3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end!

How his fury has ended!

5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers,

6 which in anger struck down peoples

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued nations

with relentless aggression.

7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;

they break into singing.

8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon

gloat over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”

9 The realm of the dead below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—

all those who were leaders in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.

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, 4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say,

How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke,

He that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

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.

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.

3 In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, 4 you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,

“The mighty man has been destroyed.

Yes, your insolence is ended.

5 For the Lord has crushed your wicked power

and broken your evil rule.

6 You struck the people with endless blows of rage

and held the nations in your angry grip

with unrelenting tyranny.

7 But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.

Now it can sing again!

8 Even the trees of the forest—

the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—

sing out this joyous song:

‘Since you have been cut down,

no one will come now to cut us down!’

9 “In the place of the dead there is excitement

over your arrival.

The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead

stand up to see you.

3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:

“How the oppressor has ceased,

The golden city ceased!

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

The scepter of the rulers;

6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,

He who ruled the nations in anger,

Is persecuted and no one hinders.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

They break forth into singing.

8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,

And the cedars of Lebanon,

Saying, ‘Since you were cut down,

No woodsman has come up against us.’

9 “Hell from beneath is excited about you,

To meet you at your coming;

It stirs up the dead for you,

All the chief ones of the earth;

It has raised up from their thrones

All the kings of the nations.

3 The Lord will take away the Israelites’ hard work and will comfort them. They will no longer have to work hard as slaves. 4 On that day Israel will sing this song about the king of Babylon:

The cruel king who ruled us is finished;

his angry rule is finished!

5 The Lord has broken the scepter of evil rulers

and taken away their power.

6 The king of Babylon struck people in anger

again and again.

He ruled nations in anger

and continued to hurt them.

7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet.

Now the people begin to sing.

8 Even the pine trees are happy,

and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.

They say, “The king has fallen,

so no one will ever cut us down again.”

9 The place of the dead is excited

to meet you when you come.

It wakes the spirits of the dead,

the leaders of the world.

It makes kings of all nations

stand up from their thrones to greet you.

3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. 9 Sheol 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.

3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy trouble and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

4 that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased, —the exactress of gold ceased! 5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. 6 He that smote the peoples in wrath with a relentless stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted unsparingly. 7 The whole earth is at rest, is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Even the cypresses rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming, stirring up the dead for thee, all the he-goats of the earth; making to rise from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

3 When that day comes, the Lord will give you relief 

from your pain and suffering, 

from the hard slavery you were forced to do. 

4 Then you will mock the king of Babylon with this saying, 

“How the tyrant has come to an end! 

How his attacks have come to an end!” 

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, 

the scepter of rulers. 

6 They struck the people with fury, 

with blows that didn’t stop. 

They ruled nations in anger, 

persecuting them without restraint. 

7 The whole earth rests and is peaceful. 

It breaks out into shouts of joy. 

8 Even the cypresses rejoice over you. 

The cedars of Lebanon say, 

“Since you have fallen, 

no lumberjack has come to attack us.” 

9 Sheol below wakes up to meet you when you come. 

It wakes up the ghosts of the dead, 

all who were leaders on earth. 

It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones. 

3 When the Lord gives you rest from your pain, torment, and the hard labor you were forced to do, 4 you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon and say:

How the oppressor has quieted down,

and how the raging has become quiet!

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers.

6 It struck the peoples in anger

with unceasing blows.

It subdued the nations in rage

with relentless persecution.

7 All the earth is calm and at rest;

people shout with a ringing cry.

8 Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon

rejoice over you:

“Since you have been laid low,

no woodcutter has come against us.”

9 Sheol below is eager to greet your coming.

He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you—

all the rulers of the earth.

He makes all the kings of the nations

rise from their thrones.

3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has ceased!

How his insolence has ceased!

5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers,

6 that struck down the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

they break forth into singing.

8 The cypresses exult over you,

the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

“Since you were laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”

9 Sheol beneath is stirred up

to meet you when you come;

it rouses the shades to greet you,

all who were leaders of the earth;

it raises from their thrones

all who were kings of the nations.

3 And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which you had to perform,

4 that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon,

and you will say:

“How the oppressor has ceased!

his insolence has ceased.

5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers,

6 that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrestrained persecution.

7 All of the earth rests and is quiet;

they break forth into singing.

8 Even the cypresses rejoice over you,

the cedars of Lebanon:

‘Since you were laid down,

no wood cutter comes up against us.’

9 Sheol below is getting excited over you,

to meet you when you come;

it arouses the dead spirits for you,

all of the leaders of the earth.

It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones.

3 The Lord will put an end to Israel’s suffering and trouble. They won’t be slaves anymore. 4 They will make fun of the king of Babylonia. They will say,

“See how the one who crushed others has fallen!

See how his anger has come to an end!

5 The Lord has taken away the authority of evil people.

He has broken the power of rulers.

6 When they became angry, they struck nations down.

Their blows never stopped.

In their anger they brought nations under their control.

They attacked them again and again.

7 All of the lands now enjoy peace and rest.

They break out into singing.

8 Even the pine trees are glad.

The cedar trees of Lebanon are happy too.

They say, ‘Babylon, you have fallen.

Now no one comes and cuts us down.’

9 “King of Babylonia, many people in the grave are really excited

about meeting you when you go down there.

The spirits of the dead get up to welcome you.

At one time all of them were leaders in the world.

They were kings over the nations.

They get up from their thrones.

3 And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

4 that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,

“How the oppressor has ceased,

And how fury has ceased!

5 “The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,

The scepter of rulers

6 Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,

Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.

7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;

They break forth into shouts of joy.

8 “Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’

9 “Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come;

It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth;

It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.