Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 14

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob - That is, He will pity the captive Jews in Babylon. He will not abandon them, but will remember them, and restore them to their own land.

And will again choose Israel - He will show that He regards them as still His chosen people, or will again choose them by recovering them from their bondage and by restoring them to their country as His people. The names Jacob and Israel here simply denote the Jews. They do not imply that all of those who were to be carried captive would return, but that as a people they would be restored.

And set them ... - Hebrew, “Will cause them to rest in their own country;” that is, will give them peace, quietness, and security there.

And the stranger shall be joined to them - The stranger, here, probably refers to those foreigners who would become proselytes to their religion while they were in Babylon. Those proselytes would be firmly united with them and would return with them to their own land. Their captivity would be attended with this advantage: that many even of those who led them away would be brought to embrace their religion and return with them to their own country.

If it is asked what evidence there is that any considerable number of the people of Chaldea became Jewish proselytes, I answer, that it is expressly stated in Esther 8:17: And many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Ezra, indeed, has not mentioned the fact that many of the people of Babylonia became proselytes to the religion of the Jews, but it is in accordance with all that we know of their history, and their influence on the nations with which, from time to time, they were connected, that many should have been thus joined to them. We know that in subsequent times many from other nations became proselytes, and that multitudes of the Egyptians, the Macedonians, the Romans, and the inhabitants of Asia Minor embraced the Jewish religion or became what were called proselytes of the gate. They were circumcised and were regarded as entitled to a part of the privileges of the Jewish people (compare Acts 17:4, Acts 17:17).

Tacitus, speaking of his time, says, that “every abandoned man, despising the religion of his country, bears tribute and revenue to Jerusalem, from which it happens that the number of the Jews is greatly increased.” - ("Hist." 5.5). Therefore, it is in accordance with all their history that the Jews in Babylon, during their long captivity, would induce many of the Chaldeans to become proselytes.

And the people shall take them - That is, the people in Babylon.

And bring them to their place - That is, they will accompany them to the land of Judea and aid in restoring them to their own country. There is reference here, no doubt, to the fact that Cyrus would assist them , and that many of the inhabitants of Chaldea who would become proselytes would be willing to accompany them to their own land.

And the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord - Not in a foreign land, and among strangers and foes, but in their own land, and among the institutions of their own religion. They would be willing to return with them and occupy a humble place among them as servants, for the sake of enjoying the privileges of the true religion. It was a matter of course among the Hebrews that proselytes would be regarded as occupying a less elevated place in society than native-born Jews.

And they shall take them captive ... - That is, they will induce them to become proselytes, to be willing to accompany them to their own homes, and to become their servants there. It does not mean that they would subdue them by force, but they would be able, by their influence there, to disarm their opposition and to induce them to become the friends of their religion.

And they shall rule over their oppressors - This is one instance where the people of God would show that they could disarm their oppressors by a mild and winning demeanour, and in which they would be able to induce others to join with them. Such would be the force of their example and conduct, of their conversation and of their deportment, even in the midst of proud and haughty Babylon, that their oppressors would be won to embrace the religion of their captives. If, in proud and haughty Babylon, those who loved the Lord could thus do good; if, when they were captives, they could have such an influence over their haughty masters, where is there a place in which the friends of God may not be useful by their example, their conversation, and their prayers?

And it shall come to pass - That is, then you shall take up a taunting song against the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4).

That the Lord shall give you rest - . The nature of this predicted rest is more fully described in (Ezekiel 28:25–26).

From your sorrow - The long pain of your captivity in Babylon.

And from your fear - Hebrew, ‘Trembling.’ That is, the apprehension of the ills to which they were continually exposed. Trembling is usually one effect of fear.

And from your hard bondage - The severe and galling servitude of seventy years.

That you shall take up — You shall utter, declare, or commence. The word ‘take up’ is used in the sense of utter, speak, or declare, in Exodus 20:7; Exodus 23:1; Psalms 15:2.

This proverb — (המשׁל hamâshâl). Vulgate, ‘Parable.’ Septuagint Τὸν θρῆνον ton thrēnon — ‘Lamentation.’ The Hebrew word משׁל mâshâl — usually rendered “proverb,” is also rendered “a parable,” or “a by-word.” It properly denotes “a metaphor, a comparison, a similitude;” and is applied usually to a brief and pungent sentiment or maxim, where wisdom is embodied in few words. In these the ancients abounded. They had few books; and from this arose the necessity of condensing the sentiments of wisdom as much as possible, so that they might be easily remembered and transmitted to future times. These maxims were commonly expressed in figurative language, or by a brief comparison, or short parable, as they are with us. The word also means figurative discourse generally; and therefore, a song or poem (Numbers 23:7; Numbers 23:18; Job 27:1; Job 29:1; Psalms 49:5).

It is also used to denote a satire, or a song of triumph over enemies (Micah 2:4; Hebrews 4:6; Joel 2:17). It is evidently used in this sense here — to denote a taunting speech, a song of triumph over the prostrate king of Babylon. In this beautiful song, there are all the elements of the most pungent satire, and all the beauties of the highest poetry.

Against the king of Babylon — Over the king of Babylon, or in regard to him. It is not certain that any particular king of Babylon is here intended. If there was, it was probably Belshazzar, in whose reign the city was taken (see the notes at Isaiah 14:22). It may, however, be designed to denote the Babylonian empire — the kingdom that had oppressed the Jews; and thus the king may be referred to as the head of the nation, and as the representative of the whole people.

How has the oppressor ceased! — The word ‘oppressor’ (נגשׂ nogēs') properly denotes the “exactor of tribute,” and refers here to the fact that Babylon had oppressed its dependent provinces by exacting large revenues from them, and thus cruelly oppressing them.

Ceased — Ceased to exact tribute; or (Hebrew) ‘is at rest.’ It is now at rest, and no longer puts forth its power in oppressing its dependent provinces.

The golden city — Babylon. The word used here (מדהבה madehēbâh) occurs nowhere else in the Bible.

According to the Jewish Commentators, it means “an exactress of gold,” as if derived from דהב dehab — used for זהב zehab — gold. Gesenius and Michaelis prefer another reading (מרהבה marehēbâh), from (רהב râhab), and suppose that it means oppression.

The Vulgate renders it “tribute” — ‘The tribute has ceased.’ The Septuagint Ἐπισπουδαστής Epispoudastēs — ‘Solicitor, or exactor (of gold).’ Vitringa supposes that the word means “gold,” and that it refers to the golden scepter of its kings that had now ceased to be swayed over the prostrate nations.

The most probable sense is that it means the exactress of gold, or of tribute. This best expresses the force of the word, and best agrees with the parallelism. In this sense it does not refer to the magnificence of the city, but to its oppressive acts in demanding tribute of gold from its dependent provinces.

The Lord has broken - Yahweh, by the hand of Cyrus.

The staff of the wicked - That is, the scepter of the king of Babylon. The word rendered ‘staff’(מטה maṭēh) may mean either a bough, stick, staff, rod, or a scepter. The scepter was the symbol of supreme power. It was in the form of a staff and was made of wood, ivory, or gold. It here means that Yahweh had taken away the power from Babylon and destroyed his dominion.