choose. See note on Isaiah 1:29 . set them = make them rest. Compare Isaiah 14:3 . land = soil strangers = sojourners, foreign proselytes. Isaiah sees far beyond the Captivity. Hebrew. gur. See note on Isaiah 5:17 . Thus, the mention of strangers is not confined to latter part of Isaiah as alleged by some. See App-79 . the house of Jacob. See note on Isaiah 2:5 . read more
CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY AGAINST BABYLONExcept for the last nine verses of this chapter, it is a continuation of the prophecy against Babylon. Those last verses carry prophecies against Assyria and against Philistia.Scholars of all shades of belief have joined in extolling the sublime, effective manner in which this chapter is written. The highly imaginative reception which the illustrious dead are represented as giving the fallen king of Babylon is unique in the literary history of... read more
Isaiah 14:1. For the Lord will have mercy— The prophet here continues his discourse concerning Babylon, wherein we have a continuation of the prophesy concerning the fall of the Babylonish empire and its rulers, Isa 14:1-23 and a prophesy interwoven, concerning the great slaughter which the king of Assyria should meet with on the mountains of Israel; Isa 14:24-27 the former part describes, first, the fruit or consequence of the fall of Babylon; that is to say, the perfect deliverance of the... read more
1. choose—"set His choice upon." A deliberate predilection [HORSLEY]. Their restoration is grounded on their election (see :-). strangers—proselytes (Esther 8:17; Acts 2:10; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:17). TACITUS, a heathen [Histories, 5.5], attests the fact of numbers of the Gentiles having become Jews in his time. An earnest of the future effect on the heathen world of the Jews' spiritual restoration (Isaiah 60:4; Isaiah 60:5; Isaiah 60:10; Micah 5:7; Zechariah 14:16; Romans 11:12). read more
The focal point of this oracle against Babylon is Israel’s security and future after this judgment. These verses summarize what Isaiah later recorded in more detail in chapters 40-66.Earlier Isaiah predicted that Israel would experience defeat and captivity. After that Yahweh would have compassion on her, choose her again for blessing, as He had following the Exodus (Exodus 19:4-6), and resettle her in her own land. Consequently many Gentiles would voluntarily attach themselves to God’s people.... read more
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
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
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
XIV.(1) For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob . . .—The words imply a prevision of the return of the Israelites from exile, and therefore of the exile itself. The downfall of Babylon was certain, because without it the mercy of the Lord to Israel could not be manifested. The whole section is an anticipation of the great argument of Isaiah 40-66, and the question of its authorship stands or falls on the same grounds.The strangers shall be joined with them . . .—The thought is one specially... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 14:1-23
13:1-23:18 MESSAGES FOR VARIOUS NATIONSAll the nations are under the rule of God, who controls their rise to power and their final destruction according to his purposes. This is the truth that the prophet teaches in the collection of prophecies against various nations in Chapters 13 to 23. The first message is for Babylon, which in Isaiah’s day had not yet risen to a position of international power. The fall of Babylon that is pictured in these chapters would not take place for more than one... read more