Isaiah 14:3

"And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shall say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers; that smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us."

Who is this "King of Babylon," against whom these verses are pointed? We favor the view that he is a symbolical figure, standing in the passage for all of the evil rulers of that era, and symbolizing, ultimately, all of the wicked tyrants who ever lived. Barnes believed he was Belshazzar, the evil Babylonian ruler whose reign terminated the kingdom.[7] Kidner believed it was "the whole dynasty";[8] Kelley pointed out that many scholars identify the ruler here as an Assyrian king, perhaps Sargon II.[9] This latter suggestion violates the text which clearly says the "king of Babylon." It would appear that Hailey's comment is correct. "No one king is before the prophet's mind; Isaiah is simply personifying the whole spirit of Babylonian rulers."[10] It is also true that, here where we have the great kings sleeping on maggots and worms in death, "We are confronted with the last brutal truth for the hedonist,"[11] not just for some ancient king, or even for some ancient dynasty, but for all men of every age or nation who live solely for the world and its power and glory.

"The golden city (Isaiah 14:4) ..." This title was given to Babylon, because she was an exactress who extorted gold from her victims and stored great quantities of it.

"Broken the staff of the wicked ..." The staff, or scepter, was a symbol of the power great rulers exercised over their subjects. What is meant is that God would thwart the purposes of evil rulers.

The metaphor of the firs and cedars joining in the song of joy that the evil ruler has fallen is in keeping with many similar passages in God's Word. "Let the heavens rejoice ... the sea roar ... the field be joyful ... the trees rejoice ..." (Psalms 96:11-13).