Isaiah 14:13-15
New English Translation
13 You said to yourself,[a]
‘I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El[b]
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon.[c]
14 I will climb up to the tops[d] of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!’[e]
15 But you were brought down[f] to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the Pit.[g]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 14:13 tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”
- Isaiah 14:13 sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.
- Isaiah 14:13 sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.
- Isaiah 14:14 tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.
- Isaiah 14:14 sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.
- Isaiah 14:15 tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.
- Isaiah 14:15 tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.
Isaiah 14:13-15
New International Version
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend(A) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(B)
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(C)
on the utmost heights(D) of Mount Zaphon.[a]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(E)
I will make myself like the Most High.”(F)
15 But you are brought down(G) to the realm of the dead,(H)
to the depths(I) of the pit.(J)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
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