Isaiah 14 · Verse 1

Isaiah 14:1

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isaiah 14:1, King James Version

Isaiah 14:1 in other translations

BSBFor the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
WEBFor the LORD will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land. The foreigner will join himself with them, and they will unite with the house of Jacob.
ASVFor Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
YLTBecause Jehovah loveth Jacob, And hath fixed again on Israel, And given them rest on their own land, And joined hath been the sojourner to them, And they have been admitted to the house of Jacob.
DARBYFor Jehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in rest in their own land; and the stranger shall be united to them, and they shall be joined to the house of Jacob.
BBEFor the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make Israel his special people, and will put them in their land; and the man from a strange country will take his place among them and be joined to the family of Jacob.
WebsterFor the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

What does Isaiah 14:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Is 14:1-3. The Certainty of Deliverance from Babylon.

Is 14:4-23. The Jews' Triumphal Song Thereat.

"It moves in lengthened elegiac measure like a song of lamentation for the dead, and is full of lofty scorn" [Herder].

Is 14:24-27. Confirmation of This by the Hereforetold Destruction of the Assyrians under Sennacherib;

a pledge to assure the captives in Babylon that He who, with such ease, overthrew the Assyrian, could likewise effect His purpose as to Babylon. The Babylonian king, the subject of this prediction, is Belshazzar, as representative of the kingdom (Da 5:1-31). 1. choose--"set His choice upon." A deliberate predilection [Horsley]. Their restoration is grounded on their election (see Psa 102:13-22). strangers--proselytes (Es 8:17; Ac 2:10; 17:4, 17). Tacitus, a heathen [Histories, 5.5], attests the fact of numbers of the Gentiles having become Jews in his time. An earnest of the future effect on the heathen world of the Jews' spiritual restoration (Is 60:4, 5, 10; Mi 5:7; Zec 14:16; Ro 11:12).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

Deliverance of Israel from captivity, which shall follow the downfall of the great Babylonish empire, Isa 14:1, Isa 14:2. Triumphant ode or song of the children of Jacob, for the signal manifestation of Divine vengeance against their oppressors, vv. 3-23. Prophecy against the Assyrians, Isa 14:24, Isa 14:25. Certainty of the prophecy, and immutability of the Divine counsels, Isa 14:26, Isa 14:27. Palestine severely threatened, Isa 14:28-31. God shall establish Zion in these troublous times, Isa 14:32. Verse 1 And will yet choose Israel - That is, will still regard Israel as his chosen people; however he may seem to desert them, by giving them up to their enemies, and scattering them among the nations. Judah is sometimes called Israel; see Eze 13:16; Mal 1:1; Mal 2:11 : but the name of Jacob and of Israel, used apparently with design in this place, each of which names includes the twelve tribes, and the other circumstances mentioned in this and the next verse, which did not in any complete sense accompany the return from the captivity of Babylon, seem to intimate that this whole prophecy extends its views beyond that event.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 14:1-23
The destruction of Babylon, and the death of its proud monarch. (Is. 14:1-23) Assurance of the destruction of Assyria. (Is. 14:24-27) The destruction of the Philistines. (Is. 14:28-32) Verses 1-23 The whole plan of Divine Providence is arranged with a view to the good of the people of God. A settlement in the land of promise is of God's mercy. Let the church receive those whom God receives. God's people, wherever their lot is cast, should endeavour to recommend religion by a right and winning conversation. Those that would not be reconciled to them, should be humbled by them. This may be applied to the success of the gospel, when those were brought to obey it who had opposed it. God himself undertakes to work a blessed change. They shall have rest from their sorrow and fear, the sense of their present burdens, and the dread of worse. Babylon abounded in riches. The king of Babylon having the absolute command of so much wealth, by the help of it ruled the nations. This refers especially to the people of the Jews; and it filled up the measure of the king of Babylon's sins. Tyrants sacrifice their true interest to their lusts and passions. It is gracious ambition to covet to be like the Most Holy, for he has said, Be ye holy, for I am holy; but it is sinful ambition to aim to be like the Most High, for he has said, He who exalts himself shall be abased. The devil thus drew our first parents to sin. Utter ruin should be brought upon him. Those that will not cease to sin, God will make to cease. He should be slain, and go down to the grave; this is the common fate of tyrants. True glory, that is, true grace, will go up with the soul to heaven, but vain pomp will go down with the body to the grave; there is an end of it. To be denied burial, if for righteousness' sake, may be rejoiced in, Matt. 5:12. But if the just punishment of sin, it denotes that impenitent sinners shall rise to everlasting shame and contempt. Many triumphs should be in his fall. God will reckon with those that disturb the peace of mankind. The receiving the king of Babylon into the regions of the dead, shows there is a world of spirits, to which the souls of men remove at death. And that souls have converse with each other, though we have none with them; and that death and hell will be death and hell indeed, to all who fall unholy, from the height of this world's pomps, and the fulness of its pleasures. Learn from all this, that the seed of evil-doers shall never be renowned. The royal city is to be ruined and forsaken. Thus the utter destruction of the New Testament Babylon is illustrated, Rev. 18:2. When a people will not be made clean with the besom of reformation, what can they expect but to be swept off the face of the earth with the besom of destruction?

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 14:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּי֩kiforH3588
יְרַחֵ֨םye.ra.Chemhe will have compassion onH7355
יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יַעֲקֹ֗בya.'a.KoJacobH3290
וּבָחַ֥רu.va.Charand he will chooseH977
עוֹד֙'OdagainH5750
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לbe.Yis.ra.'El<in> IsraelH3478
וְהִנִּיחָ֖םve.hi.ni.Chamand he will give rest themH5117
עַל\־'al-onH5921
אַדְמָתָ֑ם'ad.ma.Tamown land theirH127
וְנִלְוָ֤הve.nil.Vahand he will join himselfH3867
הַגֵּר֙ha.Gerthe sojournerH1616
עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei.Hemto themH5921
וְנִסְפְּח֖וּve.nis.pe.Chuand they will attach themselvesH5596
עַל\־'al-toH5921
בֵּ֥יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
יַעֲקֹֽב\׃ya.'a.KoJacobH3290

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 14:1

  • Psalms 102:13

    Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

  • Zechariah 1:17

    Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

  • Ephesians 2:12-19

    That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; …

  • Isaiah 54:7-8

    For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

  • Zechariah 8:22-23

    Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

  • Malachi 1:11

    For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Jeremiah 50:4-6

    In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

  • Jeremiah 32:37-41

    Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. …

  • Jeremiah 12:15-16

    And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

  • Jeremiah 31:8-12

    Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. …

  • Acts 15:14-17

    Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

  • Zechariah 2:11-12

    And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 God's merciful restoration of Israel.
3 Their triumphant exultation over Babel.
24 God's purpose against Assyria.
29 Palestina is threatened.

the Lord.
40:1,2; 44:21,22; 54:7,8; Le 26:40-45; De 4:29-31; Ne 1:8,9
Ps 98:3; 102:13; 136:10-24; 143:12; Jer 50:4-6,17-20,33
Jer 51:4-6,34-37; Lu 1:54,72-74
choose.
27:6; Zec 1:17; 2:12
set.
De 30:3-5; Jer 24:6,7; 29:14; 30:18-22; 31:8-12; 32:37-41
Eze 36:24-28; 39:25-29
the strangers.
19:24,25; 49:16-23; 56:6-8; 60:3-5; 66:20; Ru 1:14-18; Es 8:17
Jer 12:15,16; Zec 2:11; 8:22,23; Mal 1:11; Lu 2:32; Ac 15:14-17
Eph 2:12-19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 14:1

    For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

  • Isaiah 14:2

    And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Read all of Isaiah 14

Isaiah 14:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		PORQUE Jehová tendrá piedad de Jacob, y todavía escogerá á Israel, y les hará reposar en su tierra: y á ellos se unirán extranjeros, y allegaránse á la familia de Jacob.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car l’ Éternel aura compassion de Jacob et choisira encore Israël, et les établira en repos sur leur terre; et l’étranger se joindra à eux, et sera ajouté à la maison de Jacob.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn Jehova wird sich Jakobs erbarmen und Israel noch erwählen, und wird sie in ihr Land einsetzen. Und der Fremdling wird sich ihnen anschließen, und sie werden sich dem Hause Jakob zugesellen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Prope est ut veniat tempus ejus, et dies ejus non elongabuntur. Miserebitur enim Dominus Jacob, et eliget adhuc de Israël, et requiescere eos faciet super humum suam; adjungetur advena ad eos, et adhærebit domui Jacob.