Isaiah 14:14

14 You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.

Isaiah 14:14 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 14:14

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds
Which are the chariots of God, and in which he rides, and so this proud monarch affected to be as he; perhaps some reference is had to the cloud in which Jehovah dwelt in the temple. The Targum is,

``I will ascend above all people,''

compared to clouds for their multitude. In the mystical sense, the true ministers of the word may be meant, so called for their height, motion, swiftness, and fulness of Gospel doctrine, compared to rain; see ( Isaiah 5:6 ) ( Revelation 11:6 Revelation 11:7 ) . I will be like the most High;
so Satan affected to be, and this was the bait he laid for our first parents, and with which they were taken; and nothing less than deity could satisfy some ambitious princes, as Caligula, and others; and this was what the Babylonish monarch aspired to, and ordered to be ascribed to him, and be regarded as such, either while living, or at least after death, which was what had been done to many Heathen princes. So antichrist is represented as showing himself to be God, ( 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ) by calling and suffering himself to be called God; by assuming all power in heaven and in earth; taking upon him to depose kings and dispose of kingdoms at pleasure; dispensing with the laws of God, and making new ones; absolving men from their oaths, pardoning their sins, setting up himself as infallible, as the sole interpreter of Scripture, and judge of controversies. The Targum is,

``I will he higher than them all;''

than the kings of the earth, and all other bishops.

Isaiah 14:14 In-Context

12 King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground.

13 You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble.

14 You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.

15 But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.

16 The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?