Isaiah 14:5
in Isaiah 14The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers;
KJV
The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
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This verse in Isaiah 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked,.... This is an answer to the above question, how the exactor and his tribute came to cease; this was not by man, but by the Lord himself; for though he made use of Cyrus, the work was his own, he broke the power of the wicked kings of Babylon: and the sceptre of the rulers; that were under the king of Babylon; or of the several kings themselves, Nebuchadnezzar, Evilmerodach, and Belshazzar; so Kimchi interprets it.
This site's exposition
sing this song of contempt
on Isaiah 14:4-8
The "song of contempt against the king of Babylon" names the taunt's target, the Hebrew mashal being a form of mocking poetry. The cedars of Lebanon rejoice that no woodcutter comes against them, since Babylon's building consumed Lebanon's timber. The opening line, "How the oppressor has ceased," sets the tone.
This site's exposition
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked
The verse answers the cry of verse 4 and names who ended the oppressor. Gill notes that Cyrus was the instrument. The breaking was the LORD's own work, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the staff as the rod a tyrant strikes others with.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5) The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the staff of rulers. That man, I say, who was the staff of the wicked, who fiercely struck down all with his scepter and royal rod.
The Medieval Church1 voice
In inflicting punishments on men: the Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, that struck the people in wrath, as though in reply to a preceding question; in attacking kingdoms: that brought nations under: how is the hammer of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), has the command of all the princes about him; but it is the staff of the wicked, a staff with which he supports himself in his wickedness and wickedly strikes all about him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Lord hath broken - Yahweh, by the hand of Cyrus. The staff of the wicked - That is, the scepter of the king of Babylon. The word rendered ‘staff’ (מטה maṭēh) may mean either a bough, stick, staff, rod, or a scepter. The scepter was the symbol of supreme power. It was in the form of a staff, and was made of wood, ivory, or gold. It here means that Yahweh had taken away the power from Babylon, and destroyed his dominion.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
staff--not the scepter (Ps 2:9), but the staff with which one strikes others, as he is speaking of more tyrants than one (Isa 9:4; 14:29) [MAURER]. rulers--tyrants, as the parallelism "the wicked" proves (compare see on Isa 13:2).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁבַ֥ר | shavar | he has broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מַטֵּ֣ה | mateh | [the] staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֑ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| שֵׁ֖בֶט | shevet | [the] scepter of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| מֹשְׁלִֽים׃ | moshelim | rulers | H4910 → | 81 times |
שָׁבַ֥רhe has broken
shavarH7665 →147 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מַטֵּ֣ה[the] staff of
matehH4294 →252 times
רְשָׁעִ֑יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
שֵׁ֖בֶט[the] scepter of
shevetH7626 →190 times
מֹשְׁלִֽים׃rulers
moshelimH4910 →81 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 9:4For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:25
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 30:8
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
- Isaiah 10:26–27
And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.
- Nahum 1:13
For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
- Isaiah 14:25
Through
Psalms 125:3For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:5–6
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
- Psalms 89:22
No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
- Proverbs 22:8
He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…
- Isaiah 14:5–6
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.