Bible Strands
Isaiah 14:29
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the Philistines immediately after King Ahaz’s death, a moment when they anticipate celebrating the collapse of their Assyrian oppressor.
The words — שֵׁבֶט (shevet) literally means "rod" or "staff," referring to the instrument of Assyrian judgment, while אַל־ (al-) functions as a direct negative command prohibiting celebration.
The thread — The motif of serpents emerging from broken roots appears in Isaiah 30:6 as a judgment against Negev travelers, and Isaiah 11:8 repurposes the serpent imagery to describe future peace under righteous rule.
Why it lands — The verse commands the Philistines to halt their triumphalism by stating that the destruction of one oppressor will immediately spawn another, requiring them to confront impending consequences rather than anticipate relief.
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
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 26:6 Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- Isaiah 11:8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
- Isaiah 30:6 This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
- 2 Chronicles 28:18 The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages.
- Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
- 2 Kings 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
- Proverbs 24:17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
- Ezekiel 26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’
- Ezekiel 35:15 As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
- Hosea 9:1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.