How the oppressor has come to an end!
how the turmoil has ended!
5TheLord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the staff of the tyrantse
6That struck the peoples in wrath
with relentless blows;
That ruled the nations in anger,
with boundless persecution.f
7The whole earth rests peacefully,
song breaks forth;
8The very cypresses rejoice over you,
the cedars of Lebanon:
“Now that you are laid to rest,
no one comes to cut us down.”g
9Below, Sheol is all astir
preparing for your coming;
Awakening the shades to greet you,
all the leaders of the earth;
Making all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10All of them speak out
and say to you,
“You too have become weak like us,
you are just like us!
11Down to Sheol your pomp is brought,
the sound of your harps.
Maggots are the couch beneath you,
worms your blanket.”h
12How you have fallen from the heavens,
O Morning Star,* son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the earth,
you who conquered nations!i
13In your heart you said:
“I will scale the heavens;
Above the stars of God*
I will set up my throne;
I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly,
on the heights of Zaphon.j
14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will be like the Most High!”k
15No! Down to Sheol you will be brought
to the depths of the pit!l
16When they see you they will stare,
pondering over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms?
17Who made the world a wilderness,
razed its cities,
and gave captives no release?”
18All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;m
19But you are cast forth without burial,
like loathsome carrion,
Covered with the slain, with those struck by the sword,
a trampled corpse,
Going down to the very stones of the pit.n
20You will never be together with them in the grave,
For you have ruined your land,
you have slain your people!
Let him never be named,
that offshoot of evil!
21Make ready to slaughter his sons
for the guilt of their fathers;o
Lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the breadth of the world with cities.*
God’s Plan for Assyria*
24TheLord of hosts has sworn:
As I have resolved,
so shall it be;
As I have planned,
so shall it stand:
25To break the Assyrian in my land
and trample him on my mountains;
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
and his burden from their shoulder.q
26This is the plan proposed for the whole earth,
and this the hand outstretched over all the nations.*
27TheLord of hosts has planned;
who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out;
who can turn it back?r
Philistia.*28In the year that King Ahaz died,* there came this oracle:
29* Do not rejoice, Philistia, not one of you,
that the rod which struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s root shall come an adder,
its offspring shall be a flying saraph.
30In my pastures the poor shall graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
But I will kill your root with famine
that shall slay even your remnant.
31Howl, O gate; cry out, O city!
Philistia, all of you melts away!
For there comes a smoke from the north,*
without a straggler in its ranks.
32What will one answer the messengers of the nations?*
“TheLord has established Zion,
and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”
