Isaiah 14:11

11 Thy pride is drawn down to hells, thy dead carrion fell down (Thy pride is drawn down to Sheol, or the land of the dead, thy corpses fell down); a moth shall be strewed under thee, and thy covering shall be worms.

Isaiah 14:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 14:11

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave
Or "hell"; all the state and majesty in which he appeared, when sitting on the throne of his kingdom, with a glittering crown on his head, a sceptre in his hand, clad in the richest apparel, and attended by his princes and nobles with the utmost reverence and submission; all this, with much more, followed him to the regions of the dead, and there it left him; see ( Psalms 49:17 ) : [and] the noise of thy viols;
or musical instruments, even all of them, one being put for all; such as were used at festivals, and at times of joy and rejoicing, of which the Babylonians had many, and very probably were used at the feast by Belshazzar, when the city was taken, and he was slain; to which reference may be had in this place, ( Daniel 3:5 ) ( Daniel 5:1 Daniel 5:30 ) compare with this ( Revelation 18:16 Revelation 18:22 ) : the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee;
who used to have rich carpets spread for him to tread upon, and stately canopies under which he sat, beds of down to lie upon, and the richest covering over him, and now, nothing but worms over him, and worms under him; or instead of being wrapped in gold and silk, and embalmed with the most precious spices, as the eastern kings used to be, he had not so much as a grave, but was cast out of that, as is after said, and so was liable to putrefaction, and to be covered with worms at once; worms in his bed, and worms in his bed clothes! See ( Job 21:26 ) .

Isaiah 14:11 In-Context

9 Hell under thee is troubled for the meeting of thy coming; he shall raise giants to thee; all the princes of [the] earth have risen from their seats, all the princes of nations. (Sheol under thee is troubled at the meeting of thy coming; it shall raise up the dead for thee; all the kings of the earth have risen up from their thrones, all the leaders of the nations.)
10 All they shall answer, and they shall say to thee, And thou art wounded as we, thou art made like us. (They all shall answer, and they shall say to thee, And thou art wounded like we be, thou art made like us.)
11 Thy pride is drawn down to hells, thy dead carrion fell down (Thy pride is drawn down to Sheol, or the land of the dead, thy corpses fell down); a moth shall be strewed under thee, and thy covering shall be worms.
12 A! Lucifer, that risedest early, how fellest thou down from heaven; thou that woundedest folks, felledest down (al)together into [the] earth. (O! Lucifer, who risedest up early, how thou hast fallen down from heaven; thou who hast wounded the nations, fell down to the ground.)
13 Which saidest in thine heart, I shall ascend into heaven, I shall enhance my seat above the stars of (the) heaven(s); I shall sit in the hill of (the) testament, in the sides of the north. (Who saidest in thy heart, I shall ascend into heaven, I shall exalt, or I shall set, my throne above the stars of the heavens; I shall sit on the mountain where the gods meet, on the sides of the north.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.