Isaiah 14:11

11 Your pride is brought down [to] Sheol, [and] the sound of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you like a bed, and your covering is 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 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.

10 All of them will respond and say to you, 'You yourself also were made weak like us! You have become the same as us!'

11 Your pride is brought down [to] Sheol, [and] the sound of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you like a bed, and your covering is worms.

12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn! You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations!

13 And you yourself said in your heart, 'I will ascend [to] heaven; I will raise up my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on [the] mountain of assembly on the summit of Zaphon;

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "maggot"
• [b]. Hebrew "worm"