Isaiah 14:4-10

4you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:
tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility
tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa) assume a confusion of dalet and resh (ד and ר) and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.
has ceased!

5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.

6 It
tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.
furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows.
tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint.
tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.

8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise,
tn Heb “concerning you.”

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing,
tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

Since you fell asleep,
tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’
tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

9 Sheol
sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.
below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses
tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.
the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth;
tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

10 All of them respond to you, saying:
You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
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