Bible Strands
Isaiah 14:6
It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses the fall of a tyrannical ruler, describing the moment God breaks the scepter of the wicked after a period of severe oppression. The words — מַכֶּ֤ה (ma.Keh) translates as struck, and בִּלְתִּי סָרָה (bil.Ti sa.Rah) means not ceasing, describing the relentless nature of the tyrant's attacks. The thread — This pattern of divine judgment against arrogant oppressors appears in Jeremiah 50:31 and James 2:13, where God confronts pride and renders judgment without mercy. Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that human tyranny is finite and that God’s intervention ends persecution, requiring readers to place their trust in divine justice rather than earthly power.
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
He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Cross-references
- Daniel 7:19 Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—extremely terrifying—devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left.
- Jeremiah 50:31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
- James 2:13 For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
- Revelation 18:8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
- Job 9:13 God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.
- Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Isaiah 10:14 My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”
- Isaiah 13:14 Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.