Isaiah 14:28
in Isaiah 14In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden was received:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
KJV
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
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This verse in Isaiah 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 28.) In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden came. We read in the Book of the Prophets that four kings of Judah held the title of Prophet: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, each succeeding the other in order and lineage. We have read earlier about the death of Uzziah, as recorded by Isaiah: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne.
This site's exposition
the year that king Ahaz died was this burden
on Isaiah 14:28-32
The year that king Ahaz died was this burden dates the Philistia oracle plainly, closing the chapter with a shorter burden after the long taunt against Babylon. Philistia is warned not to rejoice that the rod which struck her is broken, because a worse threat follows from the same root, the serpent's root bringing forth a cockatrice and a fiery flying serpent, imagery of an escalating danger rather than relief. Zion's poor are promised safety in the same breath that Philistia is warned of smoke coming from the north, the chapter closing where it began, with Israel's remnant secure while the surrounding nations face judgment in turn.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 28, etc.) In the year in which King Ahaz died, this burden occurred. Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, for the rod of your oppressor is broken. From the root of the snake will come forth a ruler, and his offspring will swallow up the flying creatures. The firstborn of the poor will be fed, and the needy will rest securely. I will cause the root to die by famine, and I will slay your remaining ones. According to the LXX: In the year in which King Ahaz died, this word was fulfilled: Do not rejoice, all you foreigners, for his yoke that oppressed you is broken. Indeed, from the seed of the serpent, offspring of asps will come forth, and from their offspring, winged serpents will come forth. And the poor will be fed by them, and poor men will rest in peace. But your seed will be killed by famine, and your remnants will be destroyed. After the death of Ahaz, which means κατάσχεσις, that is, possession or occupation, whom we read is the most impious king, this burden falls upon the Philistines, or word. For while he was living and reigning among sinners, neither the weight against foreigners nor the word of God could come to the Prophet. Indeed, I remember having said this before, when Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne. And in Exodus we read (Exodus 22) that after the death of the king of Egypt, the sons of Israel groaned because of their labors, and they cried out, and their cry rose up because of their labors, and the Lord heard their groaning. For if what was said was not mystical, they should have shouted all the more when he was reigning, when they were serving with mud and bricks.
The Medieval Church1 voice
In the year. Here he threatens against the enemies who were rejoicing over the affliction of the Jews, and first, against the Philistines, who were rejoicing over their reduction by the death of Ezechias; second, against the Moabites, who were rejoicing over their destruction by …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In the year that King Ahaz died was this burden. The following heavy prophecy, concerning the destruction of the Philistines; whether it was delivered out before or after his death is not certain. Here some begin the "fifteenth" chapter Isa 15:1, and not improperly; henceforward prophecies are delivered out under another reign, as before under Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz, now under Hezekiah. This, according to Bishop Usher, was A. M. 3278 and before the Christian era 726.
When a good king came in the room of a bad one then this acceptable message was sent among them. When we reform, then, and not till then, we may look for good news from heaven.
The injuries done to them must be reckoned for and revenged upon their persecutors. Mercy to Jacob will be wrath and ruin to Jacob's impenitent implacable adversaries, such as Babylon was.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden - Uzziah had subdued the Philistines, 2Ch 26:6, 2Ch 26:7; but, taking advantage of the weak reign of Ahaz, they invaded Judea, and took, and held in possession, some cities in the southern part of the kingdom. On the death of Ahaz, Isaiah delivers this prophecy, threatening them with the destruction that Hezekiah, his son, and great-grandson of Uzziah, should bring upon them: which he effected; for “he smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof,” 2Ki 18:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
PROPHECY AGAINST PHILISTIA. To comfort the Jews, lest they should fear that people; not in order to call the Philistines to repentance, since the prophecy was probably never circulated among them.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the year that king Ahaz died - This is the caption or title to the following prophecy, which occupies the remainder of this chapter. This prophecy has no connection with the preceding; and should have been separated from it in the division into chapters. It relates solely to Philistia; and the design is to comfort the Jews with the assurance that they had nothing to apprehend from them. It is not to call the Philistines to lamentation and alarm, for there is no evidence that the prophecy was promulgated among them (Vitringa); but it is to assure the Jews that they would be in no danger from their invasion under the reign of the successor of Ahaz, and that God would more signally overthrow and subdue them than had been done in his time. It is not improbable that at the death of Ahaz, and with the prospect of a change in the government on the accession of his successor, the Philistines, the natural enemies of Judah, had meditated the invasion of the Jews. The Philistines had been subdued in the time of Azariah 2Ki 15:1-7, or Uzziah, as he is called in 2Ch 26:1, who was the son and successor of Amaziah. He broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Gabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and effectually subdued and humbled them 2Ch 26:6. In the time of Ahaz, and while he was engaged in his unhappy controversies with Syria and Ephraim, the Philistines took advantage of the enfeebled state of Judah, and made successful war on it, and took several of the towns 2Ch 28:18; and at his death they had hope of being able to resist Judah, perhaps the more so as they apprehended that the reign of Hezekiah would be mild, peaceable, and unwarlike. […]
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּשְׁנַת־ | bishnat- | in [the] year of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מ֖וֹת | mot | [the] death of | H4194 → | 156 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אָחָ֑ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| הָיָ֖ה | hayah | it came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַמַּשָּׂ֥א | hamasa' | the oracle | H4853 → | 66 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
בִּשְׁנַת־in [the] year of
bishnat-H8141 →877 times
מ֖וֹת[the] death of
motH4194 →156 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אָחָ֑זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
הָיָ֖הit came
hayahH1961 →3559 times
הַמַּשָּׂ֥אthe oracle
hamasa'H4853 →66 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 6:1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
it leads to
- John 12:41
Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.
- Revelation 15:8
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
- Revelation 7:15–17
For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
- Daniel 7:9
As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool.…
- Psalms 113:5
Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?
- John 12:41
Through
Isaiah 13:1This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:1
This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 47:1–15
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of Chaldea! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate.
- Jeremiah 50:1
This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:
- Isaiah 1:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
