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| 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. |
Mercy on Jacob – Natural Israel. A300
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| 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. |
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| 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve. |
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| 4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! |
Of Babylon – Mystic Babylon, Christendom. D26
The golden city – The exactress of gold, see margin. D473
Ceased! – Gone to sheol, oblivion. Babylon shall be utterly lost sight of and forgotten. E369[E369]
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| 5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. |
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| 6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. |
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| 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. |
Earth is at rest – Will be, as a result of the establishment of God's Kingdom. R3053:4, R1248:5
Into singing – The prospect even now puts a new song into our mouths. R1262:3
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| 8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. |
The fir trees – The Lord's people. R480:5*
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| 9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. |
Hell from beneath – Sheol, oblivion (Margin: grave). E369; R2599:5
The preface to the Revised Version says that the word "hell" was left in this passage because of the familiarity of the passage. Elsewhere they translate "sheol" with either "grave" or "pit." R829:1*
Learned translators could not agree to render this word "grave" or "tomb" and left it untranslated. PD29/41
At thy coming – At the destruction of Great Babylon, soon. E369
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| 10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? |
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| 11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. |
Pomp is brought down – Babylon's greatness will soon be a thing of the past. E369
To the grave – Sheol, oblivion, not to a burning hell. E369; R2600:2
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| 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! |
How art thou fallen – This description primarily fits Satan's own course, and in a secondary sense is applicable to the rise and fall of literal Babylon; and in a yet further sense to the rise and fall of mystic Babylon. F618[F618:1]
From heaven – God has found it necessary to perform the unpleasant duties of discipline. In justice he must disown the disloyal sons and deal with them as enemies. R1833:4[R1833:6]
Lucifer – A glorious angelic being of a high order. OV306:3; SM63:1; R5843:3[R5843:7]
The shining one, God's first opponent. R5896:1[R5896:3]
His name was changed to that of Satan, meaning the hater, the accuser. R5896:1[R5896:3]
Primarily Satan, whose existence many deny. F609[F609:1]
Secondarily, applies to literal and mystic Babylon. F618; R1686:2
Son of the morning – One of the earliest of creation. R1642:1, R1686:1
If Satan had known the results of his course, he probably would not have taken it. R5576:5
Cut down to the ground – Limited to the earth and sentenced to final destruction. R1686:3
Cut off from all association with holy beings. R5896:1
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| 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: |
I will ascend – Ambition is good, but only when it is based on humility. Any spirit that does not respect God's wisdom is foolish. R5186:2
Lucifer had long cherished in his heart ambitious designs. PD15/24; R4928:6, R5665:3
A man has no right to aspire to be an angel, never having been invited to that position; nor has an angel any right to aspire to the divine nature, that never having been offered to him. A189
It was by permitting pride and ambition to gain control of his heart that Satan became an opponent of God and of righteousness. R5183:3
"Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased." (Luke 14:11) A189; R5844:5
Ambition is necessary in the Church, as in the world; but it must not be a selfish ambition for greatness or prominence, but a loving ambition to serve the Lord and his people, even the very humblest. F296
He became ambitious to become some great one, thereby necessitating his abasement; for "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov. 16:18) R1892:3
Illustrating the principle that no kind of pride is more detestable in God's sight than pride of the truth. R5001:1
Nothing in the Scriptures indicates that Satan assumed any evil disposition or opposition to the Almighty prior to his seduction of our first parents. This was the time of Satan's temptation and fall into sin. R2839:6, R1678:1
Into heaven – Power of spiritual control. A318; R1686:2
Exalt my throne – Authority and rulership. A92
Satan thought to exalt himself; Jesus, to humble himself. R5186:2; E80
Above – A position already filled by the only begotten Son of God. R1686:2
The stars of God – Others of the sons of God. F297, R1686:2
Satan wanted to be higher than the other angels, their captain and leader. SM95:1; R5955:4, R1515:2, R4928:6; OV15:3; PD15/24
Upon the mount – The Kingdom. F618
Of the congregation – God's people. F618
Sides of the north – The Pleiades, in the north, long esteemed the center of the universe, the Throne of Jehovah. F618
The farthest end of the north-universal dominion. R1686:2
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| 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. |
Like the most High – A monarch, or king, over the human family. E113; R2839:6, R1678:1; OV15:3; SM63:1; PD15/24
His peer, his equal. R4928:6, R1515:2
Not to take Jehovah's place, but to establish a rival dominion. CR425:6; OV15:3; SM63:1, SM95:1
Indicating a covetous, selfish, presumptuous, ambitiously proud spirit, in opposition to God. R5665:3, R5955:4, R5183:3, R5001:2; SM63:1; OV298:4
The ambition to become ruler seems to have developed as he beheld the first human pair with their procreative powers, reasoning that if he could control this man he should have dominion over all his offspring. R1678:1; PD15/24; SM63:1, SM95:1; Q826:T; HG593:6
He thought that if he had an empire of his own he could improve upon the divine order of things. OV306:3
"As God is the Emperor of the entire universe, I should like to be the Emperor of some quarter of it where I might reign supreme and work out my own schemes and plans." Q826:T
He would prefer to be a monarch of happier subjects than the "groaning creation" and is thus willing to become a reformer in all particulars but one--his ambition must be gratified. E113
Satan's claim is contrasted with Jesus', who did not claim equality or aspire to a usurpation of God's authority. (Phil. 2:6, Diaglott) R1686:2, R369:3, R5844:5, R1515:2
The very exaltation which Satan sought and failed to reach by pride and rebellion is, in substance, obtained by the chief messenger who humbled himself and has now been exalted to the divine nature. R490:3
A man has no right to aspire to be an angel, never having been invited to that position; nor has an angel the right to aspire to the divine nature, that never having been offered to him. R612:3
A usurper of divine authority, without divine appointment, and contrary to divine regulation. F297, R1515:2, R4928:6; SM95:1
This language applies also symbolically to the Papacy, for the Papacy is Satan's own work, in his own likeness. R1686:2
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| 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. |
Yet thou shalt be – "God is the Judge, he putteth down one and setteth up another." (Psa. 75:6,7) R5710:5
Down to hell – Sheol, oblivion. F618, R2599:5
The grave, so rendered in verse 11. R2599:5
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| 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; |
Is this the man – Perhaps suggesting that Satan would appear as a man in the last days. (In letter from Benjamin Barton. Brother Russell's view is different.) R5866:3*, R5867:1
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| 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? |
Of his prisoners – Death's captives. A112
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| 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. |
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| 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. |
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| 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. |
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| 21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. |
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| 22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. |
For I will rise up – Not wholly fulfilled by Cyrus; much still awaits for fulfilment in mystic Babylon. R2498:3
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| 23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. |
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| 24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: |
So shall it stand – God's original plan is still in progress. A66; R419:3; HG537:3
We have the assurance that all God's purposes shall be accomplished. R165:5
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| 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. |
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| 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. |
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| 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? |
Hath purposed – God knows the end from the beginning; he changes not from his original purpose. R2026:6
Who shall disannul it? – God has a definite and systematic plan for the development of the race by which the largest possible proportion thereof shall be brought to ultimate and permanent good. R902:6*
God's righteous and benevolent plan could know no failure. R1834:6
Turn it back? – Having begun the work of salvation, God does not intend to abandon it. R2690:1
God's plans were perfect before they began to be executed; hence all the changes of God's course or conduct are working out the accomplishment of his original purpose which contemplated these very changes. R2026:6
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| 28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. |
King Ahaz died – Check Bible chronology
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| 29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. |
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| 30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. |
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| 31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times. |
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| 32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it. |
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