John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 14:22

"And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son`s son, saith Jehovah." — Isaiah 14:22 (ASV)

For I will rise up against them. The Lord now declares that He will do what He had formerly, by the Prophet, commanded others to do. Both statements ought to be observed: that it is the work of God when wicked men are ruined, though He may employ the agency of men in executing His judgments.

He formerly addressed them, saying, Prepare (Isaiah 14:21). This should lead us to observe not only the power of God, but also the efficacy of prophecy. Because of this, the prophets, by God's appointment, command all nations to do this or that. Furthermore, men are so far from being able to hinder the accomplishment of God's will that they are even constrained to yield obedience to Him.

Since we usually rely on men and, by neglecting God, attribute to them the power of doing everything, we ought to hold to this principle: because God acts by means of them, He is, strictly speaking, the Author of the work, and they are only servants or instruments. This is clearly enough shown by the connection with what immediately follows.

I have thought it best to view the particle ו (vau) as meaning for. He assigns the reason why He enjoins the Medes and others to prepare destruction for the Babylonians: For I will rise up against them.

This mode of expression, by which the Lord says that He rises up, is sufficiently common. Through this, the Prophet accommodates himself to our capacity, because the majesty of God is so high that we cannot conceive of it. We tend to think that God is idle and unoccupied as long as He overlooks men's actions; therefore, He says that He rises up when He exerts His power and manifests it by some visible act.

Saith the Lord of hosts. This title serves to confirm the statement, as if God had said that He did not, without good grounds, claim the government over the nations, for God governs all armies by His own hand. Since, therefore, the Prophet has been appointed to make known the purpose of God, it belongs to him to command men, so that they may yield obedience to God. By the words saith the Lord, which are repeated twice in this verse, the Prophet affirms that he utters nothing but what has been commanded by God, so that this prophecy may carry greater weight.

And I will cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, son and grandson. It has been mentioned often enough before that this destruction did not overtake Babylon until after the death of Alexander the Great. By the phrase sons and grandsons, He means not only posterity but also the remembrance that wicked men are so desirous to obtain, so that they may be applauded for many ages after their death. This also the Lord took away from Babylon, so that no remembrance of it might remain, except what was accompanied by dishonor and reproach.