jews shining in the knowledge of God.
417 . I will be like the most high : here, his perverse intention: will you yet say before them that slay you: I am God? (Ezek 28:9).
418 . But yet : here, the frustration of his intention; into the depth of the pit , that is, into the harshest punishments: they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell (Job 21:31).
419 . They that shall see you . Here the insult of the other, common persons, is set out.
And first, he describes their meeting: all others that shall see you , being punished, shall bend to you , as if to say: you will be so far below these others that it will be necessary for them to bend down for them to see you: the mighty shall be mightily tormented (Wis 6:7).
420 . Second, he sets out their reproach, and they reproach him with three things.
First, the fault which he committed: is this the man that troubled the earth , in wars, that shook the kingdoms , changing dominions. That made the world a wilderness , exiling men, and destroyed the cities , overturning their governments, that opened not the prison to his prisoners , that they might see light: they spread their terror in the land of the living (Ezek 32:25).
Second, they reproach him with the grave he has lost, for he was exhumed by his son, who divided his corpse into two-hundred pieces and bound the pieces to just as many birds gathered from different lands, that he might not rise again: defiled , by the blood of those whom you killed: he shall be buried with the burial of an ass (Jer 22:19).
Third, they reproach him with the damage he inflicted on his own kingdom: you have destroyed your land , for the Chaldeans would have held the kingdom longer had it not been for the sins of Nabuchodonosor; for the people are punished for the fault of their prince, as is evident from Proverbs 31; the reason for this is that the people are accustomed to imitate the fault of their king: a prince that gladly hears lying words, has all his servants wicked (Prov 29:12).
421 . All this is explained mystically of the devil: he shakes the kingdoms (Isa 14:16), as the minister of punishment, and inciter of sin; his power was lessened by Christ, and in the day of judgment, he shall be pulled entirely into hell, who wished to ascend to heaven and to come to equality with the divine majesty, according to what is explained in the Gloss.
422 . Note on the words, above the stars of God (Isa 14:13), that the saints are compared to stars:
first, because of their number: who tells the number of the stars (Ps 146[147]:4); thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him (Dan 7:10);
second, because of their location: the beauty of heaven with its glorious show (Sir 43:1); but our conversation is in heaven (Phil 3:20);
third, because of their different degrees: star differs from star in glory (1 Cor 15:41);
fourth, because of the glow of their splendor: they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity (Dan 12:3);
fifth, because of their well-ordered motion: the stars, remaining in their order and courses, fought against Sisara (Judg 5:20); let all things be done decently and according to order among you (1 Cor 14:40);
sixth, because of their appearance: as the morning star in the midst of a cloud (Sir 50:6); it has not yet appeared what we shall be (1 John 3:2);
seventh, because of their circular figure: a woman appeared in heaven . . . and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev 12:1), by which is signified the perfection of their glory.
423 . The seed of the wicked shall not be named . Here he confirms the insult,
and first, through the prophecy of the prophet;
second, through the divine purpose: and I will rise up (Isa 14:22);
third, through the support of the divine purpose: the Lord of hosts has decreed (Isa 14:27).
Concerning the first, he threatens three things.
And first, the loss of his kingdom: the seed of the wicked , that is, the sons of Nabuchodonosor and their sons, shall not be named for ever , that is, his name will not survive in the honor of his kingdom.
Second, the killing of his sons by the Medes and Persians: prepare his children for slaughter in the iniquity , that is, for the iniquity, of their fathers .
Third, the impossibility of recovery, they shall not rise up ; the face of the world , that is, of Babylon, which above (Isa 13:11) was referred to as the world: I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children (Exod 20:5); from the unlawful iniquity is born (Wis 4:6).
424 . And I will rise up . Here the divine purpose to fulfill the prophecy is set out.
And first, to destroy Babylon, as to the destruction of its men: against them , namely, the sons of Nabuchodonosor, I will destroy the name of Babylon , that is, the reputation of its power, the remains , his sons, and the offspring , his nephews and so forth: his seed shall not subsist, nor his offspring among his people (Job 18:19). As to it being inhabited by beasts: I will make it a possession for the hedgehog , below: there has the hedgehog had its hole, and brought up its young ones, and has dug round about (Isa 34:15). As to the destruction of its walls: I will sweep it , so that nothing will remain but pavement, like a house that has been cleansed with a broom.
425 . Second, he sets out the divine purpose to destroy the Assyrians, that it might set an example.
And first, he sets out the oath: the Lord of hosts has sworn , that is, immovably established, surely as I have thought , that is, established: the Lord has sworn, and he will not repent (Ps 109[110]:4).
Second, the place of destruction: in my land , for the army of Sennacherib was destroyed near Jerusalem, below: and the Lord of hosts shall make . . . in this mountain, a feast of fat things (Isa 25:6).
Third, he describes the fruit of the punishment, his yoke shall be taken away from them , above: for the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and the scepter of their oppressor you have overcome (Isa 9:4).
426 . Third, he places the divine purpose to destroy all peoples: this is the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth , to destroy it, as to deliberation; his hand , that is, his power, as to execution: take the cup of wine of this fury at my hand (Jer 25:15). Or the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth , to protect it from the Assyrians; and this is the hand that is stretched out , which was destroyed. And thus the fruit of the punishment will be in all nations.
427 . For the Lord of hosts . Here he shows the support of the divine purpose, both as to the decree of wisdom: he has decreed , and as to the fulfillment of power: and his hand is stretched out: and who shall turn it away? He is alone, and no man can turn away his thought: and whatsoever his soul has desired, that has he done (Job 23:13).
428 . In the year . Here he threatens against the enemies who were rejoicing over the affliction of the Jews,
and first, against the Philistines, who were rejoicing over their reduction by the death of Ezechias;
second, against the Moabites, who were rejoicing over their destruction by the Assyrians or the Chaldeans: the burden of Moab (Isa 15:1).
The first of these is divided into two.
In the first, the time of the threat is set out: in the year , in the time when the Philistines had occupied certain cities of the kingdom of Judea, as it says in 2 Chronicles 28, and yet Achaz resisted them, and therefore they were delighted in his death, as though they might more freely attack the Jews.
Second, the threat is set out: rejoice not you .
And first, he threatens the affliction which they suffered from Ezechias,
second, the destruction which they suffered under the Assyrians, where it says, howl (Isa 14:31).
429 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
For first, he excludes foolish joy: rejoice not you , over this, namely, that the rod , that is, the power, of him that struck you , that is, Achaz, is broken in pieces , by death: laughter I counted error (Eccl 2:2).
Second, he threatens an increase of the punishment: for out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk , as if to say: as the basilisk does more harm than another serpent, for even with its sight and breath it kills not just land animals, but also flying birds, just so, Ezechias, the son of Achaz shall afflict you more than others: my father put a heavy burden upon you, but I will add to your burden (1 Kgs 12:11).
Third, he foretells the effect of the punishment, in all things as to the fruitfulness of the land: and the firstborn of the poor shall be fed , that is, the Jews, about which it says in Exodus 4:22: Israel is my firstborn ; and as to the security of peace: shall rest with confidence , below: my people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence (Isa 32:18); and the effect on the Philistines by the opposite of these, namely, famine, against the first: I will make your root perish with famine , that is, those also who ought to furnish nourishment to others; and killing, against the second: and your remnant , left by Ezechias, I will kill , through the Assyrians and Chaldeans, below: my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry: my servants shall drink, and you shall be thirsty (Isa 65:13).
430 . Howl . Here he threatens destruction by the Assyrians.
And first, he threatens their destruction;
second, the liberation of the Jews: and what shall be answered? (Isa 14:32).
Concerning the first, he sets out three things.
First, he threatens universal destruction: gate , that is, the judges sitting in the gates: a voice was heard in the highways, weeping and howling of the children of Israel (Jer 3:21);
and the multitude of the enemy: smoke , stirred up by the multitude of the army on account of the dust, from the north , because of the location of the Assyrians in relation to the Philistines: from the north shall an evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land (Jer 1:14);
third, the impossibility of escape: and there is none that shall escape : there was none in the day of the wrath of the Lord that escaped (Lam 2:22).
431 . And what shall be answered . Here he promises liberation.
And first, he sets out the inquiry: messengers , angels placed over the different provinces or asking anxiously of their state; or messengers sent to consult with Isaiah, like we read of in Jeremiah 37:3.
Second, the response is set out: that the Lord has founded Zion , that is, he has strengthened it by his protection, below: behold I will lay your stones in order (Isa 54:11).