Isaiah 14:11

11 Your pride has been sent down to the place of the dead. The music from your harps goes with it. Flies are spread out like your bed beneath you, and worms cover your body like a blanket.

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 The place of the dead is excited to meet you when you come. It wakes the spirits of the dead, the leaders of the world. It makes kings of all nations stand up from their thrones to greet you.

10 All these leaders will make fun of you and will say, "Now you are weak, as we are. Now you are just like us."

11 Your pride has been sent down to the place of the dead. The music from your harps goes with it. Flies are spread out like your bed beneath you, and worms cover your body like a blanket.

12 King of Babylon, morning star, you have fallen from heaven, even though you were as bright as the rising sun! In the past all the nations on earth bowed down before you, but now you have been cut down.

13 You told yourself, "I will go up to heaven. I will put my throne above God's stars. I will sit on the mountain of the gods, on the slopes of the sacred mountain.