 1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob and will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land. The stranger will be joined with them and they will cling to the house of Jacob. 2 The people will take them and bring them to their place. The house of Israel will possess them in the land of the Lord for slaves and slave girls. They will be captives of their captors. They will rule over their oppressors. 3 In that day, the Lord will give you rest from your sorrow and from your fear and from the hard bondage that was pressed on you. 4 You will take up this song against the king of Babylon and say, How the exacter, the gold gatherer has ceased. 5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked and the scepter of the rulers. 6 He struck people in wrath, a blow without turning away, ruling the nations in anger, a persecution without restraint. 7 All the earth is at rest and is quiet. They break out into singing. 8 The fir trees rejoice at you. The cedars of Lebanon say, Since you have fallen, no woodcutter will come up against us. 9 Hell from below is moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the he goats of the earth. It has raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All of them will speak and say to you, Are you also as weak as we? Are you like us? 11 Your pride is brought down to the grave and the noise of your harps. The maggot is spread under you and worms cover you. 12 How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. 13 For you have said in your heart, I will go up to the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. 14 I will go up above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. 15 Yet you will be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 Those who see you will stare and watch you closely saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble and who shook kingdoms? 17 Did he make the world a wilderness and destroy its cities? Did he not open the house for its prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory. Every one in his own house. 19 But you are cast out of your grave like a hateful branch and like the clothing of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword. You go down to the stones of the pit like a dead body trampled under foot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial because you ruined your land and killed your people. The descendants of evildoers will never be famous. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children because of the iniquity of their fathers so that they do not rise nor possess the land nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22 For I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant and son and grandson, says the Lord. 23 I will also make it a possession of the hedgehog and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says the Lord of hosts. 24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, Surely as I have thought, so it will come to pass. As I have purposed, it will stand. 25 I will break Assyria in my land and on my mountains, trample him under foot. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden will be taken off their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed on all the earth. This is the hand that is stretched out on all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed and who will reverse it? His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back? 28 This burden was in the year that king Ahaz died. 29 Do not rejoice Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken. For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent. 30 The firstborn of the poor will feed and the needy will lie down in safety. I will kill your root with famine and he will slay your remnant. 31 Howl, O gate. Cry, O city. O Philistia, all of you are melted away. A smoke comes from the north and no straggler is in his ranks. 32 What will anyone then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion and the poor of His people will trust in it.
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