Isaiah 14:21

Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through Isaiah to pronounce final judgment on the king of Babylon. This declaration occurs immediately after noting the king's destruction of his own land and people, and directly precedes the promise to erase his name and lineage.

The words — הָכִינוּ (ha.Khi.nu) commands "prepare," and מַטְבֵּ֖חַ (mat.Be.ach) specifies "a place of slaughter." The text literally commands the preparation of an execution site for the king's sons because of their ancestors' iniquity.

The thread — The text's claim that descendants bear ancestral guilt aligns with Exodus 20:5 and Leviticus 26:39, while the reversal of plunder matches Habakkuk 2:8. These passages establish a consistent scriptural pattern where generational consequences and reciprocal judgment follow systemic violence.

Why it lands — The verse states that violent rulers will leave no territorial legacy or urban foundation for their offspring. It requires the reader to acknowledge that political power built on slaughter produces absolute dynastic erasure rather than enduring legacy.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הָכִ֧ינוּha.Khi.nuprepare לְבָנָ֛יוle./va.Na/vfor/ sons/ his מַטְבֵּ֖חַmat.Be.acha place of slaughter בַּעֲוֹ֣ןba./'a.Vonin/ [the] iniquity of אֲבוֹתָ֑ם'a.vo.Ta/mancestors/ their בַּל־bal-not יָקֻ֙מוּ֙ya.Ku.muthey will arise וְיָ֣רְשׁוּve./Ya.re.shuand/ they will take possession of אָ֔רֶץ'A.retz[the] earth וּמָלְא֥וּu./mal.'Uand/ they will fill פְנֵֽי־fe.nei-[the] surface of תֵבֵ֖לte.Vel[the] world עָרִֽים׃'a.Rimcities

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Leviticus 26:39 Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.
Habakkuk 2:8 Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Isaiah 27:6 In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.