Isaiah 14:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased! How the arrogance has ended!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְנָשָׂ֜אתָ הַמָּשָׁ֥ל הַזֶּ֛ה עַל־מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶ֖ל וְאָמָ֑רְתָּ אֵ֚יךְ שָׁבַ֣ת נֹגֵ֔שׂ שָׁבְתָ֖ה מַדְהֵבָֽה׃

Transliteration

And nāśāʾtā the-māšāl the-this against-meleḵ bāḇel and-ʾāmārtā: ʾêḵ šāḇat nōḡēś, šāḇtāh madhēḇāh.

Grammar Details

• *nāśāʾtā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you will take up/lift
• *māšāl*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the proverb/taunt/oracle
• *meleḵ*: masculine singular noun - king
• *bāḇel*: proper noun - Babylon
• *ʾāmārtā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you will say
• *ʾêḵ*: interrogative adverb - how
• *šāḇat*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he has ceased/stopped
• *nōḡēś*: qal active participle, masculine singular - oppressor/taskmaster
• *šāḇtāh*: qal perfect, 3rd feminine singular - she has ceased/stopped
• *madhēḇāh*: feminine singular noun - insolence/golden city/oppression

Word Meanings

• *nāśāʾtā*: take up/lift/raise/bear
• *māšāl*: proverb/taunt/parable/oracle
• *šāḇat*: cease/stop/rest/desist
• *nōḡēś*: oppressor/taskmaster/tyrant/driver
• *madhēḇāh*: insolence/golden city/golden one/oppression/place of gold

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

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

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  That you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

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

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  that thou shalt take up{H5375} this parable{H4912} against the king{H4428} of Babylon,{H894} and say,{H559} How hath the oppressor{H5065} ceased!{H7673} the golden city{H4062} ceased!{H7673}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  That thou shalt take up{H5375}{(H8804)} this proverb{H4912} against the king{H4428} of Babylon{H894}, and say{H559}{(H8804)}, How hath the oppressor{H5065}{(H8802)} ceased{H7673}{(H8804)}! the golden city{H4062} ceased{H7673}{(H8804)}!

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  then shalt thou vse this mockage vpon ye kinge of Babilon, & saye: How happeneth it yt ye oppressour leaueth of? It ye golden tribute come to an ende?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Then shalt thou take vp this prouerbe against the King of Babel, and say, Howe hath the oppressor ceased? & the gold thirsty Babel rested?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Then shalt thou vse this mockage vpon the kyng of Babylon, and say: Howe happeneth it that the oppressour leaueth of? Is the golden tribute come to an ende?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

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

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  that you shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  That thou hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor ceased,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

• American Standard Version (1901)

  that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  That you will take up this bitter song against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the cruel overseer come to an end! He who was lifted up in pride is cut off;

• World English Bible (2000)

  that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!"

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:“Look how the oppressor has met his end! Hostility has ceased!

Referenced Verses

• Isa 49:26 : 26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they will be drunk on their own blood as with new wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
• Rev 18:16 : 16 saying, 'Woe, woe to the great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and crimson, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls!'
• Rev 18:20 : 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has pronounced your judgment against her!
• 2 Chr 36:18 : 18 He carried away all the articles of the house of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s house, as well as the treasures of the king and of his officials. He brought them all to Babylon.
• Isa 9:4 : 4 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, fuel for the fire.
• Isa 13:19 : 19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
• Isa 14:6 : 6 which struck the nations in anger with unending blows, that subdued the nations in wrath, with relentless persecution.
• Isa 14:17 : 17 Who made the world a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to release his prisoners to their homes?'
• Isa 45:2-3 : 2 I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. 3 I will give you treasures hidden in darkness, and riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
• Isa 47:5 : 5 Sit silently and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you will no longer be called the mistress of kingdoms.
• Isa 51:23 : 23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Bow down so we can walk over you.' You made your back like the ground, like a street for them to walk over.
• Jer 24:9 : 9 I will make them a horror and an object of calamity among all the kingdoms of the earth—a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I drive them.
• Jer 25:9-9 : 9 I am about to send for all the clans of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, its inhabitants, and all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror, scorn, and perpetual ruins. 10 I will banish from them the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This entire land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 12 'But when the seventy years are completed,' declares the LORD, 'I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it desolate forever.' 13 I will bring upon that land everything I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will make them serve, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.
• Jer 27:6-7 : 6 Now I have handed over all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. 7 All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.
• Jer 50:22-23 : 22 The sound of battle is in the land—a great destruction. 23 How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut down and broken! Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations.
• Jer 51:20-24 : 20 You are My war club, My weapon of battle: with you, I shatter nations, and with you, I destroy kingdoms. 21 With you, I shatter horse and rider; with you, I shatter chariot and driver. 22 With you, I shatter man and woman; with you, I shatter the old and the young; with you, I shatter the young man and the maiden. 23 With you, I shatter shepherd and flock; with you, I shatter farmer and oxen; with you, I shatter governors and officials. 24 Before your eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.
• Jer 51:34-35 : 34 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has made me an empty vessel. He has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies. He has rinsed me out. 35 May the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon, says the inhabitant of Zion. May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea, says Jerusalem.
• Lam 4:1 : 1 How the gold has grown dim, the fine gold has changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street.
• Ezek 5:15 : 15 You will be a reproach, a mockery, a warning, and a horror to the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and furious rebukes! I, the LORD, have spoken.
• Dan 2:38 : 38 He has placed into your hands control over every person, animal, and bird that dwells under the heavens. Wherever they live, He has given you sovereignty over them all. You are the head of gold.
• Dan 7:19-25 : 19 Then I wanted to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—exceedingly terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze claws, which devoured, crushed, and trampled the remainder with its feet. 20 And about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, before which three fell—the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking great things, and whose appearance was greater than the others. 21 As I was watching, that horn made war against the holy ones and was prevailing against them. 22 Until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came for the holy ones to possess the kingdom. 23 He said, 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it, and crush it.' 24 The ten horns represent ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. Another king, different from the previous ones, will rise after them and will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak words against the Most High, oppress the holy ones of the Most High, and plan to change times and laws. The holy ones will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.
• Hab 1:2-9 : 2 How long, LORD, must I call for help and You do not listen? I cry out to You, 'Violence!' but You do not save. 3 Why do You make me see wrongdoing and observe trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so justice comes out distorted. 5 Look among the nations and observe—be utterly amazed! For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. 6 Look, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation that marches through the earth's breadth to seize dwellings not their own. 7 They are terrifying and dreadful; their justice and authority originate with themselves. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than evening wolves. Their horsemen charge ahead; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour. 9 They all come for violence; their faces are set to advance. They gather captives like sand. 10 They mock kings, and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to capture it.
• Hab 2:6-9 : 6 Will not all these take up a taunt against him, with mocking sayings and riddles? They will say, "Woe to him who amasses what is not his! How long will this go on? And who weighs himself down with stolen goods?" 7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will not those who make you tremble wake up? Then you will become their plunder. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of peoples will plunder you—because of human bloodshed and violence against the land, the cities, and everyone who lives in them. 9 Woe to the one who gains unjust wealth for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of calamity! 10 You have planned disgrace for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your own life. 11 For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the wooden beam will answer it. 12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town with injustice!
• Hab 2:17 : 17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of beasts will terrify you, because of human bloodshed and violence against the land, the city, and all who live in it.
• Rev 13:15-17 : 15 It was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could speak and cause all who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 It forces everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark: the name of the beast or the number of its name.
• Rev 16:5-6 : 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, 'You are righteous, Lord, the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, because you have judged these things.' 6 For they shed the blood of your holy people and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.
• Rev 17:6 : 6 I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I was utterly amazed.
• Rev 18:5-8 : 5 For her sins have piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her injustices. 6 Repay her as she herself has repaid others, and pay her back double according to her deeds; in the cup she has mixed, mix a double portion for her. 7 As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief, because in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and I will never see grief.' 8 Because of this, her plagues will come in a single day: death, mourning, and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for the mighty Lord God is the one who judges her.