Isaiah 14:29–32, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 14:29–32
Philistia Must Not Celebrate a Broken Rod
Philistia is told not to rejoice because a broken rod can hatch worse
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. 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.
A pause in oppression is not the end of danger. Serpent, adder, and flying serpent picture a worse successor. Ancient Philistia is not a modern people or state to hate. The poor's pasture and the needy at rest are Zion's hope inside the warning.
Smoke from the north and a Zion answer close the burden
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. 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.
The diplomatic question gets a refuge answer, not a celebration of Philistia's famine. Zion founded for the poor is not nationalist immunity and not a deed for later coercion.
How this should shape us
Do not throw a party because one oppressor's rod snapped. Ask whether the poor can actually lie down in safety. Do not map Philistia or the northern smoke onto a living nation.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 14:29–32 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Isaiah 14:29–32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
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Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 14:29–32 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
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Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 14:29–32 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Historical Context and nation-oracle framing; applied to Isaiah 14:29–32
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 1B, Background, and Theological Themes on the nations; applied to Isaiah 14:29–32
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
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Exact location: Isaiah 14:29–32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
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Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 14:29–32 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
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Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 14:29–32 in the complete 205-page book PDF
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First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
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Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 1B, Background, and Theological Themes on the nations; applied to Isaiah 14:29–32
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