Judgment

Isaiah 14:4-23

Isaiah · ~700 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.”
King James Version · the opening of the passage — the whole of it is condensed below
More of Isaiah 14 on this siteIsaiah 14:1-3 · Isaiah 14:24-27 · Isaiah 14:28-32
This prophecy resolves outside this entry — at 14:1

Babylon's sudden fall predicted in a taunt-song, fulfilled when Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC without a battle.

The prophecy, condensed

“That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! … Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. … Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. … How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! … For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north … Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. … But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. … I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction”
Isaiah 14:4-23 · King James Version · condensed from 500 words · every cut marked …
Commentary — not Scripture
A taunt-song over a dead tyrant, and one of the most contested passages in the Bible. The text names its subject in verse 4 - the king of Babylon - yet 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning' was read as looking past him to the fall of Satan by Origen and Tertullian in the second and third centuries, and by most Protestant readers after them. The name Lucifer is not in the Hebrew: it is Jerome's Latin for helel, 'shining one'. Jewish and academic readers keep the whole song on the Babylonian king the text names. This site does not settle it - the tradition panels on this entry set out both. This entry also begins at verse 4, which means it opens AFTER the mercy: 'the LORD will have mercy on Jacob' is verse 1, just outside it.
Read the full prophecy — all 20 verses

14:4That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

14:5The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

14:6He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

14:7The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

14:8Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

14:9Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

14:10All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

14:11Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

14:12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

14:13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14:14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

14:15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

14:16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

14:17That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

14:18All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

14:19But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

14:20Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

14:21Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

14:22For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

14:23I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

Fulfillment References

Daniel 5:30 Jeremiah 50:2 Revelation 18:2

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe taunt over the fallen 'king of Babylon' — 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer' — describes the proud oppressor's ruin (fulfilled in Babylon's fall, Dan. 5:30), and is widely read as picturing the pride and fall of Satan behind earthly tyranny. The Lord who breaks the oppressor's staff is the one God, who in Christ disarms and triumphs over the powers (Col. 2:15) and will finally cast down all that exalts itself.
JewishA taunt-song over the tyrant king of Babylon, mocking his hubris and descent to Sheol; 'Helel ben-Shachar' (day-star, son of dawn) is poetic imagery of the proud king's fall, not a doctrine of Satan in the plain sense.
CatholicRead of the king of Babylon and, in much patristic tradition, as alluding to the fall of Lucifer/Satan, whose pride the earthly tyrant mirrors.
ProtestantThe historical fall of Babylon's king; many also see a typological picture of Satan's pride and fall behind the passage ('Lucifer,' KJV).
AcademicA mock-dirge over a Babylonian (or generic) tyrant using ancient Near Eastern day-star mythology; the identification with Satan is a later Christian interpretive development.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.