13:1 This verse claims Isaiah unambiguously as author, not just for this verse but for the whole section. The word “oracle” (Hb. massaʾ) means a “burden,” either literally as a load carried by an animal or figuratively as a heavy message to deliver. There is also the nuance of a raised voice, showing the importance of the utterance.

13:2–3 The prophet begins with a call to arms, as a banner is raised on an otherwise empty hillside. God’s armies will storm the gates of the powerful. This army is the host of heaven, anticipating the day when the rider on the white horse will lead the armies of heaven to judge the nations (Rev. 19:11–16). These warriors are consecrated to the task of destroying evil.

13:4–5 A cluster of verbless phrases suggests the swift approach of the armies of Yahweh, unimpeded by natural obstacles such as mountains or vast distances. “Land” could also be translated “earth” in view of the worldwide nature of the army’s activities.

13:6–8 This is no passing episode in history but the day of the Lord, “the world’s last session” as Milton calls it in his On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity. On this day all human power and achievement will be helpless. Further, there will be complete emotional and physical collapse, as the vaunted pomp and show of the kingdom of this world vanish and people realize they have trusted the wrong things.

13:9 The day of the Lord is not cruel but a just and severe response to human wickedness, required by the holiness of God. Once again “land” could also be translated “earth” to capture the universal nature of judgment. The earth will be devastated (cf. Isaiah 24)—and sinners along with it. Sin is the reason for inevitable judgment: the holy God cannot allow sin to triumph.

13:10 But the day of the Lord extends further than the earth and even affects the heavens. Cosmic disturbance is the sign that God is on the move. This is also the emphasis of the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:29–30; Mark 13:24–25; Luke 21:25–26). The Lord will cleanse the whole of creation and usher in the new heavens and new earth. Among other things, this shows how foolish it is for people to worship the heavenly bodies and regard them as controlling earthly destinies. Like human powers, they are completely subject to the hand that made them.

13:11–13 The specific human sin in view is pride, which causes humans to put themselves in the place of God. The “world” (Hb. tebel, describing the human world) and the “wicked” who are its inhabitants will be judged fairly, and injustices will be eliminated. Humanity will be reduced and become scarce. The whole scene is summarized in Isaiah 13:13, as heaven and earth are shaken and creation is undone as at the flood—imagery that is developed in 24:18–20.

13:14–16 There will be panic-stricken flight as refugees flood the roads, as well as acts of cruelty against the helpless and vulnerable. Pride and self-obsession lead inevitably to contempt and indifference to others; fallen human nature is prone to cruelty, both physical and mental. When the endless kingdom is established, however, the destruction of evil and sin will come.

13:17–18 The instrument of Babylon’s overthrow will be the Medes, from the country now known as Iran. There is no mention here of the Persians, who are still largely unknown in Isaiah’s time, and thus attempts to date this oracle to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC are unconvincing.34 It is significant that the conqueror of Babylon is called “Darius the Mede” (Dan. 5:30–31). What is particularly significant is that Yahweh “stirs up the Medes.” The raising up of “Assyria, rod of my anger” (Isa. 10:5) was no isolated episode; God controls all the movements of history. The Medes cannot be bribed and are ruthless in their cruelty, destroying the young people of their enemies to ensure the future for themselves.

13:19 Now Babylon is mentioned explicitly; its great wealth and cultural power are emphasized in such words as “glory” and “splendor,” which were used in 4:2 of Yahweh’s branch and in 28:5 of Yahweh himself. Like Assyria (8:7–8), the Babylonians behave as if they were gods. Yet like Sodom and Gomorrah they will be overthrown. There is another warning here to the covenant people as they themselves have been described as Sodom and Gomorrah (1:10). God’s activity in history is continual and consistent.

13:20–22 The destruction of Babylon will be total, and human life will disappear; even transitory visitors such as bedouins and shepherds will shun the place. Instead, animals will inhabit the crumbling ruins. These are sinister creatures, and the superstitious will be afraid that ghostly entities haunt the desolate city. “Its time” is not a calendar date but the appointed day when God judges. The fall of this city points to the day when God will judge the world.

14:1 “Compassion” is a rich word expressing a mother’s love and including the entire people, as the reference to the house of Israel shows. This will be a new and greater exodus and will include “sojourners” from all lands. Jacob and Israel are a common pairing; Jacob is what we are by nature, and Israel is how we are transformed by grace (Gen. 32:28).

14:2 Exile will be reversed and former captors will become captives. However, this will be not harsh military domination but the rule of the Prince of Peace. Former enemies will be reconciled and all that is of Babylon will be gone.

14:3–4a The “rest” is the final kingdom, but there are anticipations of this in the days of the monarchy. In spite of failure David and Solomon (in his better days), as well as Asa and Jehoshaphat, and particularly Hezekiah and Josiah, give genuine glimpses of the king and kingdom to come, for God works consistently throughout history. The emphasis here is not on oppressors throughout history so much as it is on a particular “king of Babylon,” who sums up the spirit of the world and indeed is the energizing principle behind it. The word for “taunt” is mashal, the regular term for “proverb” or “parable,” literary genres that penetrate to the inner meaning of what is happening. The poem that follows is magnificent in the power and range of its imagery and the way the real enemy is exposed.

At this point we must ask who this poem is about. On one level it is about a human king who descends to Sheol and about the city of Babylon, which will be “made . . . a possession of the hedgehog,35 and pools of water” (Isa. 14:23). Yet it is also a brilliant exposure of the sinister power behind all warlords and oppressors, the Prince of the world himself. Human history is a conflict between the Serpent and the Descendant of the woman (Gen. 3:15), which continues even after the cross and resurrection strike Satan a mortal blow (cf. Revelation 12–13).

Seeing this passage as referring to the Prince of this world is by no means a universal view. Oswalt argues that though Satan is indeed an example of creaturely pride, the verses do not refer directly to him.36 Goldingay sees this interpretation as an attempt to satisfy our curiosity on a subject about which the Bible has little to say.37 Motyer simply does not mention it. In at least some cases, there seems to be an unwillingness to see the workings of Satan in human history.

I argue for this interpretation because the whole section is dominated by the pride of rulers, such as the kings of Babylon and Assyria, who think themselves gods. In this they are themselves being deceived by the Serpent, whose temptation to humanity was that they would be like gods. Moreover, the cosmic and overtly supernatural nature of the imagery points to something bigger than mere human pride, to something of which human pride is merely a manifestation. Perhaps the fullest depiction of this is found in Daniel 7–12, where spiritual powers are seen behind the rise of great empires and where Michael is defender of God’s people. Revelation 12 and 13 similarly go behind the scenes, showing us the high command of good and evil and their influence on earthly events. Much mystery still remains, but the activity of powers of supernatural evil on earth better explains the dire situation in the world than attributing everything to human sin, gigantic though that is.

14:5–6 The power of humans is great, represented by staffs and scepters, but these are helpless against the Lord; their power is broken and their ceaseless persecution brought to an end. Human life was never intended to be one of endless hardship and monstrous cruelty, and the day of Yahweh will bring that to an end.

14:7–8 The language now extends to the created order itself, as nothing less than the liberation of the entire cosmos is envisaged. Its rest is heralded by singing, a song that will be sung by the whole of creation. This is partially anticipated even now (cf. Psalm 148) but will fully characterize the new heavens and earth. Lebanon is frequently a symbol not only of God’s power but of his beauty (Ps. 104:16), and thus savagely cutting down its great trees is a parody of true human dominion over the earth. Nature will rejoice in the judgment delivered on the great Oppressor.

14:9–11 Having looked at the earth, Isaiah now pays an imaginative visit to Sheol. This is not a theological statement of how the Hebrews regarded the world of death and beyond the grave. Yet it does draw attention to important principles, not least that death is not the end and that personality continues beyond this life. Fuller revelation awaits the resurrection of Jesus and his revelation of “life and immortality” (2 Tim. 1:10), but nothing said here or elsewhere in the OT contradicts that later revelation. Pride continues as the departed kings sit on their thrones and greet the new arrival with mockery. Truly the glory of the world passes away. Instead of the luxury of earth, we find maggots and worms.

14:12 The scene now moves to heaven and the prideful self-exaltation of “Day Star, son of Dawn” and his failed coup against God. “Laid the nations low” makes good sense on two levels. The king of Babylon and other tyrants oppress the nations and humiliate them. But on a deeper level the sinister power behind the earthly rulers orchestrates their activities in his defiance of God.

14:13–14 Here the inner motivation of the king is exposed in language full of mythological references. This does not mean Isaiah accepts pagan myth but rather that the language is common currency of his time and underlines the point he is making. The “mount of assembly” is Mount Zaphon in Syria, where the gods were believed to assemble (like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology). Psalm 48 (NIV) references the “utmost heights of Zaphon,”38 which cannot compare with Zion, where God has made himself known. Here “far reaches of the north” could also be rendered “far parts of Zaphon.” This is another illustration of the multilayered nature of the language. “The Most High” is first used in Genesis 14:14–20 of the priesthood of Melchizedek, where the emphasis is on God as Creator.

14:15 Yet this pretension ends not on the throne of heaven but in Sheol. When angels or humans attempt to become gods, the end is not life and splendor but death and judgment. These verses (Isa. 14:12–15) are the most overtly supernatural part of the poem, which moves between Satan and earthly tyrants he energizes. One more indication of the nature of this figure is evident when we look at the section as a whole. These oracles against the nations begin with the king of Babylon and end with the smiting of Leviathan (27:1), which symbolizes God’s destruction of evil so that his vineyard can flourish again.39

14:16–21 We now return to earth: the picture of the king’s body lying unattended is a powerful picture of how death has reversed his fortunes. He had made the earth a desert and deported his victims far away from their homes. Now he himself is, in a profound sense, homeless.

14:22–23 The destruction of both king and city, whatever secondary means such as the Medes are used, will be the direct action of Yahweh. Unlike with the servant, who will “see his offspring” (53:10), the very name of Babylon will disappear. The broom suggests a total cleansing, leaving no trace behind. Thus every demonic and human power will disappear.

14:24 There is no such thing as a historical accident; God has committed himself to carrying out his purpose, as indicated by the verb “sworn.” This has already been underlined in the section on Assyria (10:5–19) and is the guiding principle of Isaiah’s thinking. It is the failure of Ahaz to grasp this (ch. 7) that leads him to embrace worldly wisdom, with disastrous results.

14:25–27 This is the two-part conclusion to the oracle that began in 13:1. The first part declares that Assyria will be broken in Immanuel’s land: chapter 37 shows how the angel of Yahweh destroys Sennacherib’s great army. The “yoke” and “burden” already referenced in 10:27 will be removed as the Egyptian yoke and burden were once removed.

Second, this is no isolated episode but is “concerning the whole earth.” This will transpire because the Lord of the armies of heaven has not only planned this but will carry it out. The children’s chorus “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” makes the same point in its penetrating simplicity.